Wenzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Door God Paintings: The League of Legends in Front of Temples

Two important things for Chinese New Year: Welcoming the God of Wealth and pasting door gods Our ancestors believed that doors could keep tangible things out, while "door god paintings" could keep evil spirits away. During the New Year, every household would paste door god paintings on their doors before the first day of the lunar year to protect their homes. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang, the entire door of temples and ancestral halls is covered with door gods. The door gods look like generals from Peking Opera, with flags on their backs and weapons in their hands. They look more like "stills" than door gods. 👩‍🎨 Evolution of Door God Paintings Tang Dynasty: Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong were the first door gods. Song Dynasty: More like New Year paintings, with Yang Jian and Yue Fei appearing. Yuan Dynasty: Became more theatrical, with Zheng Lun and Chen Qi (the two generals). Ming and Qing Dynasties: Focused on opera characters, became more secular. 🎭 Traditional Door Gods There are six common ones: ✅ Left Shentu, Right Yulei ✅ Left Hengjiang, Right Hajiang ✅ Left Qin Qiong, Right Yuchi Gong But Wenzhou's door god paintings have many more characters, covering almost all the great heroes admired by the people throughout history, such as the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Investiture of the Gods, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yang Family Generals, Yue Fei, Hai Rui, Bao Gong, Wen Tianxiang... In addition to male door gods, there are also female door gods, such as Mu Guiying, Fan Lihua, Chen Jinggu, Lin Mo Niang, who are both civil and military, male and female, holding swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, whips, maces, hammers, claws, and sticks. This lineup can conquer any dungeon. 📌 Tips: Male door gods can be seen in most temples and ancestral halls. Female door gods can only be seen in Taiyin Palace, Linshui Palace, Tianhou Palace, and Niangniang Palace. 📍 Location This intangible cultural heritage of "door god paintings" can be found in temples and ancestral halls in various cities and rural areas of Wenzhou, such as Yongjia, Cangnan, Ruian, Ouhai, and Pingyang. Go and see them, and you'll be amazed.