Different from today, the ancient door-sticking gods were not a dispensable occasion, but had corresponding rules and systems. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing Dynasty, it is necessary to frame and hang the door god painting for about 40 days every year at the turn of the old and the new, and then hand it over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for collection and careful custody. Door gods do not belong to Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. They are neither officially recognized nor included in the official national sacrifices. Why did the imperial government of Qing Dynasty formulate detailed regulations for this purpose? Tracing back to the source, a similar situation appeared as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the book "The Story of Official Names in Han Dynasty", we can see that it is officially stipulated that the cost of worshipping the door gods is included in a single expenditure, and the offerings are rich and expensive.
Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The ancient gatekeeper once had a tiger.
Why did the ancients attach so much importance to door gods? How did the door god originate and develop? To understand the reason, we should start with the special view of doors in ancient times. According to the superstition of primitive ancestors, violent storms, diseases and plagues in nature are often caused by some evil gods and ghosts. In order to gain a sense of security, the easiest way is to weave firewood foil with grass or branches and put it in the hole, and set up a real door to create a safe and warm small world for yourself. Later, because of a simple door, in the fifth century BC, when the architectural format of China was basically completed, two openable and closable doors appeared. Ancient geomantic theory vividly compared home to a person's mouth and nose, which is closely related to fate and must not be taken lightly. Therefore, the most important thing in building houses in ancient times is to set doors. In the old carpenter's shop, there is a proverb: it is better to build a door than to build ten graves, which means that there are many rules and taboos in setting up a household in Anmen. Besides doing it by hand, we should also burn incense and paper and pray that the door will be closed to prevent evil spirits from sneaking into the house.
It is not enough to have a closed door. Evil spirits are invisible and intangible. For the sake of safety, it is necessary to appease ghosts and gods so that they will not disturb the world. In the ruins of Shang Palace more than 3000 years ago, archaeologists dug many deep pits for burying bones, especially near the door. They are mostly young people, and weapons such as spears and shields are often scattered around them. It is inferred that they were probably the guards at that time and were sacrificed as sacrifices at the Anmen ceremony at that time: scaring ghosts underground with blood, or offering the living to evil gods for protection. The function of this ceremony is similar to the foundation laying ceremony of today's architecture. With the progress of civilization, the number of bloody killing ceremonies in front of the door has decreased, and more witchcraft-colored ways have begun to appear. Building a dragon statue on the roof, hanging evil spirits under the eaves and painting a portrait of a god beast on the door are not only indispensable structural components of ancient buildings, but also a spiritual guarantee. Under the call of the times, the god in charge of the portal was born.
The word "door guest" was first seen in the Book of Rites. According to Zheng Xuan's book: "When you release food, you are also a keeper." The Book of Rites and the Moon Order also records that "the moon worships the door in autumn dreams". The Book of Rites reflects various civilized etiquette in the pre-Qin period. At that time, the emperor was above everything. The so-called "family members" not only paint in the hall, but also paint on the door. What's the painting? According to Zhou Gongdan's History of Li Zhou's Local Officials, historical events "occupy the left of Humen, and unify the DPRK". Shishi is the official name of the Zhou Dynasty, in charge of the three virtues and three products. Humen is the gate of the main road, where Zhou Tianzi works and manages political affairs every day. Painting tigers in such an important place, in addition to showing the majesty of the emperor and deterring the people, still has the vulgar meaning of using tigers to prevent insects and animals from invading.
Han dynasty: the ancestor of the door god was tea base.
According to the literature, the paintings of the door gods in the Zhou Dynasty are not necessarily symmetrical, nor do they necessarily constitute artistic appreciation value, but only for "courage". In fact, since the Zhou Dynasty, from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty, the image of the door god is more symbolic and abstract. There is no specific figure except a bronze man standing at the palace gate in the Qin Dynasty. It was not until after the Eastern Han Dynasty that the personalized keeper was born. This is the top goalkeepers, Shen Tu and Lei Yu. However, exploring their origins is an ancient symbol of evil souls.
Tea is the name of a herbal medicine recorded in the Book of Songs. According to the Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it tastes bitter, has clear medicinal properties, and has the function of clearing phlegm and inducing resuscitation. According to ancient documents, it is a folk custom to hang tea grass on the door to ward off evil spirits since the Xia Dynasty. This may be because the pungent smell of tea grass keeps many insects away. This gives people an illusion that hanging tea grass at the door can avoid plague and prevent the invasion of all diseases. Therefore, people put the word "God" in front of tea, and in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it evolved into the door god Shen Tu.
