A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
On the Matter of Menshen — 門神 — the Door Gods
They are called Menshen — 門神.
Men — 門 — means door. Gate. Entrance.
Shen — 神 — means god. Deity.
Together — 門神 — the Door Gods. The Gate Deities.
They guard the entrance.
They stand on either side of the door.
They face each other.
They do not turn away from each other.
If they are placed back to back, it is considered bad luck — 凶兆 — xiong zhao.
They keep what is harmful outside.
They keep what is good inside.
They are always depicted in pairs.
One door. Two gods.
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On the oldest record.
Sacrifices to a door spirit — 門神 — are recorded in the Li Ji — 禮記 — the Book of Rites.
The Book of Rites is one of the Five Classics — 五經 — Wu Jing — of Confucianism.
It records the rituals of the Zhou dynasty — 周朝 — Zhou Chao.
This is the oldest verified written mention of door god worship.
The door spirit in the Book of Rites is not yet a pair.
It is not yet given a name.
It is simply the spirit of the door.
The concept of a pair of door gods developed later.
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On the first named door gods. Shenshu — 神荼 — and Yulü — 鬱壘.
The first named door gods are Shenshu — 神荼 — and Yulü — 鬱壘.
The oldest account of them appears in the Lunheng — 論衡 — Discourses Weighed in the Balance — written by Wang Chong — 王充 — who died approximately 97 of the common era.
Wang Chong quotes a passage attributed to the Shanhaijing — 山海經 — the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
The passage states: two gods named Shenshu and Yulü stand upon a giant peach tree — 大桃樹 — da taoshu — that twists and coils as far as three thousand li — 三千里 — san qian li.
The tree stands on Mount Dushuo — 度朔山 — Dushuo Shan — in the middle of the eastern sea.
The tree's vast branches form the northeastern gate — 東北鬼門 — Dongbei Gui Men — through which all ghosts and spirits pass.
Shenshu and Yulü stand at this gate.
They inspect every spirit that passes through.
When they find a harmful ghost — 惡鬼 — e gui — they bind it with ropes made from reeds — 葦索 — wei suo.
They feed the bound ghost to tigers — 老虎 — laohu — waiting beneath the tree.
The tigers eat the ghosts.
The harmful spirits are destroyed.
The passage in Wang Chong's Lunheng attributes this account to the Shanhaijing.
However the passage is not found in any surviving version of the Shanhaijing.
The attribution to the older text is disputed by scholars.
This is recorded here honestly.
The account is recorded in the first and second centuries of the common era.
Its origin before that cannot be confirmed.
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On peachwood.
Because Shenshu and Yulü lived in the peach tree, peachwood — 桃木 — tao mu — acquired the power to repel demons.
The Yellow Emperor — 黃帝 — Huangdi — is said to have ordered his subjects to paint Shenshu and Yulü on their doors.
He also ordered reed ropes and images of tigers to be placed with the paintings.
This practice gave rise to the peachwood charm — 桃符 — taofu.
The taofu were thin planks of peachwood — four to five cun wide and two to three chi long.
The name Yulü was inscribed on the left plank.
The name Shenshu was inscribed on the right plank.
Images of deities and mythical beasts were added.
Spring greetings and protective words were also added.
The boards were replaced every New Year.
The peachwood boards were eventually replaced by paper.
They became the precursor of the modern spring couplets — 春聯 — chunlian — still posted on Chinese doors today.
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On the Han dynasty depictions.
By the Han dynasty — 漢朝 — Han Chao — Shenshu and Yulü were commonly depicted as warriors in heavy ancient armor.
They carried weapons.
Shenshu carried a battle axe — 戰斧 — zhanfu.
Yulü carried a mace — 狼牙棒 — langyabang.
Their images were painted or carved into peachwood and attached to doors.
This is the period when the visual tradition of the warrior door gods was established.
Before this, door god worship had been primarily textual and ritual.
After this, door gods became images.
The image has been on Chinese doors ever since.
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On Emperor Taizong of Tang — 唐太宗 — Tang Taizong.
Emperor Taizong — 太宗 — Taizong — reigned from 626 to 649 of the common era.
