This waymark is located near another in Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum
(
visit link) gate depicting qilin. Both are from monuments at the same set of graves.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us that the qilin:
"...is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui (Chinese: ?; pinyin: ruì; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It is sometimes misleadingly called the "Chinese unicorn" due to conflation with the unicorn by Westerners."
The Museum's placard at the site for this entrance gate reads:
"Entrance gate to the graveyard
of Zu Dashou and his sons
Yongtai Village near Beijing
Limestone (roof constructed)
1656, Qing dunasty
Zu Dashou's tomb was enclosed by a
half-circular wall at the back. Within the
enclosure were other tombs as well,
most likely for Zu Dashou's sons. The
stone carvings on the gate show deer,
symbols of longevity, and qilin,
auspicious mythical animals. The
monkeys near the bees' nest are a pun
for high rank. Hou, "monkey" can also be
understood as "duke", and feng,
"bee", as promote: "May you be
promoted to duke!"