门神

門神

ménshén

popculture #33,973

Meanings

1 door god
2 pair of protective deity images pasted on household doors

Characters

Examples

过年时家家户户贴门神。

Guònián shí jiājiā hùhù tiē ménshén.

At New Year, every household pastes door gods.

门神一般是秦琼和尉迟恭。

Ménshén yībān shì Qín Qióng hé Yùchí Gōng.

The door gods are usually Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong.

传统年画里最有名的就是门神。

Chuántǒng niánhuà lǐ zuì yǒumíng de jiùshì ménshén.

The most famous traditional New Year prints are the door gods.

Tips

culture

Pasted on the left and right of the main door during Spring Festival to ward off evil spirits. The canonical pair is Tang-dynasty generals Qin Qiong (秦琼) and Yuchi Gong (尉迟恭) — per legend they stood guard outside Emperor Taizong's bedroom until he had their portraits painted as a substitute. Alternate pairs include Shenshu (神荼) and Yulü (郁垒) from pre-Qin myth.

usage

In modern speech, 门神 is also used figuratively for a goalkeeper in football — 'he's the team's 门神' = he's their wall.

In Pop Culture

秦琼 Qín Qióng

Qin Qiong

Tang dynasty general (died 638 CE); one of the two canonical door gods.

尉迟恭 Yùchí Gōng

Yuchi Gong

Tang dynasty general (585-658 CE); the other canonical door god, usually shown with a black face and whip.

Stroke Order

门 mén

神 shén