Military Door Gods with Guandao

Item number Edz986 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Pair of rectangular paper prints, each printed in black outline, with an armed military door god (wu menshen; 武門神), a general with a guandao pole weapon (立刀將軍) coloured in red, green and yellow; faces are red-orange. Figures are 58 cm high. Paper left white in some spots. The name of the print shop, 志昌 (zi3 coeng1/ Zhì chāng) appears on the figure's hanging ornament. The figures would normally be hung facing each other.

History Of Use

Known as menshen (門神, door gods), they are considered to protect homes from evil spirits. Prints depicting them are usually displayed on the door inside and outside the house during the Chinese Spring Festival (春節) or Lunar New Year. Such prints are thus known as nianhua (年画, new year pictures). Military door gods would be displayed on the external doors of the home. They are also used on doors of temples and ancestral halls.

Iconographic Meaning

Military Door Gods with Guandao (立刀將軍). Also known as Door Gods Guangong (關公門神, Guangong menshen), some people believe that this type of door god derives from the character in Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan, 水滸傳), Guan Sheng (関勝) who uses a large broadsword (大刀).