Do I need to post couplets at the same time as door gods? What is the saying about posting door gods and couplets together?

The Spring Festival is a traditional festival with a long history of the Chinese nation and it is also the most grand festival. Therefore, many important folk customs have been formed in the course of historical development. Among them, pasting door gods and Spring Festival couplets are the two most important customs. So, do we need to post couplets at the same time as door gods?

Do I need to post couplets when pasting door gods?

Couplets and door gods cannot be pasted together, only one of them can be pasted. There is a folk legend that it is unlucky to stick couplets and door gods together. If you have posted couplets, don’t post door gods. You can post them in other places, but not in the same place. Of course, this is not a big deal now. Whether to stick them together depends on your preference.

What does it mean to put door gods and couplets together?

According to folklore, it is unlucky to stick couplets and door gods together, which may lead to bad luck in the coming year. However, these are all legends from ancient times and have no scientific basis, so they cannot be fully believed. However, it is best not to stick couplets and door gods together, as this will look incongruous and not very beautiful. If you plan to put up couplets on the door, you only need to put up the couplets, there is no need to put up a door god.

The Origin of the Custom of Pasting Spring Festival Couplets and Door Gods

1. Spring Festival Couplets

In ancient Chinese mythology, it is said that there is a ghost world. In the middle of the world, there is a mountain. On the mountain, there is a huge peach tree covering three thousand miles. On the top of the tree, there is a golden rooster. Every morning when the golden rooster crows, the ghosts that wander out at night must be driven back to the ghost realm. The gate to the ghost realm is located in the northeast of the peach tree. Two gods named Shencha and Yulei stand beside the gate. If a ghost did something harmful to the world at night, Shencha and Yulei would find it, catch it, tie it up with ropes, and feed it to the tigers. Therefore, all the ghosts in the world are afraid of Shencha and Yulei. