Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong, two famous people who lived in the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties, always put them on their doors during the Spring Festival. Why? According to legend, He Weichi Gong was revered as a keeper by later generations, and the keeper has existed since ancient times.

The ancients believed that the portal was the key for the whole family to go in and out every day, and it was necessary to exorcise evil spirits to keep the family safe. However, my dear friends know that the earliest door gods in ancient times were not Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong. According to Liang Zongqi in the Southern Dynasties, he recorded in the Chronicle of Jingchu: "On the first day of the first month, a peach board was built, named Xianmu, and two gods were painted on the door, leaving Shen Tu on the left and Lei Yu on the right." Therefore, Shen Tu and Lei Yu were the first people to be considered as gatekeepers.

So, why did Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong become door gods?

Qin Qiong was born in Licheng (now Jinan). A famous soldier in the early Tang Dynasty was a legendary figure who took the rank of general from Wan Ma Army. He followed Tang Gaozu Li Yuan and his son and made great contributions to stabilizing the Civil War in the Tang Dynasty. Weichi Gong, a famous soldier at the end of Sui Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty, was born in Shuyang, Shuozhou (now Shuocheng District, Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province), and was given the title of commander-in-chief of the annexed country, loyal to Wu and buried with Zhaoling. Qin Qiong and Weichi Gong were listed among the 24 outstanding figures in Lingyange for their bravery. Treat them as door gods, which is said to be related to.

At the end of Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang had no way and the world was in chaos. In 6 17 AD, Tang Guogong Li Yuan set out from Taiyuan to attack the Sui Dynasty. In Huoyi, a military town in Luzhou (now huozhou city), Tang Bing led by Li Yuan fought fiercely with Song Laosheng, the general of Sui Dynasty, for more than a month, beheaded Song Laosheng and then went straight to Chang 'an to establish the Tang Dynasty. Another warlord, Liu Wuzhou, took advantage of Shanxi's emptiness to occupy Tang Gaozu's Shanxi lair. In the winter of 6 19, he was ordered by his father to lead his troops back to Shanxi. After recovering Hedong and Pingyang, Li Shimin went to Huoyi.

Liu Wuzhou ordered Marshal to guard Huoyi, while Weichi Gong was ordered to guard the pass and stop the northward advance. Li Shimin's generals fought fiercely with Weichi Gong. They fought many times, but they were still neck and neck. Li Shimin loves talents and wants to subdue Weichi Gong. Weichi Gong said that as long as Liu Wuzhou didn't die, he wouldn't defect. So Li Shimin figured out a way to kill a man who looks like Liu Wuzhou and give his head to Weichi Gong. Weichi Gong naturally surrendered to Li Shimin.

Later, Li Shimin spent the night in Huoyi yamen, and was awakened by two headless people many times in his dream. Li Shimin thought carefully. These two people are like an old student of Sui Dynasty who was beheaded in Huoyi in 6 17, and a person who was beheaded by Liu Wuzhou. The two headless ghosts kept harassing, which made Li Shimin fidgety. Li Shimin summoned Xu Maogong for advice. Xu Maogong said, "Your master killed this man who looks like Liu Wuzhou because he was eager to surrender to General Jingde. Your master can send General Jingde to guard the yamen at night, and there may be peace. " In accordance with the words, make Weichi Gong gatekeeper. Sure enough, ghosts like Liu Wuzhou stopped caring, but the ghost of Song Like's old student came. Li Shimin looked for Xu Maogong again. Xu Maogong said, "I heard that Song Laosheng was a general of Sui Dynasty, but his loyalty and courage are commendable. I heard that Teacher Song admires Qin very much. Send as many qin keep yamen as possible at night, and maybe it will be safe. " Li Shimin added Qin Qiong Night Guard yamen according to the words, and sure enough, Song Laosheng's ghosts no longer came.

Qin Qiong

After this incident spread to the people, people posted portraits of Jingdezhen and Qin Qiong on their doors, in order to be furtive and afraid to do it. From then on, the two became gatekeepers and became accustomed to each other. In the Song Dynasty, the door-god paintings further developed into a series of rich and diverse New Year pictures.

However, there is another guardian recorded in the history books, and this is another ancient warrior, Cheng qin. According to the Biography of Guang Chuan in Han Dynasty, the portrait of Cheng qin, an ancient warrior, was painted on the temple gate of King Guang Chuan (Qu Bing), wearing a short coat and trousers and holding a sword.