Where Does the “Lion” Come From? On the Origin of Liang Qichao’s “Sleeping Lion” Symbol

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that it was Liang Qichao, not Napoleon Bonaparte, who first said that “China was a sleeping lion.” However, the question of why Liang came to choose the image of a lion to symbolize China remains to be a puzzle. This study argues that a Japanese article on China, by Osawa Ryū and translated into Chinese in 1898, was the key factor in inspiring Liang’s use of the “Sleeping Lion” metaphor. The sleeping lion metaphor was actually initiated in Meiji Japan and later adopted by Liang Qichao.