*Leizhou Stone Dog

*Leizhou Stone Dog

Nominating Unit:Leizhou Municipality, City of Zhanjiang

Leizhou Stone Dog Carving was said to be originated from the dog totem of ancient Bai Yue Minority and the local folklore about the connection between Lei Zu, the forefather of Leizhou and a dog. The stone dogs in front of Lei Zu Temple of the early Tang Dynasty and Xiajiang Tian Hou Pallace of the Song Dynasty and Six Ancestor Hall of Yuan Dynasty proved the long history of Leizhou Stone Dog Carving. This craftsmanship is now mainly distributed in cities and townships such as Leizhou, Xuwen, Suixi, Lianjiang, and suburb areas of City of Zhanjiang, such as Mazhang, Donghai Island.(https://www.daowen.com)

Leizhou Stone Carving uses basalt to be the main material. The tools it uses are rather simple ones, such as hammer, chisel, stonecutter, etc. Although the styles and connotations are different, the name is uniformly stone dog. It is a special embodiment of local’s beliefs, and gradually worshipped as a god by the locals. The locals granted it many god’s functions, such as a provider for fortune, good luck, timely rain, fertility, a exorcist for demon and evil, a guardian for the village and its people, and a host for ceremonies. It is an embodiment of many gods, therefore the carving techniques are abundant, giving the stone dogs various looks, gestures, expressions, bodies and ornamental stripes. A ceremonial dog has a laughing wide-open mouth, an affectionate and gentle look, and takes a squatting position. Guardian dog has a stern look and ornamental stripes of thunder and cloud, with its feet stepping on Ba Gua, thunder drum, or other kinds of exorcising items, and takes a standing position, ready to attack any enemy. Dog for fortune and fertility faces the heaven with a square face, and has ornamental stripes for fortune and luck. Some of them have giant genitals. They all take a halfsitting and half-standing position. Some of Leizhou stone dogs have a human face and dog body; some have a lion’s shape. The carving techniques were rather simple and abstract in the early days with only a body but no detailed rendering of limbs and facial features. After years of development, however, there are many kinds and variations of dog models, the styles of which are exaggerative, primitive yet elegant. It has become an item of worship for the locals. More than 10 thousand stone dogs from all previous ages still can be found, which were used to guard temples, ancestral halls, villages, fields, rivers, roads, hills and graveyards. These legacy stone dogs are distributed throughout the urban and rural areas of Leizhou peninsular, and are called “Terra Cotta Warriors above Ground”. IT has become marvelous cultural scenery of southern China, and bears great value in studying anthropology, sociology, folklore and carving art. Leizhou Stone Dog was enlisted into the list of the second batch of state-level intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

With the change of times, the traditional cultural connotation of stone dogs is entering into oblivion, and stone dogs are rarely seen in new villages and new buildings now. This resulted in an unpopularity of stone dog carving. Many stone carving craftsmen turned into carving dragons, phoenix, flower and bird for temples, and Leizhou Stone Dog Carving is faced with a danger of losing its transmission. Urgent rescuing measures to protect the craft are immediately called for.