Another goalkeeper, Lei Yu, is a bit strange. It is said that it originated from an ugly crustacean-snail. Some researchers believe that thunder is hieroglyphics, that is, the shape of three snails placed on the ground. If tea is a kind of sacred grass that is harmful to all insects but not beneficial, then there are still some reasons why it is deified, compared with snails. However, it was this ugly snail that inspired an outstanding ancient engineer. According to legend, when Luban built the city gate, he found it inconvenient to open and close the door after closing it, so he planned to start improving it. Looking around for inspiration, I saw several snails foraging in the puddle. Whenever there is any trouble, I will get into the snail's shell and close the door. Although its body is soft, the power of closing the door is amazing. Inspired by this, Lu Ban created the first pair of bedding heads to take advantage of the implication of closing the door.
The truth of this story is hard to verify, but it has a long history to borrow snails to symbolize the closed door. In the ruins of a Shang Dynasty tomb palace, a large number of snail shells were once found near the city gate. Some studies believe that this is a defensive witchcraft to ensure the closure of the tomb door and the safety of the tomb. In people's daily life at that time, Lei Yu was also a common symbol hanging at the door to ward off evil spirits. The specific shape is to string snail shells and hang them in front of the door.
The God Rabbit in Xia Dynasty, Lei Yu in Shang Dynasty and Humen in Zhou Dynasty encountered another custom of avoiding evil spirits, which brought opportunities for the maturity of ancient cultural relics. The medical book "Fifty-two Faces" unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb records the method of inserting peach branches above the door to exorcise ghosts at that time, and some of the more exquisite ones were carved into dolls with peach wood and hung in front of the door. In ancient times, mahogany was called "the wood afraid of ghosts". The belief of peach wood in exorcising evil spirits has a long history, mostly related to the portal. Dozens of mahogany dolls have been unearthed in Mawangdui, and experts believe that their function is to exorcise ghosts and evil spirits, and to bless the tomb owner to live in the yellow world. This is the physical evidence of the custom of hanging mahogany recorded in the documents of the Western Han Dynasty. A myth in the Eastern Han Dynasty combined these magical artifacts and finally shaped the images of the oldest door gods, shentu and Lei Yu.
According to legend, the world is a mixture of people and ghosts, living together in one place, so people are harassed and suffering by ghosts. So the Yellow Emperor stepped forward, expelled evil spirits and rescued all people from the quagmire. His method is to separate people from ghosts. Humans live in the center of the earth with beautiful scenery and fertile land, while evil spirits are exiled to the surrounding wilderness with high mountains and deep valleys and no vegetation. There is only one passage between the two worlds, located in the northeast of a big peach tree in Dushuo Mountain, for the Yellow Emperor to escort evil spirits. This passage is the only passage for evil spirits to reach heaven on earth, so it is called "the gate of hell". There are two gods under the tree, Tea and Lei Yu, who guard, read and guide all kinds of ghosts day and night. Once an evil spirit tried to invade the world, Er Shen immediately caught it with a reed rope and fed it to two tigers.
This myth first appeared in the book Lun Heng Ding Gui, a scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and he quoted the story in Shan Hai Jing. Later, the books of the Eastern Han Dynasty were recorded and some contents were added. For example, the story of a golden rooster crowing on a peach tree has been added to the book "Reengineering the Integration of Weft Books"; Ying Shao's "vulgar meaning" means that shentu and Lei Yu are two brothers, but they are inseparable.
The task of guarding the gate of hell is so arduous, and the Yellow Emperor trusts the temple so much. Painting a portrait of Er Shen on a folk portal is a perfect way to ward off evil spirits. Shen Tu and Lei Yu's legendary road can be regarded as the opening works of wonderful goalkeeper culture in later generations.
Jin Dynasty, Southern and Northern Dynasties: the door gods of military commanders and lotus flowers.