He was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao.
He was a great military commander.
He had killed many people in the wars that established the Tang dynasty.
He began to suffer nightmares — 噩夢 — emeng.
In his nightmares he saw the ghosts — 鬼 — gui — of those he had killed in battle.
The ghosts howled at him.
The ghosts threw bricks at him.
He woke in a cold sweat every night.
His ministers reported his condition.
His health began to deteriorate.
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On the Dragon King of the Jing River — 涇河龍王 — Jing He Long Wang.
This is the fuller account of what disturbed Taizong.
It is recorded in the Journey to the West — 西遊記 — Xiyou Ji — Chapter Ten.
The Dragon King of the Jing River — 涇河龍王 — made a bet with the fortune-teller Yuan Shoucheng — 袁守誠.
Yuan predicted the rain for the next day.
The Dragon King controlled rain.
He believed he would win the bet.
The Jade Emperor commanded the Dragon King to follow Yuan's prediction.
The Dragon King disobeyed.
He won the bet.
For this disobedience he was sentenced to death.
Wei Zheng — 魏徵 — a senior minister in Taizong's court — was commanded by the Jade Emperor to execute the Dragon King.
The Dragon King begged Taizong for help.
Taizong agreed to save him.
He summoned Wei Zheng to play go — 圍棋 — weiqi — with him all morning.
His intention was to keep Wei Zheng occupied past noon.
The execution was scheduled for noon.
Wei Zheng grew tired during the long game.
He fell asleep.
Taizong believed he had succeeded.
A short time later a dragon's head fell from the sky.
Wei Zheng woke up.
He told Taizong: while I slept, my spirit left my body and went to heaven to carry out the Jade Emperor's order.
The Dragon King was dead.
His spirit was angry.
He haunted Taizong every night after that.
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On Qin Shubao — 秦叔寶 — and Yuchi Gong — 尉遲恭.
When Taizong could no longer sleep, his two loyal generals came forward.
Their names were Qin Shubao — 秦叔寶 — and Yuchi Gong — 尉遲恭.
They volunteered to stand guard outside his bedchamber every night.
They wore their full battle armor — 戰甲 — zhanjia.
They held their weapons.
They stood at the door all night.
They did not sleep.
Taizong slept.
The Dragon King's ghost did not dare approach.
After several nights Taizong felt guilty.
He saw that his generals were exhausted.
He could not allow them to stand guard indefinitely.
He summoned the greatest painters in the empire.
He commanded them to paint the portraits of Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong.
He commanded that the portraits be painted in full battle armor.
He commanded that they be painted with fierce expressions.
He commanded that they be attached to the gates of his palace.
The painters obeyed.
The portraits were attached.
The Dragon King's ghost saw the painted generals.
It was deceived.
It believed the generals were still standing guard.
It did not dare approach.
Taizong slept peacefully.
The practice spread.
Taizong's subjects copied what he had done.
They painted Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong on their own doors.
From that time, these two generals became the most widely depicted Menshen.
This account is preserved in Journey to the West and in records of the Tang dynasty.
The historical records confirm that Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong were real generals under Taizong.
The door god legend surrounding them developed in the late Northern Song period.
This distinction is noted.
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On Qin Shubao — 秦叔寶 — in life.
His full name is Qin Qiong — 秦瓊.
Shubao — 叔寶 — is his courtesy name.
He was a general of the Tang dynasty.
He was celebrated for his battlefield prowess.
He was celebrated for his absolute loyalty to Taizong.
He fought in the campaigns that established the Tang dynasty.
He is depicted on the right door — 右門 — you men — in the paired portrait tradition.
He holds a gold mace — 金锏 — jin jian — in his hand.
His face is light-colored — 面如白玉 — mian ru baiyu — like white jade.
His expression is stern.
He wears full battle armor.
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On Yuchi Gong — 尉遲恭 — in life.
His courtesy name is Jingde — 敬德.
He was also a general of the Tang dynasty.
He was celebrated for his dark complexion — 面如黑炭 — mian ru heitan — face like black charcoal.
He was celebrated for his ferocity in battle.
