Door god is a kind of God loved by our people. It is said that it can exorcise evil spirits and eliminate disasters. Therefore, every family should stick a door-to-door statue every Spring Festival, hoping that he can bless the happiness and peace of the whole family.
The legend of door god in China has a history of more than 2000 years. A ballad depicts the image of the door god: the door god rides a red horse and sticks it on the door to guard the house. The door god carries a big knife. Big ghosts and little ghosts can't get in. The earliest image of the door god in China was the snail lion. Later, it became the images of rosefinch and majestic dragon, tiger and stubborn cow, which brought happiness wherever they flew. Probably because such a door god is more protective than a small snail lion.
From the ancient legends handed down from generation to generation, ancient people chose the two gods most trusted by the Yellow Emperor as their door gods. One is Shentu, the elder brother, and the other is Yu Lei, the younger brother. They guarded by the ghost gate and caught the evil spirits that did harm to people and fed them to the tiger.
There is a story in journey to the West: when Emperor Taizong was ill, he often heard the old dragon ghost in Jinghe calling. Taizong was afraid and angry. At this time, two generals under his command, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde, volunteered to guard the palace gate for Taizong, and the old dragon ghost never came again. So Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered painters to draw the images of the two generals and hang them on the gate of the palace. From then on, they were safe and sound. When the story spread to the people, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde were respected as door gods, keeping pace with Shentu and Yulei. Later, Tang Minghuang dreamed that a little ghost had stolen his Jade Flute and was about to escape. A big ghost came and caught the little ghost and swallowed it. The emperor asked the origin of the ghost. Knowing that his name was Zhong Kui, he was framed before his death and determined to wipe out all evil spirits after his death. The emperor woke up and asked the painter to draw the famous picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what he saw in his dream, and asked the people to use the image of Zhong Kui to exorcise ghosts. Since then, a pair of gods, a pair of people and a pair of ghosts have enjoyed the position of door god together.
After the Song Dynasty, the theme of auspicious door god was more prominent than that of the Ming Dynasty. Many figures in history and deified legends have also been painted as door gods, such as Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Yue Fei, Mu Guiying, Jiang Ziya, etc. In addition, a large number of door gods depicting Wengong, fairies and Zhang Zi also emerged, such as Ma Gu offering his birthday, tiannv scattered flowers and so on.
The style of sticking door gods is not only popular among the people, but also an important part of New Year activities in the court. No matter how the dynasty changes, the custom of sticking door gods has been followed. In the Qing Dynasty, the image and theme of the Palace door god were relatively fixed, generally divided into four kinds: General (martial door god), blessing God (Wen door god), fairy and doll. All kinds of door gods also represent a certain moral. The Wu door god can drive away ghosts and evil spirits and guard the family; Wenmenshen represents the harvest of grain; The fairy door god symbolizes both happiness and longevity; The lively and lovely doll door god symbolizes good luck.
The door god represents a wish that our people have been looking forward to for thousands of years: auspiciousness, peace, joy and celebration.