Today, the rabbit and Lei Yu in the door gods' paintings are mostly in the shape of golden helmets and golden armour. However, judging from the portraits handed down from the Han Dynasty, Er Shen at that time was a cloth image wearing a reed rope and a wide robe and big sleeves. So when did they put on their armor and become Wu Shen? This also starts from the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties. The rubbings of the door gods of the Northern Wei tombs unearthed in Luoyang show us the image of the door gods of the military commanders who were dressed in fine armor at that time: wearing heavy armor with leaves, two round goggles on the chest, kicking soap boots, holding a shield in the left hand and a halberd in the right hand, with a high nose and a square face, thick eyebrows and short moustache, which is very powerful. According to textual research, the pattern on the armor of a military commander is not fiction, but an advanced combat equipment at that time, named Ming Guang Jia. The two protective glasses on the chest need to be polished into mirror brightness by water milling process. In actual combat, it can not only protect the heart, but also reflect sunlight, making the enemy lose combat effectiveness because of dizziness. This kind of armor was extremely expensive, and only the general was prepared to equip it at that time.
Quite puzzling, this kind of armor was actually invented as early as the Three Kingdoms period, when the gods were already very popular. Why don't they see the image of wearing armor? Some people speculate that this may be because the Eastern Han Dynasty and later talked more about highlighting the spirit of ghosts, thinking that only the gods with strange images are strong enough; During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba people were more pragmatic. In the years of war and chaos, ancient immortals were too ethereal, while well-armed generals were more realistic and could bring themselves a real sense of security.
But it is not enough to have excellent equipment. God should be otherworldly in order to gain people's trust. Buddhism was introduced into China from the Han Dynasty, which became quite noticeable in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Many Buddhist elements infiltrated into local art, adding brand-new magic to the ancient door gods.
From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Qi Dynasty, emperors of all dynasties excavated a large number of Buddhist grottoes and carved the images of heavenly kings and warriors as door gods at the door to protect buddhas and bodhisattvas. These stone carvings are magnificent and beautiful, all of which show the superb artistic level that painters and professional craftsmen could reach at that time.
There is no so-called "door god" in Buddhism, only the protector, which is lower than Buddha, Bodhisattva and Lohan. According to Buddhist scriptures, protectors are all people with high martial arts, and their duty is to protect buddhas and bodhisattvas. Many of them were ghosts and goblins who used to wander the rivers and lakes, but after listening to the Buddha's lecture, they were greatly influenced, fully realized and vowed to devote themselves to Buddhism. They like to listen to people recite scriptures. Whether men or women are high or low, as long as he recites the scriptures devoutly, the protector will come to all parts of the world to protect him from infringement.
The introduction of the status of Buddhist protector has brought a brand-new connotation to the ancient door-keeper culture. In the mural of the tomb door in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties unearthed in Dengxian County, Henan Province, two military commanders are wearing helmets and holding swords to guard the door, full of pride, and there is a flying above the figure, which is already a door god painting with Buddhist influence. In the above-mentioned painting of the door gods of General Liang Jia, the lotus in front of the general fills the picture, which adds a touch of Buddhist sacredness to the picture. This is the first Buddhist modeling element in the door god painting.
Tang dynasty: civil servants and military commanders had many tricks.
In the Tang Dynasty, Buddhist art became more sinicized, and there were many kinds of paintings on temples and pagodas, some of which were created by famous artists, such as Duan's Miscellanies of Youyang and Zhang Yanyuan's Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties, which recorded the painters and contents of the pagodas in Chang 'an and Luoyang. Draw beads on the gate to press your hair, and step on the devil's medicine fork (there is holy tea on the base). There are often a pair of embroidered long skirts next to them, handing over the door gods of the ladies. This is the beginning of drawing a warrior at the door and a fairy door god pattern in the inner room. In addition, the door of the kitchen should be painted with the words "God holds delicious food", and the door of the warehouse should also be painted with the words "Hold the bottle of heaven and shed all the treasures". It is said that Buddhism is a kind of practice of risking one's life and forgetting one's death. Why should it be guarded by a door god? This kind of door god painting dispelled the original meaning of Sakyamuni's abdication to become a Buddha, but it bred secular thoughts such as food, gold and silver jewelry pouring into the warehouse.
But the biggest change is the distribution of the roles of the two generals. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the general's gatekeeper was almost identical, with his hair and beard standing upright and eyeing, while in the Tang Dynasty, the gatekeeper was a military commander wearing armor and helmet and a civil servant wearing a hairpin crown. One is violent, the other is gentle, imitating the scene where the emperor ordered civil servants to stand in different classes. This pattern is a great innovation of door-keeper painting in Tang Dynasty. It is full of aesthetic feeling, with one article and one martial art, and one relaxation, which makes the picture full of rhythm and more charming.
