In China, in order to protect children, parents often make children, particularly boys, wear clothing with images of guardian spirits. The most common animal spirits are tigers and lions. The image on the back of this vest is most likely a lion. It also has a persimmon joined to its tail, which implies that everything will be protected by the lion. Another interesting characteristic of this object is that the lion was arranged on the back of the vest. Since the head of the lion faces the same direction as the head of the boy, the guardian spirit lies on the back of the boy and is embodied in the boy.
29.5cm x 33.2cm Sichuan Province Han ChineseCotton 2724.234767
(c) The Field Museum