Jiang Yanwen
The New Year painting embodies the wisdom and talent of folk artists, pins on people's good wishes for the New Year, and not only satisfies the aesthetic requirements of the general public, but also spreads the traditional historical, cultural and moral concepts. Mr. Zheng Zhenduo believes that the New Year paintings "are pasted on doors and indoor walls as decorations during the New Year", and their purpose is to make the family "show infinite vitality and joy".
During the Spring Festival, "Infinite Vitality and Joy - Chinese Folk New Year Painting Art Exhibition" is being exhibited in Nanjing Mingshe Puzhai . The exhibition is divided into three parts: "Door God and Door Painting", "Story and Opera", and "Folklore and Life", and all the works on display are collected by the Tianjin Wangshu Folk Art Research Center. In the place of origin, it covers the main representative New Year paintings in northern and southern China, and most of the exhibits are qing dynasty and republic of china ancient prints.
The door god is the first new year painting subject that appeared and was used by generations to decorate the doors of the gates. From the earliest Shendi and Yu Lei, all the way to Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong, who are most familiar to us, they are all common images of door god paintings. This article is an appreciation of the exhibits of "Door Gods and Door Paintings".
Wei Chigong (Partial)
In the past, when people celebrated the Spring Festival, every household had to post New Year paintings from the gate to the living room to decorate the environment with a new look. The New Year painting embodies the wisdom and talent of folk artists, pins on people's good wishes for the New Year, and not only satisfies the aesthetic requirements of the general public, but also spreads the traditional historical, cultural and moral concepts.
The term "New Year Painting" was first mentioned in the "Explanation of The Rural Dialect" written by Li Guangting, a Baodi person in the late Qing Dynasty, in which "Pasting New Year Paintings" was listed as one of the "Ten Events of the New Year". The scene at that time can be seen in the "Records of the Yanjing Years" written by Fu Cha Dunchong, who was also a person at the end of the Qing Dynasty: "Every waxing moon, the prosperous areas set up mats and sold paintings. Women and children compete for it. So embellish the years also. Later, Mr. Zheng Zhenduo also believed that the New Year paintings were "pasted on doors and indoor walls as decorations during the New Year", and their purpose was to make the family "show infinite vitality and joy". The author believes that this is probably the most appropriate explanation for the narrow concept of "New Year painting".
The door god is the first new year painting subject that appeared and was used by generations to decorate the doors of the gates. From the earliest Shendi and Yu Lei, all the way to Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong, who are most familiar to us, they are all common images of door god paintings. Its main function is to drive away evil spirits, guard the door, and protect the peace of the family home. In the Song Dynasty, the Ziwei Tianguan-style "Wenmen God" appeared, whose main function was to bless Na Xiang and wish the promotion of officials to prosperity. Then two major categories of Wen and Wumen gods were formed.
In addition to the main door, the rest of the doors should be pasted with some various door paintings with beautiful meanings, the main image includes the gods and fairies in folklore, and later there are also real-life beauties, children and other images, the nature of warding off evil spirits is gradually diluted, and more attention is paid to the decorative effect of festive and auspicious.
Song Li Song (biography) "Year Dynasty Map". Collected from Wen-chienCheng, YanwenJiang, GodsinMyHome: ChineseAncestorPortraitsandPopularPrints, Toronto, RoyalOntarioMuseum, 2019, p.3.
In old China, after the prelude to the Spring Festival was opened, every household had to post a door god on the gate on the 27th or latest before noon on the Chinese New Year's Eve. The image of the door god is mostly a warrior general, fierce and powerful, commonly known as the "martial god", the purpose is to deter demons and evil spirits, protect the whole family from harm. On the door of the second door or the inner chamber, the Tianguan Gate God, commonly known as the "Wenmen God", or the door paintings such as dolls, ladies, and three-star diagrams are pasted.
The "Year Dynasty Map" written by the Southern Song Dynasty painter Li Song depicts the festive and joyful scenes of the Song Dynasty New Year. It can be seen from this that outside the frontage gate is a martial god with a helmet and armor, while on both sides of the door of the inner house, there is a Wenmen god with a wat in both hands.