However, in the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the style of their own gates could not be arbitrary. The government has strict regulations on this. Big red is a very noble color. Even the houses of princes and nobles must be approved by the emperor before they can be used, otherwise it will lead to death. Yellow is the special color of the gate of the Prime Minister's residence. As for ordinary people's homes, just paint them black. There are also scoring rules for painted decorations on doors. What kind of graphics and colors are used, such as the colored paintings of modern civil servants and military commanders, are absolutely not allowed to be posted on the door. Therefore, all kinds of evil spirits handed down from the Han Dynasty are still popular in the Tang Dynasty. The red wooden board still bears the function of guarding the door, and another mysterious painting symbol has become popular.
In the Tang Dynasty, the practice of painting a tiger on the door of the Han Dynasty was inherited and changed, that is, when painting a tiger, the word "Zi" was written on the tiger's forehead, which was called "the name of ghosts and gods in the underworld, which could stop the furuncle". This custom was first seen in Duan's Miscellaneous Notes of Youyang, and it is said that there were four roles of "Ren Tao, Lusuo, Canger and Tiger" in ancient times. Xanthium sibiricum seems to be a plant. Because it is written vertically, Duan thinks that Xanthium sibiricum has an up-and-down structure and its pronunciation is gradual. The word "Cang" is a statement that later generations spread wrongly and gradually wrote. Zhang Xu's "Xuanshizhi" explained again: "Pei gradually lived in Yishui, and he was good at burrowing. When Taoist Li Jun met Yi, he wrote a letter to Duke Cui of Boling, saying, "It's no use being a ghost now. At that time, the ruling and opposition parties gradually heard this sentence, but did not judge the so-called, but actually wrote their words on the door to create a special place. "As Zhang Xu said, people mistook Pei, who made ghosts, for Pei's ears, but actually wrote a book on the tiger's head, thus creating a new kind of goalkeeper painting.
In ancient times, there were two brothers, Shen Cha and Lei Yu, who caught ghosts and fed them to tigers. Zhong Kui, another breeder, was added in the Tang Dynasty, which saved the plot of feeding tigers. Since then, the ugly man's door god painting has appeared. The original author is the great painter Wu Daozi. There is no such thing as Zhong Kui, because Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, visited Mount Li and was ill in bed because of insomnia. In his dreams, there are always children crying and suffering. One day, when I was upset, I suddenly saw a GREAT GHOST falling from the sky, tearing at the children one by one with his feet, and then catching a child. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty hurried forward to thank him and found that GREAT GHOST was Zhong Kui, the ugly top scholar who was disqualified from entering the palace a few days ago because of his ugly appearance. He died after hitting a column. Zhong Kui explained: The Jade Emperor sympathized with his injustice and appointed him as a full-time cloak officer for catching ghosts in Yin and Yang. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty made a counter-offer to Wu Daozi, told him his dream and asked Wu Daozi to paint his portrait. Wu Daozi "If you see it, make a plan to make progress." . Looking up for a long time, I caressed him and said,' This is your dream and mine, why not?' "
The above records began in Shen Kuo's Meng Qian Bi Tan in the Song Dynasty. According to Shen Kuo's writing, Zhong Kui in old Wu Daozi was forbidden, and the front was inscribed by the Tang people. Zhong Kui in the Tang Dynasty was written for the purpose of "exile at the end of the year" and made it known to the world. In the Song Dynasty, block printing was not only banned in the middle of the year, but also given to court officials, and was also printed and sold in large quantities by the people, which created the most different door gods.
Zhong Kui is neither a monk nor a Taoist priest, nor an official nor a civilian. He is in rags, looks terrible and is full of something congenial, but he is loved by painters and painters of all ages. Most painters who try to paint Zhong Kui are upright people, or their lives are very rough. Just like those oppressed folk painters, they swore by Zhong Kui to get rid of the hatred of the evil spirits in the world and drew Zhong Kui to vent their anger.
Song Dynasty: Zhao Jiwei.
The Northern Song Dynasty ended the situation of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the characters' lives were stable, and the production was gradually improved, especially with the development of papermaking and printing, so that the door god paintings began to be printed in large quantities and spread all over the country. Father Meng introduced the most desirable city life in the world at that time in Dream of China in Tokyo, which described the life of princes and nobles and lower-class civilians in Kaifeng, the capital of song dynasty. There are packed bookstores and theaters, crowded teahouses and hotels, fresh melons and fruits at four o'clock, and various popular folk festivals and customs. "On the Lunar New Year in 12, the door gods and Zhong Xu were printed and sold on the street ..." This shows that in China in the tenth century, folk carving and printing of door gods have become very common and deeply loved by working people.
At this time, the third emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty created a pair of door gods: Zhao Yun and Wu Zixu. One of these two men was a white horse general in the Three Kingdoms period, and the other was a loyal minister who died tragically in the Warring States period. How did they come together and become guardians? This also starts with a story told by a storyteller in the Song Dynasty.
Sacrificial activities were held in Wu Temple. Some ministers told me that Wu Zixu flogged the body of the king of Chu, and Zhao Yun publicly reprimanded Liu Bei's wife. All these are outrageous frauds. It is not appropriate for two people to enjoy incense sacrifice in Wu Temple.
Song Zhenzong mused that although they have this shortcoming, they are also a generation of heroes. As a compromise, the statues of the two were removed and placed at the gate of the Wu Temple for sacrifice. This may mislead the media in the capital of song dynasty at that time, thinking that the emperor added them as the door gods of Wu temple. Folks began to follow suit, so these two ancient heroes, who had nothing to do with each other, joined hands to join the door gods.
For the capital of song dynasty paper painting shop, the door god painting at the end of the year is a major event with huge potential market. Theoretically, there are as many doors as there are people, and there should be a door god painting on each door. Of course, this is just the wishful thinking of the owner of the painting shop, because the competition is fierce. During the Northern Song Dynasty, commerce was developed and there were many shops, but painting and carving were time-consuming and laborious. Once printed, there will be thousands of copies, and in case they can't be sold, the loss is not small. The mass commodity nature of the door god painting makes it a mirror reflecting the life of the people in the Song Dynasty, which has a strong color of the times. If you want to be a best seller, you must have the most attractive selling point and grasp the popular vane. In the first year of Jingkang in the Northern Song Dynasty, a special general door god was popular among the residents in the capital of Song Dynasty. It is neither Zhong Xu, the goddess of protection in Buddhism, but the general appearance of the northern enemy Jin Guo. At that time, the literature recorded: "The door god was resurrected many times, wearing a tiger helmet, while the palace door was decorated with clay gold."
This year coincided with the year before the Jingkang Rebellion. Border crossings are often in a state of emergency, and soldiers are often outnumbered, which has dealt a heavy blow to Song Jun. The progress of the war is a topic of concern to the citizens of the capital of song dynasty. This nomadic people caters to the focus of attention at present, so the sales volume is excellent. Many years later, a man of insight in the Southern Song Dynasty recalled this ominous sign and cried bitterly, saying that "the tiger-headed man is a traitor, and the gold ornaments are outside the door", which is indeed a harbinger of national subjugation.
Door God in Yuan Dynasty: Four Newly Added Children in Restaurant
The ruler of the Yuan Dynasty was a Mongolian. They lived in a tent in the vault, and there was almost no written information about the paintings of the door gods. However, there were many wine shops in the Yuan Dynasty, which was related to the fact that the emperor was a big drinker. Wine shops are usually decorated with gorgeous pictures of door gods to attract those who drink and drink well. "Analysis of the Unknown Names in the Book of Jin" records: "In the wine trough, there are four paintings by the door: spring, spring, spring and spring. Protect it with red paint ... and paint Han Zhongli and Tang as doorsteps ... "These four sons were nobles in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. They valued money and were good at drinking, so they painted red paint railings at the door to protect them. After Lv Dongbin became immortal, the "Three Drunken Yueyang Tower" was undoubtedly Brewmaster. Zhong Liquan met Lv Dongbin in a hotel. Doesn't he drink? After the Yuan Dynasty established a metropolis, countless domestic and foreign businessmen came to Beijing for trade, but few of them knew Chinese characters, so they didn't know what the businessmen on the street sold. Drawing four children and immortal figures such as Lv Dongbin Han Zhongli on the door head and forehead is actually the first step for the door god to add themes and play an advertising role.
