Complex sentence: The Chinese people had never see a lion before, but had heard stories that the lion was the king of all the other animals, so the monk combined all the lucky or magical animals he could think of and so made a lion.
Split into simpler sentences: The Chinese people had never see a lion before except for stories that the lion was the king of all the other animals. So the monk combined all the lucky or magical animals he could think of and so made a lion.