During the Republic of China period, the yangliu Qingmen god painting was posted on the gate. Collected from "North Branch" in January 1942.
The Complete Book of Searching for God in the Three Sources and Streams, Vol. VII, the first year of Xuantong (1909).
In the Tang and Song dynasties, there were already records of engraving and engraving statues of gods such as the god of the door and the bell. The ranks of the gate gods are also gradually expanding, and the images of Zhong Kui, The God of Blessings, and the Heavenly Officials have joined in. Since then, in different eras and different regions, different historical or fictional characters have increasingly joined in, such as Zhao Gongming and the Lantern Daoist, Zhao Yun and Wu Yuan, the most famous of which are Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong. Regarding Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Gong Men Shen, the "Three Sects Source Stream Search God Encyclopedia" not only has a drawing, but also a quite detailed record. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, in most years of painting production areas, especially in Yang Liuqing, Qin Qiong and Wei Chi Gong men god paintings have occupied a major position and have been prosperous for a long time.
The images of Shendi and Yu Lei in the "Three Religions search for gods".
Liang Chaozong's "Records of the Jingchu Chronicles" records the earliest door gods, Shendi and Yulei.
Posted by the god Officiating in the Chronicles of the Qing Dynasty.
Zhong Kui, color overprint, length 45 cm, width 32 cm, Suzhou, Jiangsu, Collection of the Museum of Ethnology of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Nanyang Han Dynasty portrait stone in the image of the gatekeeper god.
According to the literature, the "peach symbol" was first a peach branch, and later became a peach board, on which it was written "Shendi" and "Yu Lei", or the image of the second god, or both, and the word "fu" emphasized its function of warding off evil spirits. The "Chronicle of the Jingchu Dynasty" quotes the record in the "Kuo Map": "There is a large peach tree in Taodu Mountain, which is bent for three thousand miles. There are golden roosters on it, and the sun is singing. There are two gods underneath, one Yu, one lei, and a reed rope, to serve the ominous ghosts, and to kill them. "It is recorded in the "On Balance" and "Customs and Traditions", but the text is slightly different. The inscription in the picture is "Ancient Peach Rune God", which can be seen that the painting is the legendary ancient door god. The "Divine Dragon" wears a judge's hat on his head, a sword in his right hand, and a beard in his left hand. The right foot stepped on the red hair, red pants of the alien looking little ghost, the left foot lifted, under which a colorful tiger. The tiger's demeanor appeared obedient and innocent, which set off the mighty and fierceness of the gods. Behind the gods, you can see the fruit of the peach tree, and the fruit is pressed into the branches.
Ancient Peach Rune Shendi Qing Dynasty Edition / Door God / Wood Plate Overprint / Length 36.1 cm • Width 24.2 cm / Forever Paper Bureau / Shanxi Xindi
"Ancient Peach Rune Shendi" is a door painting created directly from the literature, with rich details, vivid shapes, and bright and simple color. Its image is quite different from the illustration of "Search for God", but it is closer to the popular image of Zhong Kui. This is a common "borrowing" technique in folk art. This door god was originally a pair, and the other side should be "Ancient Peach Rune Yu Lei".
After generations of changes, the habit of posting "Shendi, Yulei" on the door during the Spring Festival was fixed and passed down from generation to generation. According to the "Maple Window Xiaomu" written by Yuan Zhen at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, "Before Jing Kang, the gods of the households in The Middle Of the Dynasty were many times like each other, wearing tiger helmets, and the door of the prince was decorated with gold." The appearance of the door god in the "Yuji" paper line product of Changhua Ershui in Tainan is the remnant of such ancient style. The "Shendi and Yulei" produced by this set of "Jade Records" have this characteristic. The two gods wear tiger-headed hats, hold swords in one hand, and hold golden melon hammers in the other. The hammer body is printed with a picture shop note. The appearance of the popular door gods in Fujian and Taiwan is basically the same, which shows the exchanges and inheritance of folk art between the two sides of the strait. In addition, the "Shendi and Yulei" in this work are very different from the fierce images in the old legends, but they are closer to the door gods of the common town hall samurai images, which should be a fusion of the two. In the folk, the door gods have long become a necessity in the lives of the people, not just the icing on the cake, even poor families will stick them on the door at the New Year, in the hope that the gods will protect and drive out Najib.
Shendi, Yu Lei Qing Dynasty Version / Door God / Ink Line / Each length 34 cm , Width 25 cm / Yu Ji / Taiwan Changhua
Under the influence of "Journey to the West" and "Sui and Tang Dynasties" and other scripts and novels, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the image of the previous generation of door gods was mostly shendi, YuLei or Zhong Kui, and it was popular to hang Qin Qiong and Wei ChiGong door gods. Just as Gu Zhangsi of the Qing Dynasty said in "Records of The Wind of The Earth": "(Door God) customs mostly use Qin Shubao, Wei Chi Jingde, and Gaiben Tang novels." Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, a large number of Fujian and Cantonese people have moved to Taiwan, forming a social structure with Han and Han culture as the main body, and the custom of sticking to the door god during the New Year has naturally become part of the social habit. At that time, in addition to Shendi and Yu Lei, the door gods were also popular with Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong, and this map layout is the physical proof of the historical custom of the history of the Taiwan region. The phoenix-eyed and long-haired person is Qin Qiong, holding a double hammer in his hand. The ring-eyed bearded person is Wei Chigong, holding a steel whip. The two stood opposite each other, both wearing helmets and armor, hanging swords and carrying flags, and the robe belt was raised, and their prestige was extraordinary. Judging from the characteristics of the face and clothing, it is a typical style of the door god painting in Fujian and Taiwan. In terms of artistic attainment, the knife carving is refreshing, the color is bright and emphasizes contrast, and the background is also the big red used for door painting in this area, which is bright and dazzling. Viewed holistically, the atmosphere is simple and vivid and festive.
Qin Qiong, Wei Chigong Qing Dynasty Edition / Door God / Wood Plate Overprint / Each length 41.5 cm , width 28.5 cm / Fujian Zhangzhou
"Li Dao Men Shen" is the ancient edition of the old shop "Zhonghe Heng" in Lushi County, Henan Province. The two generals stood facing each other with their swords, and the right general had long hair and a kind face. The left general leopard eyes and whiskers, mighty and fierce. They all wear handsome helmets, embroidered robes inside, armor on the outside, and bows hanging from their waists, and their bodies are strong and imposing. In particular, the second general's robe is flying, and it also has the magic of "Wu belt when the wind". Although he did not hold a whip, his physical characteristics resembled the images of Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong. This pair of door gods has not yet been colored, but the rigidity of the line carving and the fullness of the shape are intuitively displayed. In addition to the knife, the two generals also divided the silver ingots and ruyi, combining the meaning of "must be as desired". As Ming Feng Yingjing compiled the "Moon Order Broad Meaning", it is stated: "Later generations painted generals and imperial officials, fu jiajue, deer, bat, xi, treasure, horse, bottle, saddle, etc., all took good names to welcome the auspiciousness." The world has been passed down for a long time, and it has not been tested in what generation. It can be seen that in addition to the duties of the door god, in addition to the duties of the nursing home, it also has the function of attracting wealth and praying for blessings.
Li Dao Men Shen Qing Dynasty Version / Door God / Ink Line / Each length 82.6 cm · Width 58 cm / Zhonghe Heng / Henan Lu Shi
"Junmen Guan Drama Poem" Notes on the clouds: Where the play appears, the first person hugs the wat and slowly steps out, which is called "jumping and adding officials". The image of the God Wenmen is quite similar to this record, and most of them are held by tianguan wats or hand-displayed "Blessings from heavenly officials" banners. Such "immortal officials" are commonly known as "Wenmen God". It is mostly pasted on the second door inside the family gate, and its posting position can be seen in the "Year Dynasty Map" written by the Southern Song Dynasty painter Li Song. In this work, the two celestial officials wear a black veil on their heads and pedal towards their boots. Holding the wat board in one hand, the other hand supporting the jade belt around his waist. Both of them are painted with crane complements on their chests, which echo the surrounding decorative flowing clouds, and the overall picture is complex and luxurious, and the details are also delicate and rich. Among the clouds, there are also dark eight immortal patterns, which are more exquisite.
Xianguanmen God Qing Dynasty / Door Painting / Printed Pen Painting / Each length 51 cm , Width 28.5 cm / Tianjin Yang Liuqing
This pair of door god year paintings is damaged to this point, and should be removed from the door after actual use. It is relatively early in age, and the artistic standard is also quite high, or it is made by skilled painters.
Xianguanmen God (Partial)
Xianguanmen God (Partial)
Door paintings based on the image of children are mostly pasted on the bedroom doors of newlyweds, commonly known as "doormen", which means that there are many children and many blessings. "Kirin sending children" is the classic theme of "doorman". The unicorn is the ancient imaginary beast, and the appearance of the unicorn is a sign of the country's auspicious peace. The ancients also called the children who were superiorly intelligent as "Lin'er", thus deriving the theory of the unicorn sending children. It is recorded in the Book of Collected Remains that when Confucius was not born, there was a Qilin Tuyu Book in his home, which reads "Descendants of water spirits, the king of the decline of the Zhou Dynasty" and "Sign in the Xianming" and so on. The next day, the Qilin was no longer seen and Confucius was born. Folk regard the "Qilin" and "Jade Book" as an auspicious omen for the birth of a noble son. This pair of door paintings depicts two young children riding on the back of a lin, the eldest boy wearing a crown of princes, dressed in a brocade embroidered dress, holding the child in front of him with one hand and the lantern of the dragon's head in the other. The little children all hold red flowers in their hands, which are playful and cute.
The unicorns carried by the children resembled paper ties, and it is said that in the past, the northern folk used to make children sit on the kirins tied with paper and be supported by infertile women to circle in the house in order to "give birth to noble children early". Such door paintings also often appear in the auspicious words such as "Qilin sending a son" and "Heavenly Gift" that imply the early birth of a noble son, and in this painting, in response to the national family planning policy call, the text has been changed to "a son is glorious" and "late marriage is implemented", which is quite characteristic of the times.
Kirin sending son after 1949 / door painting / print printing pen painting / each length 54.9 cm · horizontal 33.1 cm / Jiangsu south
"Liu Hai Play Golden Toad" is derived from a Taoist allusion, according to legend, Liu Hai was Liu Cao, the minister of the Yan kingdom in the fifth generation, and later was enlightened by the gods, monks, and took the name of sea toad. Folk have a saying that "bangs play golden toad, step by step sprinkle money", so bangs are also known as the god of wealth. Because the hair hanging in front of the child's forehead is also called "bangs", the bangs are mostly children's images in the New Year paintings, and the title "Liu Child" in the picture is also derived. Interestingly, this pair of bangs is not this hairstyle. The two children's faces are rich and thick, simple and cute, standing opposite, all of them use money strings to tease the golden toad, and peony flowers loom behind them. The image of the second child is basically the same, only the color is different, the color is bright, and the contrast is coordinated.
Bangs play golden toad Qing Dynasty version / door painting / woodblock overprint / each length 52.5 cm · horizontal 34.3 cm / Dong Zeng sheng ji / Shandong Pingdu
Bangs play golden toad (partial)
This pair of door paintings comes from Zongjiazhuang in Pingdu, Shandong, and is the most influential new year painting production area in Shandong except Yangjiabu. At the latest, during the guangxu period of the late Qing Dynasty, Yangjiabu New Year paintings spread to Pingdu, and the scale of production of Zongjiazhuang New Year paintings in the late Qing Dynasty gradually expanded and formed its own style. DongZengsheng Painting Shop is the only major New Year painting household located in the west of Zongjiazhuang. This picture is the new print of the old version by the posterity of the painting shop, and the style is still the same, and the vitality is still there.
Editor-in-Charge: Li Mei
Proofreader: Luan Meng