The Taiwan Door God — 臺灣門神
“The ubiquitous ‘door god’ is found on all types of doors throughout Taiwan, from square stickers or hand-painted pieces of paper on traditional houses in the countryside, to apartment doors in modern high-rises. The most beautiful and intricately painted are those found on temple doors, which can be life-size or larger.” from culture.tw
“Door gods protect those within by preventing malevolent influences from entering.” from culture.tw
Origins
“Door gods have roots in animistic worship; the door, a common protector from outside influences, was worshipped and gradually personified and adopted by popular religions.” from culture.tw
“Predecessors to door gods were wooden sticks that were carved with a god’s face and affixed to doors. These were called ‘peach wood talismans’ (桃符) and were believed to ward off evil and bring peace and harmony to the household. At the close of every lunar New Year these were placed on the household door. This gradually evolved into the painted pictures of gods that we know as door gods today.” from culture.tw
Shentu and Yulei(神荼) (鬱壘)
“The earliest recorded door gods, Shentu and Yulei, have their origins in ancient Chinese lore. Shentu and Yulei were brothers with a knack for capturing evil spirits. Their story is found in the ‘Classic of the Mountains and Seas’ (山海經) — a collection of pre-Qin mythology.” from culture.tw
Qin Shubao and Wei Chigong(秦叔寶)(尉遲恭)
“Perhaps the most famous and commonly seen door gods in Taiwan are the military door gods Generals Qin Shubao and Wei Chigong , who is also called Hu Jingde (胡敬德). It is said that in the Tang Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Tang Taizong there was a great drought. Prime Minister Wei Heng was hastily dispatched to execute the Dragon King for letting the River Jing run dry — even though the emperor had granted a stay. Haunted by the Dragon King’s ghost, the Emperor was unable to sleep or carry out his duties until Qin Shubao and Wei Chigong took up posts outside the Emperor’s bedchamber door, finally enabling the distraught emperor to sleep through the night. Later, portraits of the two generals placed on each side of the door replaced the generals and this custom spread.” from culture.tw
wow, Rich, love the colorful images. great photography, they would look beautiful printed up and framed as artwork.
I am Matt’s mom and classmate of your mother. She was here in Cranbrook a couple of weeks ago for our nursing reunion. She looked great! Nice, nice lady. I enjoyed seeing her again.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Vikki! Glad the reunion was fun, my mom was looking forward to it.
Interesting to find a website of Taiwan’s photography, and you do
have a awesome blog.
I’m catching up with events in Taiwan. Not that island-wide, however, more on Tainan County.
Hope to see more of your posts!!
Thank you!
Edwin
Thanks, glad to find your site as well. Another Tainan blogger!
[…] Now study the facade. Most halls of worship have three entrances, but larger shrines may have five or even seven. However many there are, the central doorway isn’t there for humans to use. It’s reserved for deities and other supernatural entities, so avoid stepping through it. All visitors – whether pious or tourist – are expected to enter via the doorway on the right, and leave through the doorway on the right. The former is known as the ‘dragon door’ while the latter is the ‘tiger door’. As soon as you step inside, turn around so you can appreciate what are called ‘door gods.’ […]
Thanks for the article.
Interesting about the door Deities. Am looking for template that has the dragon gate and tiger gate . I read that longshan temple has but could not find any picture of it.
you know any temples with the dragon and tiger gates?