Pictures of door gods decorate homes after Little New Year

Portraits of door gods are seen on the Temple Of Guan Yu in Chongwu ancient town in Hui'an county, Southeast China's Fujian province, Oct 29, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Pictures of door gods are traditional Chinese decorations placed on doors, which are believed to keep evil spirits from entering. The door gods usually come in pairs, facing each other. There are many different door gods, with the most common being Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong.

In Chinese history, Shenshu and Yulu are known as the first two "door gods". As figures of myth in ancient China, they served as guardians of the house and brought people prosperity. Since the Song Dynasty, people tended to worship heroes in popular fiction as their door gods. Since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Qin Qiong and Yu Chigong, two famous generals from the Tang Dynasty, were worshiped as the most popular door gods with the most diverse images ever around the country.

As the Spring Festival approaches, especially after the Little New Year (Chinese: Xiaonian), people will put up a new portrait of the door gods on their doors, hoping that the bad is taken away and the good is brought in.