The door god, originally meaning "the god of the gate", originated from the nature worship of ancient times. They are the popular patron saints of Chinese folk.
As a folk deity who guards the gate, people attach their idols to the gate to ward off evil spirits and protect their homes.
According to historical records, there were already activities of "worshipping the door" in the Zhou Dynasty. From the Son of Heaven to the common people, they must pay homage to the door god.
Today, we will talk to you about some small knowledge about the door god.
门神的由来
In the pre-Qin period, due to the lack of scientific development, people could not give reasonable explanations for many natural phenomena, so they attributed them to sneaky things.
Whenever snakes, rats, insects, ants, or even some filthy and evil things break into their homes, they think that it is caused by ghosts, so they put the solution in the gods they believe in.
In traditional Chinese culture, the door can not only distinguish the inside and outside of the house, but also an important passage connecting the inside and outside of the house, and it is the only way for people to enter the house. And the door god is one of the most important gods to protect the peace of the house.
It is believed that if the family is guarded by a door god sent by God, the house can be peaceful and peaceful. Thus, the door god was born.
首发门神不一般
In the legend of the door gods, 神荼 (shū) and Yu Lei (yù lǜ) have long been spread among the people as the first door gods.
It is recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that it is said that in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor not only ruled the world, but also managed the ghost domain. In order to prevent the ghosts wandering in the world from harming the people, the Yellow Emperor assigned two generals under his command, Shen Tu and Yu Lei, to govern the ghost country.
The god lives on the Dù Shuò Mountain in the East China Sea, where there is not only a huge peach tree, but also a pheasant on top of the peach tree. Whenever the first golden rays of the sun hit this pheasant, it would make a loud rooster crow.
Immediately, all the roosters in the world will follow this rooster to crow one after another. And Shen Tu Yu Lei stood on both sides of the "ghost gate" between the peach branches, monitoring the ghosts who wandered back from the world.
For those evil spirits who take advantage of the night to plague the world, the gods will tie them up with reeds and throw them to the back mountain to feed the tigers. Therefore, for the ghosts, they are most afraid of: Shendi, Yu Lei, Tianji and Tiger.
Therefore, before the pre-Qin period, the ancients would use peach branches to cut into human shapes, cut them into roosters with paper, draw tiger charms with pens, and place them in front of the door to ward off evil spirits and avoid harm.
Later, for convenience, people directly replaced the time-consuming and laborious carving with idol paintings, and pasted such idols on the door panels.
And Shen Tu and Yu Lei are admired by the world because they are in charge of ghosts and evil things, and can drive away evil spirits and avoid evil, as the first generation of door gods to drive away evil spirits and ward off evil.
钟馗也来当门神
In the Tang Dynasty, legend has it that there was an official named Zhong Kui, who was misunderstood by the emperor because of his ugly appearance, and finally committed suicide unjustly. However, his grievances moved the Emperor of Heaven, who bestowed upon him divine powers, making him an expert at catching ghosts and eliminating demons.
Since then, Zhong Kui has been regarded as a god who can ward off evil spirits and avoid evil spirits. It is believed that affixing his portrait to the door will protect the house from evil spirits. This belief is widely spread among Chinese people, and the image of Zhong Kui as a door god is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
In addition, the appearance of Zhong Kui as a door god is also related to Taoist culture. Taoism is the native religion of China, and its belief system includes numerous gods and immortals.
As one of the Taoist deities, Zhong Kui is believed to be able to catch ghosts, drive away evil spirits, and keep peace. Therefore, under the influence of Taoist culture, Zhong Kui was gradually accepted and worshipped, becoming a part of folk beliefs, and also assuming the role of some door gods.
最负盛名的门神
The legend that Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong became door gods is derived from the descriptions in "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties".
In both novels, it is said that Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, could not sleep at night because he often dreamed of ghosts. So, he convened the generals to discuss, and asked Qin Qiong and Wei Chigong to guard both sides of the palace gate in armor and weapons every night.
However, over time, Taizong read Qin Qiong, and the two generals of Wei Chigong worked hard day and night, so they asked the palace painter to draw the portrait of the two generals, with angry eyes, holding whips, hanging on both sides of the palace gate, and then the evil worship disappeared.
Later, these stories were widely circulated among the people, so that the people followed suit and pasted their portraits on the door in order to suppress the demons. Over time, they became a new generation of door gods.
多种功能的门神
Later, the martial arts door god, which only has the function of exorcising demons and suppressing demons, can no longer meet the various needs of people, so there are civil officials and blessing gods.
The civil official door god painted some civil officials in court clothes, such as Tianguan, Wei Zheng, Bao Gong, etc., and people prayed for promotion and wealth through such portraits of civil officials.
Of course, if you pray for a family with many children and many blessings, you can paste the god of sending children and sending children to Niangniang, and if you pray for family harmony and beauty, you can paste the blessings of festive harmony and two immortals and heavenly officials.
Most of these gentle-looking door gods are pasted on the doors of the halls in the courtyard, so that they can be distinguished from the martial arts gods who drive away ghosts and suppress evil spirits on the street doors.
With the change of the times, the various new door gods can not only help people drive away ghosts and demons, but also help people to help utilitarianism and auspiciousness. Therefore, the door god was worshiped by the people of various dynasties, and flourished as a kind of sustenance on people's psychology.
Okay, that's all for today, I'm Xiaoshu. It is not easy to be original, welcome your attention, likes and messages in the comment area, we will see you at any time in the first month of the lunar month.