He is depicted on the left door — 左門 — zuo men — in the paired portrait tradition.
He holds a steel whip — 鋼鞭 — gangbian — in his hand.
His expression is fierce.
He wears full battle armor.
Together with Qin Shubao he forms the most recognized pair of door gods in Chinese culture.
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On the appearance of the two generals.
They always face each other — 面對面 — mian dui mian.
Qin Shubao on the right.
Yuchi Gong on the left.
One light-faced. One dark-faced.
One with a mace. One with a whip.
They are always in full armor.
Their armor is decorated with dragons and clouds.
Their expressions are fierce.
They are not calm guardians.
They are active warriors who have chosen to stand at this door.
They stand because they choose to stand.
That choice is the source of their power.
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On the three types of Menshen.
The sources record three distinct types of Menshen.
The first type: Military Door Gods — 武門神 — Wu Menshen.
They are warriors. Generals. Protectors against evil, demons, and those who wish the household harm.
Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong are the most common military door gods.
Other generals are also used in different regions and periods.
In Xinxiang — 新鄉 — in Henan province — generals of the Three Kingdoms period — 三國時代 — San Guo Shidai — including Zhao Yun — 趙雲 — and Ma Chao — 馬超 — were depicted as door gods.
In Hanzhong — 漢中 — in Shaanxi province — Sun Bin — 孫臏 — the strategist of the Warring States period — was depicted as a door god.
The military door gods protect against outside threats.
The second type: Civil Door Gods — 文門神 — Wen Menshen.
They are depicted as scholars and officials.
They carry scrolls, ruyi scepters, or symbols of luck and wealth.
They do not protect against demons.
They attract blessings — 福 — fu — wealth — 財 — cai — and good fortune — 吉祥 — jixiang — into the household.
Some civil door gods are depicted as chubby infants — 胖娃娃 — pang wawa — holding fish or other symbols of abundance.
The third type: Temple Door Gods — 廟門神 — Miao Menshen.
These are deities associated with the specific god worshipped within the temple.
They are not generals or scholars.
They are divine servants of the temple's principal deity.
The Azure Dragon — 青龍 — Qinglong — is commonly found at Taoist temple gates.
The Four Heavenly Kings — 四大天王 — Si Da Tianwang — are found at Buddhist temple gates.
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On the single door god.
When a door god is affixed to a single door rather than a paired gate, different gods are used.
Wei Zheng — 魏徵 — the minister who executed the Dragon King while asleep — is used alone on single doors.
Zhong Kui — 鍾馗 — the demon queller — is also used alone on single doors.
Both are recorded as single-door gods in verified accounts of Menshen.
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On the peachwood tradition and the spring couplets.
The old peachwood boards inscribed with Shenshu and Yulü's names were replaced every New Year.
Paper replaced peachwood over time.
The paper inscriptions evolved into the spring couplets — 春聯 — chunlian.
The spring couplets are red paper banners hung on either side of the door.
They carry poetic wishes for the new year.
They replaced the old names of the door gods in function.
The door god portraits replaced the old names in image.
Both traditions descend from the same source.
The peach tree. The two brothers. The reed ropes. The tigers.
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On the rule of facing.
The door gods must face each other.
This is not merely aesthetic.
It is functional.
If they face the same direction, they are not guarding the entrance together.
They are guarding separately.
The gap between their vision is the gap through which evil enters.
If they face each other, the entrance is covered completely.
Nothing passes between them without being seen by both.
This is why back-to-back placement is considered bad luck.
It is not superstition.
It is logic.
Two guards facing inward protect no one.
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On the replacement at New Year.
The door god portraits are replaced every Chinese New Year — 農曆新年 — Nong Li Xin Nian.
The old portraits are taken down.
New portraits are put up.
The new portraits are fresh. Unfaded. Unworn.
The guardians are renewed.
The protection of the household is renewed.
The replacement of door god portraits is one of the standard New Year preparations alongside cleaning the house, paying debts, and welcoming Zao Jun back to the kitchen.
Friends and family give each other door god posters as New Year gifts.
The gift says: I wish your home to be protected this year.
END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN