Komainu are most closely related to shishi, but there *are* differences--in part because part of the concept was imported from Korea (and merged with some native influences), and Koreans pretty much combined shishi and xiezhi (yes, haetae pretty much serve both functions).
And there really *is* no bureaucracy quite like Chinese imperial bureaucracy, especially when you get the Jade Emperor involved :D
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Date: 4 Dec 2008 07:07 am (UTC)And there really *is* no bureaucracy quite like Chinese imperial bureaucracy, especially when you get the Jade Emperor involved :D