Because Genghis Khan believed in Quanzhen religion, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty highly praised Taoism, and Taoist views increased. The mountain gate was carved with statues, following the practice of Buddhist temples and adding two statues of Qinglong and Baihu. Qinglong and Baihu are "the four spirits of heaven are in the four directions", Qinglong and Baihu are in the east and west, and the Taoist gate is in the south, so the two spirits are door gods. Er Shen's name can be found in Yao's Records of Changshu in the Ming Dynasty: "Guan Shanmen Er Shen, the left is the dragon god, and the white tiger is the god of protecting the army". Up to now, the remnants of the murals of the dragon white tiger gate god can still be seen around the Guanshanmen, an ancient road in the Yuan Dynasty in Hongdong, Shanxi. As for the source of Meng Zhang and prison soldiers, it may be the same as that of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. They are all drawn up by people, and there is no definite basis.
Ming dynasty: historical celebrities are full of doors.
In the early Ming Dynasty, social development was stable, the economy was prosperous, the industrial and commercial development scene was far better than that of the previous dynasties, and drawing and printing also advanced by leaps and bounds. At that time, from the Forbidden City to towns and villages, people used door gods to decorate New Year pictures and welcome the Spring Festival every year except New Year's Eve, which not only beautified people's homes and added folk culture, but also influenced literature and other arts to produce new works with the theme of door gods.
One of the characteristics of the paintings of door gods in the Ming Dynasty is that ancient celebrities became officials, such as Zhao Zixu in the former dynasty and Sun Simiao, the drug king in the Tang Dynasty, the most famous of which is Weichi Gong, who are famous all over the country and have a long-standing reputation. In the New Year pictures of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, according to The Journey to the West's records, Weichi Gong and Qin Baoshu held melons and axes, and they were neatly dressed: "Wearing golden helmets and armor Long Lin, they protected the heart and reflected auspicious clouds. The lion was quite clasped and embroidered with colorful clouds. This one is afraid of stars, and that one reflects the moonlight floating around. He used to be a hero and an old minister, but he has only been a servant for thousands of years and a door god for generations. " Why did they become door gods? Is it because of their martial arts chinese odyssey, or do they happen to be officials in the same dynasty and have close personal relationships? To find out the true story of the first God in the world, we need to start with the unique image of Li Shimin in the folk.
Emperor Taizong was a wise emperor. He not only built his own country, but also initiated the rule of chastity which was praised by later generations. He is a model of a wise emperor, but in folk stories, Emperor Taizong is also the biggest trouble. He killed too many people in order to conquer the world. In order to seize the throne, he even killed his own brother and coerced his father Tang Gaozu to abdicate. These are recorded in the history books and cannot be perfunctory. Many stories of Emperor Taizong were born from this hard injury. The earliest version of this story even appeared decades after the death of Wu Zetian. Emperor Taizong, who was found in Dunhuang, went to the underworld to write a book, which is the core of the story. He paid close attention to killing his brother, met Yan, and was repeatedly questioned by the judge. Finally, he was put back to death in exchange for the throne being ordered by heaven, and created a prosperous era for the benefit of all the people. At this time, in the story outline of the Tang Dynasty, there was no keeper like Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong. In the folk stories of Song and Yuan Dynasties, Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong were listed as door gods.
In the Ming Dynasty, the story of the two generals became like this: Emperor Taizong once suffered from a strange disease. At night, he always dreamed that ghosts were climbing beams and bricks in the palace, which kept him awake for many days. Seeing that Emperor Taizong's face was gloomy and his clothes were getting wider and wider, two old ministers volunteered to stand guard for the emperor. When the veteran was on duty, the ghost was frightened and Emperor Taizong was able to sleep peacefully. After three days of night shift, Emperor Taizong felt sorry for the two old ministers, so he asked Master Dan Qing to draw detailed portraits of the two generals and hang them at the door of the bedroom. Ghosts can't tell the truth from the truth when they see it, and they dare not harass them in the door.
Although Tang Taizong's merits and demerits offset each other, in the eyes of ordinary people, killing his brother and threatening his father is an inseparable knot in any case. Therefore, this generation of wise kings often become emperors tortured by conscience in storytellers' stories, and they are constantly harassed by ghosts, making him the object most in need of protection. Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong happened to have the glorious experience of playing the savior on the battlefield, which makes the story of the ghost-catching savior at Gongmen more convincing.
