The role of the door god image posted on the door in folk customs
The door god is a type of painting affixed to the door during the Lunar New Year. Its main functions are to ward off evil spirits and ghosts, protect the home, ensure peace, support utilitarianism, and bring good luck. Door gods can be divided into ghost-hunting, blessing-praying, Taoist, military generals and civil servants.
The door god is the god of doors enshrined in Taoism following folk customs. Folks have believed in door gods for a long time. "Book of Rites: Sacrifice Law" says: The king established seven sacrifices for the group's surname, the princes established five sacrifices for the country, the officials established three sacrifices, and the suitable people established two sacrifices. All of them have "men", "common people, and ordinary people establish one sacrifice, or establish a household." , or set up a stove." It can be seen that since the pre-Qin Dynasty, everyone from the emperor to the common people worshiped the door god.
1. The belief in door gods has a long history. According to the "Shan Hai Jing", there is a mountain called Dushuo in the vast sea. There is a big peach tree on the mountain, with branches winding for three thousand miles. In the northeast of China, there is a ghost gate where all ghosts come and go. There are two gods on the gate, one is called Shen Tu and the other is Yu Lei. They guard the ghost gate and specially monitor the ghosts who harm people. Once discovered, they will use ropes made of reeds. The ghosts were tied up and thrown down the mountain to feed the tigers. So the Yellow Emperor paid tribute to them and worshiped them every year. He painted images of the gods Tu, Yulei and tigers on the door, and hung reed ropes. If any evil ghost appeared, the two gods would catch them and feed them to the tigers. Later, in the Book of Mountains and Seas, the belief that divine tea, Yulei, tiger reed rope, and peach wood were used to ward off ghosts was passed down by people. For example, the lost text of Jin Qianbao's "Sou Shen Ji" said: "Today's customary law, On every New Year's Eve, people decorate with peach figures, hang Wei Suo, draw tigers on the door, and place two lanterns on the left and right, like tigers sleeping, to drive away bad luck. "In the meantime, peach is also a plant that people have worshiped for a long time. People think that peach has many fruits. Duo Fu is a symbol of longevity, so it can ward off disasters, avoid evil spirits, and control ghosts. "Dian Shu" says: "Peach is the essence of the five trees, so it suppresses evil spirits. The essence of peach is born in the ghost gate and controls everything. Ghosts, so the peach tree is now used to hold the door to suppress evil spirits. "The tiger is the king of beasts, and can "fight, defeat, and eat ghosts." "So if you paint a tiger on the door, ghosts will not dare to do so. enter". This belief has been circulating. On New Year's Eve, people often put pictures of two gods and tigers on their doors, and hang peach branches or peach people and reeds to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. What is slightly different from the past is that in addition to Shen Tu Yulei, the gods in the painting also include Zhong Kui who appeared in the Tang Dynasty, Qin Qiong and Yu Chigong who appeared after the Yuan Dynasty, and Wen (or Wen of the Jin Dynasty) who was worshiped by people in the Suzhou area in the old days. Qiao, or the two commanders of General Wen and Yue (Yue Fei) under Emperor Dongyue. The Green Dragon and White Tiger believed in Taoism, and Zhao Yun, Zhao Gongming, Sun Bin, Pang Juan, etc. believed in some areas. In some places, the door gods are divided into three categories, namely, the civil door gods, the martial door gods, and the praying door gods. The Wen Gate God is a painting of some civil servants wearing court uniforms, such as Tianguan, Xiantong, Liu Haichan, and the Concubine Lady, etc. The Wu Gate God is the image of a military officer, such as Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, etc. The praying Gate God is the three stars of good fortune, wealth, and longevity. Although these door gods appeared in different time and regional backgrounds, they are all widely believed by people. Among them, the most influential ones are Shen Tu, Yu Lei, Zhong Kui, Qin Qiong, and Yuchi Gong.
2. The worship of common people originated from ancient times. In the Yin Dynasty, the emperor offered five sacrifices, and the gate was one of them. In the Zhou Dynasty, the five sacrifices were held at the "gate" of the palace - a place that must be passed through every day. , naturally attach great importance to it, and sacrifices to the door god are visualized and personified. According to legend, he is a god who rules over human ghosts and monsters under the orders of the Yellow Emperor. Therefore, on the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month, two gods carved from peach wood are placed on both sides of the gate to ward off ghosts and monsters and eliminate disasters. Later, two statues of gods were painted on the door. Become a door god.
