Read my poem inspired by this object.

Balance

I can remember that feeling of fire and the moon

Light and dark

But blinding either way

This was always your job

To use the strength of your protective nature

For generations to come

But at the same time I couldn’t see

How the duality of your motions

(good and evil)

Pumped the life blood of harmony and preservation

When I, myself, was the one living in it

The audacity

For me to take but never to give

Is this how it needed to be?

Listen to my podcast about this object.

Guardian Lions
Unknown maker
Probably China
Glazed ceramic, wood

These objects consist of a pair of Chinese Guardian Lions, or “Foo Dogs.” In Chinese culture, along with many other regions of Asia, these Lions are used as protectors of a temple, palace, or household, as Buddhist lore and symbols of fierceness. As a physical manifestation of Yin and Yang duality, they are typically assigned genders. Yin and Yang keep the balance of the building in which they’re protecting. To me, these objects are important because they represent my family history abroad; my grandfather having grown up in China and my father in the Philippines.