Compared with the bear, the more abundant tiger faded in and out of the forests in ghostly fashion, and was quicker and more agile in its movements. As for the lion, another source of traditional folk motifs for the Chinese, it was an "immigrant" which came into China's mythology in the wake of Buddhism.
比起熊，分佈密林的虎神出鬼沒，行動更迅捷靈活；至於也被中國人拿來作為民間傳統造型的獅子，則是「外來種」，直到佛教傳入中國，才尾隨而入。