In the ancient sacrificial rituals for door gods, there were originally five sacrificial rituals (some say there were seven sacrificial rituals), and those worshiped were all minor gods. Investigating its origin, it is primitive nature worship. Primitive worship believes that everything related to people's daily life has gods. The five sacrifices enshrine things that are useful for people's residence, access, and food, so they are sacrificed to repay kindness. This is the earliest origin of the concept of door gods. Some people say that the door god is the god of yin energy, or that he lives in the world to look after minor offenses and make reprimands. This is only after the door god's functions were socialized. This concept was more popular during the Han and Jin Dynasties. According to ancient books such as "Jade Candle Book" and "Jing Chu Fa Shi Ji", this belief is still a legacy. From now on, the Five Sacrifice will only be regarded as part of the national sacrificial ceremony. The door gods, kitchen gods, etc. believed by the people are no longer related to their original forms.
Another function of ancient door gods is to drive away ghosts and avoid evil spirits and ensure national security. This kind of door god is said to have originated from the names Shen Tu and Yu Lei. There are various versions, but people still use the customary ones and still call them Shen Tu and Yu Lei. They were originally mythical figures, and they were quite popular among the people in the Han Dynasty, who believed that they had magical powers to seize power.
Because they usually stay under the big peach tree in Dusu Mountain, on New Year's Eve, people hang pickers and reed ropes (the two gods use them to bind ghosts), and draw images of the two gods and tigers (the two gods hold ghosts and eat tigers) on their doors. Use this method to drive away ghosts and evil spirits.
With the development of society and changes in ideology, people's requirements for door gods are not only to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters, but also to obtain fame, fortune, etc. from them. As late as the Ming Dynasty, the statues of warrior gods were often painted with "jue, deer, bat, joy, treasure, horse, vase, and saddle, all with good names to welcome the auspicious address." Later, the duty of door gods to dispel evil spirits was cancelled, and they were dedicated to praying for blessings. As a result, it became a custom among the people that the heavenly official, number one scholar, the star of fortune and longevity, the god of harmony, and the god of wealth were the door gods.
3 Historical Records
The Door God and Tang Taizong
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin massacred the families of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, even the babies. Let it go. When sleeping at night, I often heard bricks and tiles being thrown outside the bedroom, and ghosts calling, making the harem restless every night. For a period of time, he often had nightmares, dreaming that his elder brother and younger brother brought monsters and monsters to kill him. He was very scared and could not sleep at night, so he asked his two generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong to stand guard in front of the door with weapons in hand. Able to sleep peacefully. But as time went by, the two generals couldn't sleep for a long time, and eventually they both fell ill. Li Shimin had to order people to draw their images on paper and stick them on the door to scare away monsters and monsters. This is the origin of the door god.
"Journey to the West" records: An old dragon in the Jinghe River near Chang'an made a bet with a fortune teller and violated the rules of heaven. The Jade Emperor sent Wei Zheng to kill the old dragon at three quarters at noon. Lao Long begged Tang Taizong to intercede for him the day before, and Tang Taizong agreed wholeheartedly. The next day, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty announced that Wei Zheng had entered the court, and asked Wei Zheng to stay and play Go with him. Unexpectedly, at three quarters of noon, Wei Zheng dozed off and dreamed of killing the old dragon. Lao Long resented Tang Taizong for not keeping his word. So its ghost lingered and came to the palace every day to cause trouble, making Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty uneasy. Wei Zheng knew that the emperor was frightened, so he sent two generals, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, to guard the palace gate. As expected, Lao Long did not dare to make trouble. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty thought of their hard work guarding the gate at night, so he asked a painter to draw a portrait of the two and paste it at the entrance of the palace. The result was still effective. As a result, this move began to spread among the people, and Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong became door gods.
"Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties":
At one stage, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was in a very bad mood. When he was sleeping at night, he often heard bricks and tiles being thrown outside his bedroom, and ghosts calling, making the harem restless every night. rather. He was very frightened and told his king and ministers about it. General Qin Shubao said: "I spent my life as a soldier, killing enemies like cutting melons, collecting corpses like gathering ants, why should I be afraid of ghosts and ghosts? I am willing to guard the palace gates with respect and virtue." Li Shimin agreed. Nothing happened that night. From then on, the two generals were asked to guard it night and day. Later, Li Shimin thought the two were working hard, so he ordered a painter to paint a full-length portrait of the two guarding the house as usual and hang it at the door. The evil spirits disappeared from then on. If the superiors do something good, the subordinates will imitate it, so the door gods spread to the people. Among the people, the images of door gods include Qin Qiong and Jingde.
