There is a custom of posting door gods during the New Year in various parts of our country. The original door gods were carved in the form of mahogany wood and hung next to the door. Later, a portrait of the door god was painted and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in controlling ghosts. With them guarding the door, evil spirits, big and small, dare not cause harm to the human world.

After the Tang Dynasty, there were paintings of the fierce generals Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde as door gods. There is one door on the left and right of the door god statue. Later generations often painted a pair of door gods, one civil and one military. There are three types of door gods: the first type is the \”door god\”, which is usually posted on the car door or the entire door, about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide; the second type is the \”street door god\”, which is usually posted on the small streets. On the door, which is about two feet high and one foot wide, there are two door gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White on the left and black on the right, white is kind and black is evil, each holding a yue. The third category is the \”house door god\”, which is slightly smaller and more limited than the street door god. It is also a black and white god, but there are also two gods of black and white who are seated. At most, there is a picture of \”Qilin sending a child\” on the door, which consists of two dolls covered with powder and grease and combing the prince\’s crown, each riding a Qilin. This kind of door god should have been posted on the door of the newly married house for good luck, and later it was also Made as a New Year decoration for ordinary street doors.

Posting Spring Festival Couplets:

Spring Festival Couplets are also called \”door pairs\” and \”spring posts\”. They are a type of couplets. They are named after they are posted during the Spring Festival. (Spring Festival couplets). One source of Spring Festival couplets is Taofu. At first, people carved human figures in peach wood and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the image of the door god on the peach wood, and then simplified it to inscribing the name of the door god on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients often posted the word \”Yichun\” on the Beginning of Spring, which later developed into Spring Festival couplets. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, related to Zhu Yuanzhang\’s advocacy. One year when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to celebrate the New Year, he ordered a Spring Festival couplet to be posted on the door of every house to celebrate. Originally the Spring Festival couplets were inscribed on peach wood boards, but later they were rewritten on paper. The color of peach wood is red, and red has the meaning of auspiciousness and warding off evil spirits. Thinking, so most Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper, but temples use yellow paper, and those who keep the system (when they are not full of filial piety) use white, green, and yellow colors. The first year is white paper, the second year is green paper, the third year is yellow paper, and the third year is yellow paper. After four years of mourning, red paper was resumed. Because the Manchu people were still white, the Qing court Spring Couplets used white paper, with blue edges wrapped on the outside and red stripes on the inside.

Folk Spring Festival couplets emphasize that every god, every door, and every object must be posted, so the Spring Festival couplets have the largest number and the most comprehensive content. The couplets in front of the gods are particularly particular, and are mostly words of admiration and blessing. Common ones include the couplets of heaven and earth: \”The grace of heaven is as deep as the sea, and the virtues of the earth are as heavy as mountains\”; the couplets of earth: \”White jade is born from the soil, and gold comes from the earth.\” ; God of Wealth Couplet: \”The Lord of Wealth in Heaven, God of Fortune and Fortune on Earth\”; Couplet of Well God: \”A well can connect the world. \”, home can reach Sanjiang\”; the couplets in granaries, livestock pens, etc. all express warm celebrations and hopes, such as \”a bumper harvest\”, \”six livestock are prosperous\”, \”rice and flour are as thick as mountains, oil and salt are as deep as the sea\”, \” Oxen are like southern tigers, horses are like northern sea dragons\”, \”big sheep are prosperous every year, and lambs are growing every month\” and so on. There are also some single units, such as each roomThe words \”Look up to see happiness\” are posted inside, \”Go out to see happiness\” is posted on the opposite side of the door, \”The energy is soaring\” is posted on the prosperous fire, \”The courtyard is full of gold\” is posted on the courtyard, \”Deep roots and lush leaves\” are posted on the trees, and \”Deep roots and lush leaves\” are posted on the stone mill. \”White tiger brings good luck\” and so on. The couplets on the door are the facade of a family, and they are paid special attention to. They are either lyrical or scene-describing, rich in content and full of witty remarks.

(The \”rhombus\” character \”福\” at the center of the door)

In addition, other places in China also have the character \”福\” posted on them. There are many local customs such as putting up window grilles, steaming steamed buns, putting up New Year pictures, putting up thousand hangings, etc. These have the folk functions of praying for blessings and decorating residences. The customs and forms of Spring Festival couplets in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, the three northeastern provinces, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong and other places in my country have their own differences. The customs and styles of Spring Festival couplets in various places in Henan are also different. The simplest The sticking methods are still available in Zhoukou area, so I won’t describe them one by one here.

