The kind and docile stone elephant is a well-known stone carving artwork that is often used in all aspects of life. We can often see stone carved elephant ornaments with the meaning of fortune at the entrance of commercial places such as banks and hotels; we can also see the majestic and auspicious stone carved elephant shape in the deep and quiet ancient temple of the deep mountain; and even the stone carved elephant shape that symbolizes peace and happiness can be seen in the courtyard of the Chinese home style. It can be seen that people's love for stone elephants is very strong; in the north and south of China's great river, you can see beautiful stone elephant ornaments; even in the high mountains and snowy lands, people's love for stone elephants is hot as fire.
Stone carved elephant
China is a vast country, and there are not only differences in climate and humanities between different regions, but also many differences between folk customs and Buddhist cultures between different regions. Since buddhism was introduced to China, it has been divided into Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism; it has deeply rooted itself according to different transmission paths, and then gradually developed into the current heyday. The so-called Tibetan Buddhism actually has two meanings, one refers to the formation of Buddhist culture in Tibetan areas and in Tibetan areas, spreading and influencing Buddhist culture in other regions. Another refers to Buddhism transmitted in Tibetan and Tibetan, mainly concentrated in Qinghai, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and now closer to Tibet in China.
Elephant stone carving
Tibetan Buddhist temples are still very different from our usual common temples, such as those snowy temples where we can often see some sculptures of cattle and sheep, and we can also see different stone elephant shapes. The elephant stone carvings in these Tibetan cultural temples are not only decorated with different patterns of flowers and plants, but also the objects on the backs of stone elephants are also very rare. For example, the stone elephant in the Tibetan temple carries monkeys, rabbits and eagles on their backs, which actually contains profound meanings. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, we often see an interesting picture: an elephant standing next to a large tree, an ape on the back of the elephant, a rabbit on the back of the monkey, and a bird on the back of the rabbit. This composition is called "Four Harmony", which represents the meaning of respect for the elderly and harmonious coexistence. In ancient Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, this allusion is often used to teach the moral order of harmonious coexistence, and the "four harmonies" diagram is used to show reminders. The "four harmonies" developed into auspicious symbols of harmony; therefore, the stone elephants in Tibetan Buddhist temples were often combined with the auspicious "four harmonies" to burst out of the distinctive Tibetan Buddhist culture.
A stone elephant carries a monkey on its back