4 Categories of Door Gods
Ghost Catching Category:
Door Gods Most of the door gods are Shen Tu, Yu Lei, Golden Rooster and Tiger. It is said that there is a huge peach tree in Taoyudu Mountain, which stretches for 3,000 miles. There is a golden rooster on the top, and two gods below, one is Yu and the other is Liao, holding reed ropes to wait for ominous ghosts and strange birds. It was the first day of the lunar month, the sun was shining on the golden rooster, and the rooster crowed loudly. Then all the chickens in the world crow, and the golden rooster flies down and eats all the evil ghosts. The ghosts are afraid of the golden rooster and all run away, and the world is at peace. It is also said that after the two gods Yulei caught the ghost, they tied it with a reed rope and held it with a tiger. In the old days, after the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Beijingers would stick door gods, decorate peach figures, hang reeds and draw tigers on their doors. Two lights on the left and right sides of the door symbolized tiger eyes to dispel bad luck, suppress evil and exorcise ghosts.
Blessing categories:
In addition to exorcising ghosts and guarding homes, ancient door gods also emerged. People stick the Wen and Wu Gods of Wealth on the left and right doors respectively, which means "the left brings wealth" and "the right brings treasure". The pictures of praying to the door gods are mostly mascots. For example: the longevity star in the painting holds a fairy peach and has a kind smile on his face.
Taoist category:
Most private houses in Beijing do not post them, but they are found in Taoist temples in Beijing. There are two gods at the mountain gate, the green dragon Mengzhang Shenjun on the left and the white tiger supervisor Taoist on the right.
Military generals:
The military generals and door gods are usually posted on the gates facing the street. In order to prevent evil spirits or disaster stars from entering from outside the gate, the door gods provided are usually armed with weapons. Such as: swords, guns, swords and halberds, axes, axes, hooks and forks, whips, maces, hammer claws, clang sticks, abductors, shooting stars, etc.
In the Han Dynasty, Yuntai General, Ma Wu, was highly skilled in martial arts. He was known as the "God of Wu Plague" and "Han Tai Sui" Yao Qi, and was the god of left and right Wumen. The military door gods at the entrance of the Beijing Residential Courtyard are mostly Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, the famous generals of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Qin Qiong, also known as Qin Shubao, was a native of Licheng, Shandong. He was highly skilled in martial arts. He was known as Sai Zhuanzhu, who looked like Meng Chang. He was a Taibao with magic fists and a general with two maces. He defeated six prefectures in Shandong with his maces and rode his horses on both sides of the Yellow River. Yu Chigong, a general in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, was highly skilled in martial arts. He captured three cities by day and eight villages by night. He was named Duke of E for his achievements.
Civil official category:
Goalkeepers In the old days, there were not many civil servants as goalkeepers in China. The most famous ones were Bao Gong and Wen Tianxiang.
Bao Gong, also known as Bao Zheng, was a native of Hefei in Luzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty. Renzong of Song Dynasty was the supervisory censor at that time, and later served as the direct bachelor of Longtuge and the prefect of Kaifeng. He is deeply admired by the people for his integrity, strict law enforcement, and fearlessness of the powerful. Bao Gong has a profound influence among the people. He upholds justice, fights against bullies, vindicates those who have been wronged, and supports the weak. He is the ideal incarnation of the protector of the common people. Although Bao Gong was a civil servant, he was not a pretty boy. On the stage and in many literary works about him, he appeared in front of everyone with a big and upright black face, making him look particularly majestic. Therefore, using Bao Gong as the door god can drive away evil spirits and suppress evil spirits. Those demons and ghosts must be obedient and obedient.
Wen Tianxiang, courtesy name Song Duan and nickname Wenshan, was born in Ji'an, Jiangxi. Lizong of the Song Dynasty became a Jinshi in the fourth year, and successively served as Hunan's Tiexing, Zhiganzhou, and later the Right Prime Minister. He fought bravely against the invaders, but was unfortunately captured and died heroically. Wen Tianxiang left many generous and tragic poems for future generations. His heroic spirit of treating the invaders as enemies, resisting to the end, and being indomitable and fearless. As a goalkeeper, he is very relevant to the country and the people.
The door gods are divided into Wumen God and Wenmen God. Wumen God is usually posted on the door, with the statue of Qin Qiong on the east side and the statue of Yuchi Gong on the bottom on the west side. The literary door gods are posted on the doors of the main hall and side rooms, usually with colorful paintings such as attracting wealth and bringing in five sons. When sticking to the door god, the position of who is on the left and who is on the right is fixed and cannot be changed at will. If the door god is stuck on the wrong side, it is called "sticking against the door god." There is a saying in Surabaya: "It is difficult to stick to the left or right after sticking to the door god." According to folk saying , if you put the wrong position around the door god, everything will go wrong during the year and you will always feel in a dilemma.
