The Men Shen （门神） is a deity that guards the door in Chinese folk beliefs. It is a popular guardian deity in Chinese Han folklore, and is affixed to the door during the Chinese Lunar New Year to ward off evil spirits, protect the family home, ensure peace and prosperity, and bring good luck. With the change of time, there are many figures who have been given the Men Shen, among which the more famous ones are Shen Tu, Yu Lei, Yu Chi Gong and Qin Qiong.
The Han Chinese people have always believed in Men Shen (the door gods).
From the pre-Qin period onwards, both emperors and commoners worshipped Men Shen.
The original meaning of Men Shen was “gods who guard the doorway.”
This belief originated from nature worship in ancient times.
People at that time believed that household items like doors, stoves, and beds were guarded by gods.
The Chinese custom of pasting Men Shen on doors during the Spring Festival has a history of thousands of years.
The earliest Men Shen were three-dimensional human figures carved from peach wood.
Such Men Shen could intimidate ghosts and spirits.
Peach wood itself was believed to ward off evil spirits.
Later, door gods evolved into Men Shen paintings.
When pasting Men Shen, they should be placed on both sides of the door from the perspective of someone entering.
The traditional correct way to paste them is with the Men Shen facing each other.
Shen Tu and Yu Lei are the most widely circulated Men Shen in folklore.
Their stories have been recorded since the “Shan Hai Jing” (Classic of Mountains and Seas) in the pre-Qin period.
Legend has it that Shen Tu and Yu Lei are brothers skilled at capturing ghosts.
When evil ghosts harassed civilians, the brothers would capture them and feed them to tigers tied with peach branches.
Later, people pasted images of Shen Tu, Yu Lei, and tigers on their doors to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.
Shen Tu is the general of the left door god, with a fierce appearance.
Shen Tu and Yu Lei are also the Dong Fang Gui Di (the Eastern Emperors) of the Wu Fang Gui Di (the Five Emperors of Hell), overseeing Taozhi Mountain and the Gui Men Guan (the Gate of Hell).
The transformation of Qin Qiong and Yu Chi Gong into Men Shen is largely thanks to the novels “Journey to the West” and “Romance of the Sui and Tang dynasties”.
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