Three Star Gods in the House

Item number 1090/11 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

Print depicting three gods known as the Sanxing or Three Star Gods (三星), Fu, Lu and Shou (Happiness, Fortune, and Longevity) with two children. The front child is holding a scroll that has three gold-coloured Chinese characters 福禄寿 (Fu Lu Shou). The faces are pink and white. The god Lu at the back and god Fu at the right side both have red mouths with a long black moustache, a small black goatee, and a black beard in strands. The god Lu at the back is wearing clothing that has a green and blue shaped pattern on an orange background. Behind him, there is an oblong fan made of peacock feathers. The god Fu at the right side is holding a green rimmed yellow fan with his right hand and is wearing clothing that has a red flower with green leaves pattern on a dark blue background. The god Shou at the front left side has a large forehead, a bald head, a red mouth, a long white moustache, a small white goatee, and a bushy white beard. He is holding a staff and is wearing yellow clothing that has a red and blue trim. The child is wearing clothing that has blue and white flower with green leaves pattern on a red background. Background is plain paper. The print is vertically rectangular.

History Of Use

Known as menshen (门神, 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 (春节) or Lunar New Year. Such prints are thus known as nianhua (年画, new year pictures).

Narrative

This set of prints (1090/1-13) was collected by Abbie Lyon Sharman, the sister of the donor’s grandmother, Sophia Lyon Fahs.

Cultural Context

Nianhua (年画, new year pictures) are usually printed on plain backgrounds, but some prints from Yangliuqing (杨柳青), known for the production of nianhua have background designs with patterns. The Yangliuqing style is known for finishing details, especially on the face.