Another reason for choosing them lies in the inherent law of the door god painting art. A black face, a white face, a violent temperament, a gentleness and tenderness, which is a classic paradigm formed since the Tang Dynasty. In history, Weichi Gong was a famous player in the semi-finals of the Western Regions, so he was a general with a face like the bottom of a pot, a garlic nose, leopard eyes, a vertical eyebrow and a full face of beard. Qin Qiong's evaluation of people in real history is not good, but in novels such as Sui and Tang Dynasties, his personality is generous and gentle, much like Liu Bei, a white-faced general, which is really appropriate.
The story of the emperor always attracts the audience, not to mention the fragile emperor. A generation of conservative and tortured wise kings, two famous founding fathers, an excellent partner with one black and one white and one skill. The legendary course of Qin Qiong Weichi Gong being elected as the best goalkeeper is another classic of God-making movement.
There are many themes about door gods in Ming Dynasty operas. For example, in the zaju "The Gatekeeper", the author used the New Year to change the customs of the gatekeeper. The main idea of the plot is simple. The new goalkeeper came, but the old goalkeeper refused to step aside. Zhong Xu, Chef Jun, Hehe, Zigu and other immortals tried to persuade him in many ways. Finally, he had to ask the nine-day supervisor to send the old goalkeeper away. On the one hand, this comedy satirizes those officials who are greedy for power and refuse to give way, on the other hand, it also reflects that the paintings of door gods are torn to pieces and turned to ashes every year, and there is no god at all. At this point, it can be said that the custom of worshipping the portal has gradually disappeared.
Qing dynasty: door gods should also keep up with the trend
After the Qing soldiers entered the customs, Emperor Taizong and Huang Taiji actively absorbed Chinese culture. By the time of Emperor Kangxi, the customs in the middle of the palace followed the system of the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is a prosperous period of folk art, which is reflected in the wooden door-keeper paintings, that is, there are many workshops, high output and many varieties of door-keeper paintings. There are no brothers in the paintings of door gods in Qing dynasty, and both of them are mainly historical novel characters, which are different from the previous paintings of general with melon and axe. According to Liu Jixing's textual research, folk gods also include Taoist priests burning lanterns in the Romance of the Gods, Sun Yi in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Han Xin in Xiao He in the Western Han Dynasty, Wu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wen Qiao in the Jin Dynasty, Xie, the founding marksman of the Tang Dynasty, his friend Wang Bodang, Jiao Zan in the Northern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei Han Shizhong, an anti-gold hero, and likui jy Huarong and Wang Bo in Water Margin. The characters in the above historical novels are all door gods in pairs, all belonging to the same dynasty, and all have corresponding storylines. In addition, there are scenes in which women will become door gods, such as Liu Jinding (Song of Three Drums in Southern Tang Dynasty), Mu and Qin Liangyu.
Door gods are different all over the country. For example, the door gods worshipped by Henan people are Zhao Yun and Ma Chao of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period. The door gods worshipped by Hebei people are Ma Chao and Ma Dai, while those worshipped in northwest Hebei are Xue and Gaisu. Shaanxi people worship Sun Bin and Pang Juan, Taihe Yang. Most of the posts posted in Hanzhong are Meng Liang and Jiao Zan. The most interesting thing is that the door gods worshipped in Miyun area in the north of Beijing are actually husband and wife-Yang Zongbao and Mu Guiying.
After the mid-Qing Dynasty, the development of drama provided strong content support for the door god painting. At that time, drama was the most advanced art, and drama stars were sought after by many fans like today's movie stars. After that, the door god's painting art did not fall, and he also joined this special fashion chase. At that time, painting shops often hired famous painters with high salaries to pay special attention to the major theaters in Beijing. Once a famous artist performs a new play, he immediately draws a wonderful scene and sends it back to the painting shop for printing. In a few days, people can buy the latest drama door gods in the market, and the operation process is very similar to today's entertainment news reports. Therefore, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Fochadun said in "Yanjing Age": "Door gods all carry swords, or are called Shen Tu, Lei Yu, Qin Qiong and Jingdezhen, but in fact they are not but they are called door gods."