Door God Print

Item number 1090/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Depicted is a military door god (wu menshen; 武门神) named Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭). He has an orange and red face, a black mouth, a small black goatee, a wide, horizontal, black moustache, and a thick, black beard; he is wearing a multi-coloured robe with pink-orange shoes. Pink-orange hands are holding a sword each with his left hand holding the sword upward while his right hand is holding the sword outward horizontally. Six blue-feathered arrows that have purple shafts are at his right side. Figure is standing at a slight angle facing to the right side. Background is simply the 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). Military door gods would be displayed on the external doors of the home.

Narrative

This print is paired with another print (1090/12) and together, they are called Military Door Gods Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong (秦琼尉迟恭). 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

Military door god Qin Qiong (秦琼), often paired with another door god Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭) are the generals of the Tang Dynasty emperor emperor Tang Taizong (唐太宗). These generals are popular representations of military door gods, and their looks are usually contrasting. Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭) who usually appears on the left side, looks fierce as compared to Qin Qiong (秦琼), who usually appears on the right side as a pair. They face each other to prevent spirits from passing through the doors. 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.