Yijue Sunmou Before the Tang Dynasty, door gods were all gods until these two generals became door gods.

According to traditional customs, every family will be busy on New Year's Eve. Buy New Year's goods, write couplets, and choose New Year pictures of the door god. On New Year's Eve, you should post couplets and paste them on the door god to pray for the coming year. Nowadays, the "New Year flavor" is much lighter. No wonder the movie "Little Doorkeeper" at the beginning of the year attracted everyone's attention. Its storyline made people laugh and cry: the famous door gods Shentu and Lei Yu -, in fact, faced "lay-off" and had to come to the human world to find jobs.

The film's refreshing perspective makes it enjoyable and funny, but also a little sentimental. Are these traditional customs doomed to fail in today's era of rapid economic and technological development?

In fact, the door god has a very long history. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, door gods appeared in people's lives. For thousands of years, it has accompanied the Chinese people through every Spring Festival. It’s just that some changes happened to the door god later. The protagonist of the door god changed from a fairy to a real life character. There were brave heroes; loyal ministers; resourceful advisers; in the history of old Beijing, there were even "six gods of the house" in charge of the house. Many details in life, no matter what kind of door god, people worship in order to wish a better new year.

When the immortal guardian is carved on peach wood.

Since ancient times, our country has had the custom of posting door gods on doors during the Spring Festival. Door God, whose original meaning is "door god", originated from ancient nature worship. At that time, people believed that everything related to daily life, such as doors, stoves, beds, etc., had gods. at home. In the eyes of the ancients, the entrance and exit of the main entrance occupies an important position in the entire house. Therefore, in ancient times, the door was the first of the five sacrifices, and later evolved into the door god.

According to historical records, the "door worship" activity appeared in the Zhou Dynasty and was an extremely important ceremony. From the emperor to the common people, everyone must respect the door god.

In the legend of door gods, the legend of Shen Tu and Lei Yu has been circulating among the people for a long time. There are records in books such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "General Meanings of Customs", "Zhongxu Weishu Collection", and "The Encyclopedia of Searching Gods for the Origin and Origin of Three Religions".

There is such a description in 2000: "There is a big peach tree in Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea, which stretches for three thousand miles. Its inconspicuous branches are called Guimen Pass in the northeast, and ghosts come and go. Yes, two The gods, one is called Shen Tu and the other is Lei Yu, the master is referring to those who attract evil spirits. It is said that there is a sacred mountain "Dushuo Mountain" in the East China Sea. There is a particularly big peach tree on Dushuo Mountain. This big peach tree stretches for three thousand miles. In the northeast direction where the branches extend outward, there is a "ghost door", which is the door for ghosts to enter and exit. The two gods who guard the gate of ghosts, one named Shen Tu and the other named Lei Yu, prevent harmful ghosts from entering people's homes.

In addition, there are some legends that describe these two door gods in more detail: the southwest gate is called the "Gate of Gods" and is guarded by Shentu. Whenever an evil ghost came into the mountain to steal peaches, Shen Tu would cut its neck with a peach-skin sword, pierce its gills with a peach branch, and throw the evil ghost into the sea to feed the dragon. The northeast gate is called "Ghost Gate" and is guarded by Lei Yu. If a hungry ghost is found stealing food from a tree, it will be tied up with a reed rope, shot with a peach arc, and thrown into the mountains to feed the tigers. The two door gods were each assisted by ten strong men, and the evil spirits fled away when they saw them.

The two brothers Shentu and Lei Yu are gods who exorcise evil spirits, so their images are naturally not kind. There is a Nian painting with portraits of Shen Tu and Lei Yu. The two gods sit under a peach tree, shirtless, with tiger beards, horns on their heads, and a peach wood sword in their hands. He looks fierce. This "ferocious" image is obviously imagined by people.

From fairy tales such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", we can find that people at that time had another custom: sticking peach trees. The ancients believed that peach wood could ward off evil spirits and exorcise ghosts. Write symbols on mahogany wood to form a spell; polish the mahogany wood into a sword, which is a mahogany sword to ward off evil spirits and subjugate demons. Lost text

Later, people used to write the names of Shentu and Lei Yu on a red board and hang them at the door. This is the "hanging peach charm". Fu Tao changes every year. Wang Anshi, a poet of the Song Dynasty, wrote in "The Encyclopedia of Searching the Gods from the Origins of the Three Religions": "The sound of firecrackers is a year old, and the spring breeze is warm. Thousands of households always replace old peaches with new ones." The appearance of the hanging peach charm is also related to the appearance of another pair of door gods in the Tang Dynasty. This will be described in detail later.

Going back to the legend of Tie Shen, since most of the buildings at that time had wooden doors, no real objects were left. We can only see the images of the two gods from the carvings of Han Dynasty tombs. However,

Cai Yong, a contemporary scholar of Zheng Xuan, also recorded the custom of sticking to the door god in "Sou Shen Ji": "When you are old, you will draw a tea castle and hang a reed rope to ward off evil spirits.

"In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the custom of door gods has become popular among the people. Zongba's "Yuan Ri" of the Southern Dynasties said: "At the age of Dan, two gods are painted around the door, left and right, commonly known as door gods. "

Unfortunately, due to the frequent wars between the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty after the Eastern Han Dynasty, the custom of "thick burial" was abandoned by the rulers of that dynasty in order to prevent tomb robberies. Therefore, in the tombs of this period, It is difficult to find the image of the door god. In addition, most of the buildings at that time were made of wood, and there was basically no image of the door god until the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

The founding general of the Tang Dynasty became a new figure. Door gods.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the development of society, "thick burials" became popular again. Even the emperors directly "cut mountains into tombs", and the tombs of some nobles were also quite grand. The paintings or sculptures also indirectly provide us with relevant information about door gods.

Most of the door gods in the Tang Dynasty were warriors or Buddhist statues. In the later period of development, there were examples of palace maids serving as door gods. The images of door gods in this period were more life-like and personified. During this period, the two most common images of door gods in the future were born.

Those who are familiar with history. Everyone knows that they are both generals under Tang Taizong Li Shimin. They have made great contributions on the battlefield. How did these two people become "door gods"? The Ming Dynasty novel "Book of Rites and Mourning Clothes" and the Qing Dynasty novel "Doctrine" tell the story of two generals who "transformed" into door gods: Tang Taizong was haunted by evil spirits because he killed too many people during his ascension to the throne. Every night there was the sound of bricks and tiles being thrown, as well as the sounds of fooling around and crying. Tang Taizong couldn't sleep at night. When his general Wei Chigong heard about this, he stepped forward and said, "The establishment of the country has killed countless people. Why are you afraid of ghosts?" Qin followed closely and said, "Your Majesty, relax. Tonight I and Jing De guarded the palace gate to see if he was invisible." So the two generals guarded the palace gate for the emperor that night, and sure enough, the night was peaceful.

The heroic posture of the two generals is described as follows: "Long Lin wears a golden helmet and iron armor. The breastplate is full of auspicious clouds, hugged by lions, and embroidered with colorful clouds. This red-phoenix eye is afraid of the stars in the sky. , that ring eye reflects the electric moonlight. He was once a hero and an old official, but he has been called a domestic servant for thousands of years

After all, novels are novels. As for when the two generals became door gods, history books. There are no specific records. In the tombs of the Beiping kings in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the images of Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde were arranged in the "door". It can be speculated that during the Five Dynasties, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde were accepted by the nobles as door gods. Gradually spread to the people. As the plot of the novel "Jingchu Age" became popular, the joke in this paragraph gradually evolved into "facts". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people gradually posted portraits of He and Qin on their doors. It has become a custom. Lu Gu's "Journey to the West" of the Qing Dynasty has a precise record: "The door god changes at night. Draw popular portraits of Qin Dynasty and Qin Dynasty, print them on paper in color, and paste them up in small households. ”

What’s interesting is that in history, the two generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde were indeed portrayed in the imperial edicts of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, but they were not depicted as “Jinyiwei” as in the mythical stories. The identity is posted at the palace gate, but is kept in the Lingyan Pavilion. The Lingyan Pavilion is a special place for storing portraits of heroes of the Tang Dynasty.

The Ziguang Pavilion was an important place for national leaders to meet with foreign guests, and it was also used during the Qianlong period. The same function. At that time, Emperor Qianlong collected 280 portraits of heroes who helped Emperor Qianlong achieve "unparalleled martial arts". However, after the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, most of these portraits were lost in China. In the Tianjin Museum, these two paintings have become museum treasures.

Zhong Kui and Wei Zheng guard the back door.

In addition to Qin's marriage, another woman was born in the Tang Dynasty. The image of the door god: Zhong Kui. This door god is also known as the "Ghost Hunting Door God". Coincidentally, Wu Daozi also dreamed of Zhong Kui in his dream the day before, so Zhong Kui was painted vividly. In the end, Zhong Kui was hung by the emperor in the palace to drive away ghosts, and this practice gradually became a folk custom. Of course, legends are legends after all, but at least this story can reflect to us that at least during the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Zhong Kui served as a "legend." "Exorcist" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. However, some scholars believe that Zhong Kui is the guardian of the back door, and his main responsibility is still to exorcise ghosts. In addition to Zhong Kui, Wei Zheng, the favorite of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, is also an important back door disciple.

The reasons why Zheng Wei became the backdoor god are also recorded in writing.

The novel "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" says: After Wei Zheng, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, beheaded the old Dragon King Jinghe, the ghost of the old Dragon King would enter the inner palace every night to beg Taizong Li Shimin for mercy. But he said that outside the palace gate, there were two people, Yuchi Gong and others, guarding him. The ghost of the old Dragon King turned to the back door of the palace and smashed the bricks and tiles. At this time, Yu Chigong and Yu Chigong were already at the front gate to meet the enemy, so the prime minister had to personally hold the dragon sword and guard the back gate at night. After a long time, the ghost of the old Dragon King had to leave.

There are many "partners" of goalkeepers in history, all of whom are very familiar historical figures, such as Sun Bin and Pang Juan, Zhao Yun and Ma Chao, Xiao He and Han Xin, Meng Liang and Jiao Zan. These door gods all appear in New Year pictures as military commanders. Of course, there are also paintings of civil servants and door gods, such as Bi Gan, the God of Wealth, Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, and so on. There are also door gods praying for blessings, most of them

Because Beijing is an ancient city, the capital of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Scholars and businessmen from all over the country came to Beijing one after another. At the same time, cultures from all over the country, including the customs of door gods, also gather here. Therefore, there are many types of door gods on the doors of residential buildings in old Beijing. It is widely circulated that "there are six gods in the home". But because of the changes of the times, not many people know about the "Family Six Gods".

The "Family Six Gods" are the six gods who bless the family. Which six are they? Kitchen God, Earth God, Door God, Hu Weiwei, Jingquan Tongzi, Third Uncle. Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong are of course two of them, but their titles are different. Of the two gates at the front door of the house, the one on the left is called the Door God, and the one on the right is called Huwei.

The remaining four have particularly specific "jurisdictional scope" and are closely related to the lives of ordinary people. Among them, the most familiar one is God of Cooking. A book circulated in old Beijing, "Journey to the West", makes the duties of the Kitchen God very clear: "The Kitchen God left a book of scriptures to read to good men and to believe in women. My surname is Zhang Zi, and the Jade Emperor asked me to be a cook "In the next life, I will investigate the good and the evil first." Therefore, the main responsibility of the Kitchen God is to supervise the words and deeds of people in the house and report truthfully to the Jade Emperor. Generally, every family in old Beijing will support the Kitchen God. In addition, there is a "Duzaojun Temple" in the flower market. Every year on the third day of the eighth lunar month and the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, when the king returns to heaven, there will be a temple fair here. There are various vendors outside the temple, most of which sell kitchenware. It can be called a "kitchenware street". In the temple, chefs from major restaurants in Beijing burn incense to the Kitchen God and pray for the development of their careers.

In ancient times, the worship of the Kitchen God mostly followed the tradition passed down from the Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, antelopes were used to worship the Kitchen God. But in modern times, most families began to use sugar melons to perform sacrificial activities. The reason is very simple. He hopes that after eating these honeydew melons, the Kitchen God can say a few more auspicious words to the Jade Emperor. There is even a theory that the Kitchen God had honeydew melon stuffed in his mouth to prevent him from "snitching" against the Jade Emperor. In order to pray for the Kitchen God to say good things, people often hang a couplet with his idol on both sides of the house. God says good things, and the descendants say good things. Of course, this couplet also expresses people’s beautiful longing for the new year.

In the past, after the kitchen sacrifices were held every year, various businesses began to send servants out to collect debts and prepare to settle accounts for the year. People who have no money to repay their debts start hiding from their debts until they meet God on New Year's Eve. Therefore, there is an old saying in the past: "Save Guandong sugar to save your life." Of course, before that, there was another saying called "sending letter Laba porridge", which means that starting from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household gradually begins to prepare for the New Year.

The job of the well spring boy is the well of each family. In ancient times, water was not as convenient as it is today. Everyone had to rely on wells for water. As a result, the Jingquan boy in charge of the well became an object of worship. According to custom, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people will cover the mouth of the well with red paper after offering sacrifices to the well gods, which means that the well gods can rest after a busy year.

The Lord of the Land is the patron saint of a party, so he is not only the god of the family, but also a very important god in a certain "community". In the former Xuanwu area, there was once a "Capital Land Temple" dedicated to the "Commander-in-Chief", the landlord of Beijing. It's a pity that this temple no longer exists today, it is located near the current Xuanwu Hospital.

The last immortal uncle, although his business is mediocre, he can't live without it. This fairy is the toilet goddess, and she is mainly responsible for the toilet at home. This fairy is the only female among the six gods in the family. Legend has it that this kind of toilet god can predict the future, and some areas even believe that the toilet god can protect women from giving birth smoothly. These "six gods" are responsible for blessing the daily lives of ordinary people and were worshiped by ordinary people in the old society.