Spring Festival Couplets Posting Form

Take Zhoukou, Henan Province as an example. Whenever Spring Festival Couplets are posted, the method of posting them on each door is as follows: a short horizontal couplet is posted on the door head, and a short horizontal couplet is posted on both sides of the door frame. A long vertical couplet is posted on each side, and a large rectangular door painting is posted vertically on each of the two doors. There is also the custom of posting short and long strips of single couplets in other places. There are not many other styles, so the way of posting in Zhoukou is the most common. simple, Unlike other places where there are too many styles of postings. For example, in Kaifeng area, in addition to short horizontal couplets, there are often a few square \”rhombuses\” posted above the door as a foil. The door center is usually slightly wider and wider. long rectangular \”note\” \”Or door paintings, some provinces put various colored paper \”diagonals\” on the front door, which is similar to the customs in several other provinces. In short, there are many kinds of patterns and colors, and they are more complicated than the way of posting in Zhoukou area, but it looks like Very beautiful.

Several posting methods in Zhoukou area

(Four-character horizontal couplets above the door)

The method of posting Spring Festival couplets in Zhoukou, Henan is very simple. The entire couplet includes the door, There are three parts: door edge and door center. The head usually has a short long horizontal strip posted in the middle. The content on it is mainly four-character auspicious words, such as: welcoming the spring and receiving blessings, rejuvenating the earth, auspicious light, abundant food and clothing, etc.; the door is divided into left and right door frames. Each post has a long vertical couplet, and the content is mostly seven-character upper and lower couplets. For example: the wind is beautiful and everyone is happy, the country is prosperous and the people are prosperous every year, the sound of firecrackers expels the old year, the golden rooster sings three times to welcome the new year, etc.; the door center refers to the left and right doors, and a door god is posted on each of the upper and middle doors. In this way, the Spring Festival couplets on the entire door are ready to be posted. In addition, all the small doorways of the gatehouse or main door of the house (commonly known as the main room). It is customary to post Spring Festival couplets on the doors of the east and west rooms, ancillary rooms, kitchens, and even suites or secret rooms inside the house. Every year, the process of posting Spring Festival couplets begins on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month and continues until New Year\’s Eve. As the Spring Festival couplets become more popular, traditional customs require them to be posted before New Year\’s Eve.

(Miscellaneous couplets inside and outside the courtyard)

After putting up the Spring Festival couplets at the entrance, indoors and outdoors and in the kitchen, people Some long short vertical leaflets are also posted inside and outside the courtyard or other places, commonly known as \”sideshows\” and \”miscellaneous notes\”. These miscellaneous notes are single leaflets dedicated to the scenery inside and outside the courtyard, and the content is interesting. Rich and colorful. A simple example is as follows:

Put more words such as \”the pen is full of fat pigs\”, \”the pigs are prosperous\”, and \”the six animals are prosperous\”;

There are many trees inside and outside the courtyard. Single couplets of entries such as \”Prosperity\” and \”Thriving trees\”;

Post more single couplets of entries in the courtyard such as \”The courtyard is full of spring\”, \”Auspicious light shines\”, \”The house is peaceful\”;

Water Well SpecialistThe content of the single couplets with entries is mostly \”green dragon controls the water\”, \”the stream flows endlessly\”, \”water flows like a spring\”, etc.;

Granaries and mills and other places often post \”a bumper harvest\”, \”a warehouse full of white flour\”, \”grain \”Stock full of rice\” etc.;

Beside the gate, post more words such as \”See happiness when you go out\”, \”Safe entry and exit\”, \”Welcome the Spring Festival and receive blessings\”, \”Congratulations\” Single couplets such as \”Get rich\” and \”Well-off home\”;

Next to the door of the main room are single couplets such as \”Look up and see happiness\”, \”The whole family is safe\”, \”People and animals are in peace\”;

Most of the various travel tools include single couplets such as \”safe entry and exit\”, \”safety in all seasons\”, \”traveling a thousand miles (road) in a day, walking eight hundred (miles) at night\”.

The Spring Festival couplets posted on doors in other places are different from those in Zhoukou. For example, in addition to the horizontal couplets above the entrance of the courtyard gate, similar decorations will be posted on the left, right and above the door. Some do not stick short horizontal couplets, but directly put four \”rhombus\”-shaped door stickers, or multiple \”rhombus\”-shaped door stickers. In addition to short horizontal couplets, there are also various colorful strips hanging above. Jewelry etc. In some areas, in addition to Spring Festival couplets and miscellaneous door stickers, window grilles and other decorative items are also posted on the windows. In short, there are so many styles of Spring Festival couplets and door stickers and accessories across the country that I will not describe them further here.

Changes of the times

In the past, when people\’s living standards were poor and the printing industry was backward, most Spring Festival couplets were painted by buying a piece of red paper and \”splashing ink\” on it yourself or asking someone to write it for you. That kind of Spring Festival couplets has a single style, usually with four doors and four doors. There are horizontal couplets, one left and right door pair, and the center of the door is also written in a seven-character style on a square red paper block. The writing formats are four characters starting with the left and right structure vertically, followed by three characters side by side. Then write some short miscellaneous notes. Couplets, such as: going out to see happiness, spring in the courtyard, bumper crops, prosperity in the trough, green dragon controlling water, etc.

Later, with the popularization of woodblock printing, and today’s laser phototypesetting and various advanced printing technologies, Spring Festival couplets on doors have become more diverse, but the general style remains the same. It consists of three parts: the left and right vertical couplets beside the door, and the left and right square couplets in the center of the door. Nowadays, the two-color and three-color woodblock prints of the past are no longer common. Instead, they are replaced by new versions of New Year pictures, including various gold-gilded couplets, sprinkled gold couplets, flocked couplets, etc., which are bright, beautiful and dazzling. The old-fashioned handwritten Spring Festival couplets have been gradually phased out. The remaining handwritten Spring Festival couplets are mostly golden Spring couplets written with gold powder. Most of them are posted by calligraphy enthusiasts or given away to others. There are also \”voluntary writing\” held in various places every year. The purpose of the Spring Festival couplets is to serve the public and meet the needs of some calligraphy and painting enthusiasts and citizens. In short, handwritten Spring Festival couplets are no longer the main choice of the public.

Other forms of Spring Festival couplets

In addition to the regular Spring Festival couplets, there are also some special Spring Festival couplets that can be seen during the Spring Festival or in ordinary times. Several special Spring Festival couplet forms and related taboos that are common during this period are as follows:

Filial piety couplets: HeThere is a custom in the Nanzhoukou area. In order to commemorate the death of an elder who has not yet completed the third anniversary of the third anniversary of the family, red Spring Festival couplets are not allowed to be posted during the third anniversary. Most of the time, \”filial piety couplets\” with white characters on blue paper are posted. Some Miscellaneous couplets are not suitable for posting. Some people choose not to post Spring Festival couplets for three years to show their memory. This habit is still used today.

Joyful wedding couplets: The custom in Zhoukou area is that if a family has held a wedding between the Kitchen Festival and the Spring Festival, the wedding couplets will generally not be removed and used directly in place of the Spring Festival couplets. Of course, if the wedding couplets If they are damaged or dropped, Spring Festival couplets, miscellaneous singles, etc. can also be subsidized.

Other aspects: For example, the couplets written and posted at various festive events such as birthday celebrations and opening celebrations a few days before the Spring Festival can also be retained and used in place of Spring Festival couplets, and some miscellaneous single couplets can be subsidized. For any festive activities held after the Spring Festival, the Spring Festival couplets will not be used in place of any festive couplets and must be written and posted separately.

The alternative purpose of Spring Festival couplets: In the past, when people were poor and backward, some families owed debts to others before the Spring Festival and were unable to repay them, so they used the method of posting Spring Festival couplets prematurely to politely deter debt collectors from coming to collect debts. Because there was a local custom in the past that debt collectors could no longer come to collect debts on houses that had posted Spring Festival couplets. Therefore, in order to avoid debts, some families posted Spring Festival couplets on their doors prematurely. As the pace of people getting rid of poverty and becoming rich has accelerated, and most of the people have achieved a moderately prosperous living standard in recent years, this way of posting Spring Festival couplets too early to politely refuse debt collection is no longer common. Even if a company posts Spring Festival couplets a few days early, it is because Going out to work, doing business or special reasons has nothing to do with declining debt collection.

Let’s stop here for now on the topic of Spring Festival couplets and New Year paintings. After all, there are many related topics that have not yet been included. Here is just a rough talk about my humble opinion. Please feel free to add any shortcomings. Correction. We must keep in mind the Party\’s kindness and care, and thank the new generation of national governments for their policies and measures to benefit the people, which enable us to live in such a beautiful, carefree and happy era, no longer the miserable years of poverty and poverty in the past. Let us be proud, confident, joyful, and sweet before New Year\’s Eve by posting New Year pictures full of warm blessings and good luck, and jointly welcome the harmonious, peaceful and joyful 2021 Spring Festival. Don\’t forget the past and cherish the present. , strive to forge ahead and achieve greater success.

(Picture and text: Wu Xishan, Qingji Town, Taikang County)

(If there is any inappropriateness, please contact us in the near future to modify or delete it)

I wish you all: Happy New Year and all the best!