5 Other goalkeepers
In the old days, General Wen and Marshal Yue were the goalkeepers in the Suzhou area. "Wu County Chronicles" says: "The door gods are painted in five colors, mostly with images of the two gods Wen and Yue." This "Wen" god may be called Wen Qiao of the Jin Dynasty, or General Wen under Emperor Dongyue, and "Yue" God refers to Yue Fei. There are also the so-called Wenmen God, Wumen God and Blessing Gate God. The Wen Gate God is a portrait of a general civil servant in court uniform; the Wu Gate God, in addition to Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde, also does not specifically refer to a certain military officer; the Blessing Gate God is one who affixes the statues of the three gods of fortune, wealth and longevity to the door. In addition, there are some areas where Zhao Yun, Zhao Gongming, Sun Bin and Pang Juan are the door gods. According to the first volume of Yao Fujun's "Remembering the Casting of the Cauldron" of the Qing Dynasty, Taoism has a dedicated door god, which is called "Yueyang Fengtu Ji" written by Fan Zhineng of the Song Dynasty: "There are two statues of gods in the Laozi Temple, the so-called green dragon and white tiger."...Yao Zongyi of the Ming Dynasty " "Changshu Private Records" describes the temple view: "To the two great gods of the Taoist temple, the left is the Qinglong Mengzhang Shenjun, and the right is the White Tiger Supervisor Shenjun." It should be pointed out that the successive appearance of the above three main door gods is not entirely in the form of metabolism. That is to say, not all the new ones immediately replace the old door gods after they appear (this is only the case in some cases), but more often after the new ones appear, the old ones are still used unchanged, or the new ones and the old ones are worshiped at the same time. As mentioned before, Song Dynasty Chen Yuanliang's "Sui Shi Guang Ji" and Song Gaocheng's "Shi Ji Yuan" both said that the door gods worshiped by the Han people at that time were still Shen Tu and Yu Lei, and Zhong Kui had appeared for a long time. Even in the Qing Dynasty, every New Year's Day, the gods and dragons were still hung in the homes of nobles and relatives.
Eunuch door gods: The door gods are old and young eunuchs. The way to distinguish old and young eunuchs is mainly based on the difference in appearance: the older eunuchs have the marks of time on their faces, while the younger eunuchs have a rounder complexion. In terms of clothing, from top to bottom, they include a round collared shirt, a jade belt, and a python robe, while the feet are worn with "wat head shoes." The two attendants are also different: the older eunuch holds the incense burner in his right hand and a whisk in his left hand; the younger eunuch holds a jade belt in his right hand and a vase of flowers in his left hand. Han folk commonly call the serving utensils held by the two people "incense and flowers".
Gong'e: The two palace maids have their hair tied up in a double bun. There are "hairpins" with peony curly grass patterns tied under the buns, and there are "earrings" with hanging beads under their ears.
In terms of clothing, wearing a "silk" streamer gives people a light feeling; wearing a "straight-collared jacket" with rhombus patterns; wearing a long robe with "waist" and "gird" on the abdomen, "gird" "There are "Palace Strips" and jade pendant tassels hanging underneath. Regarding the utensils she holds, the palace maid on the left holds peach fruit in her left hand and a jade Ruyi in her right hand; the palace maid on the right holds a tall lamp in her right hand and a jade Ruyi in her left hand. The two maids and the old and young eunuchs held the four auspicious utensils that Han people like to use: incense, flowers, lamps and fruits.
Hengha Second General:
The doorkeeper at the left door stretched out one finger and opened his mouth slightly, as if shouting: Ha! The doorkeeper at the right door raised two fingers. It seems to make a hum! sound. They are the famous patron saints "General Hengha".
Jia Guan Jin Lu:
One of the door gods holds a crown, and the other holds a deer. Crown and official are homophones, and deer is a homophone for Lu. The combination creates the meaning of "Jia Guan Jin Lu". mean.
Wealth and honor:
One person holds a peony and the other holds a title. The peony is a metaphor for wealth, and the title is a metaphor for an official title. When combined, it means "wealth and advancement".
Zibanmen:
Evolved into only Zibian, usually poor families use Zibian door gods.
This phenomenon shows that after a custom is formed, it is difficult to change. Another situation is when the old and new door gods are worshiped at the same time, as recorded in Volume 12 of the "Qing Jia Lu" quoted above is the most typical. Li Tiaoyuan of the Qing Dynasty also reflected this situation in "Xinsou Shen Ji·Shen Kao". He said: "In today's secular world, on the first day of the first lunar month and New Year's Day, some people paint civil servants, some calligraphy Shen Tu, Yu Lei, or some paintings The military commander thought that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was ill, so he ordered Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong to guard the gate, and the illness recovered. "These all reflect the diversity of Han folk beliefs, and Taoism only follows folk customs.
Anti-Japanese War Door God:
During the Anti-Japanese War, New Year painting artists kept pace with the times and replaced the traditional door gods with anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians. They created New Year paintings to express the determination of the people across the country to resist the war.