Undeniably the most recognizable creature from Chinese myth, the snake-like dragon (龙 lóng) appears in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and with a fitting amount of eminence. Statues of these regal creatures can sometimes be seen at certain Chinese palaces, though the myth exists in other cultures across South East Asia. They helped to establish the role of emperor as a divine one. Qilin were once believed to accompany deities as pets, and their presence were thought to signal the arrival of an immortal or a member of royalty. Old legends state that a pair appeared in the garden of the deified Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, in 2697 BCE and that Emperor Wu of Han caught a live qilin in 122 BC. Bearing horns and several dragon-like features, what Slattery referred to as a "weird horse," was actually a qilin (麒麟)- a mythical creature far older than most others that appear, first appearing in The Commentary of Zuo in the 5th century BC, which is a commentary on another historical chronicle. Just when Shang-Chi, Katy, Xialing and Trevor Slattery thought they had seen it all in the forest surrounding Ta Lo, their car comes to a sudden halt to let larger creatures pass.
RELATED: Early Shang-Chi Scripts Featured Other MCU Characters, Says Producer The only liberty they took was their eccentric manes and the huge fangs protruding from their jaws. Their use in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is therefore not entirely inappropriate, since they are guarding a sacred place. Given the regal appearance of these stone lions, they continued to guard the royal palaces, even after Buddhism as a belief lost its place in China.
Gradually, they were reimagined and came to play an important role when Buddhism became a major religion during the Han dynasty, as the protectors of dharma - which is the "truth" that Buddhism was founded on, if we were to oversimplify it. They are colloquially referred to as lion dogs or foo dogs/fu dogs, but they are stone lions, or shishi (石獅 shíshī). It is believed that these creatures were inspired by lions that arrived in China through trade with Silk Road merchants during the Han dynasty. These guardian lions often decorate the grounds of ancient Chinese palaces and temples.
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