Lions are not indigenous to China. The first record of lions in Chinese history was when they were given to the Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty by a Eastern nation, along with some rhinos. Emperor Wu of Han kept lions, which were given to him as gifts as well. Lions were an exotic and rare commodity in the Silk road trade route, and were not widely known or seen by the public.

When Buddhism become popularized in China, Manjusri became one of the four major bodhisattva in Han Buddhism. This gave the lion religious prominence in Chinese culture, because lions are associated with Manjusri, who is often depicted riding one.

However, given the rarity of lions, most artist would not have seen what a lion looked like and had to either rely on descriptive texts, or drawings by other artists. According to Mon Kan, from the Three Kingdoms, lions have long tails like deer, look like tigers, with yellow manes and bushes of fur at the ends of tails. I am going to start speculating here. Given the vagueness of texts describing lions and the religious reverence people had for lions, it is likely that artists gave lions the same treatment as other imaginary animals such as dragons and qilins, and borrowed features from other common animals. Once that image of lions was established, other artists perpetuated that image, and it became part of the cultural canon.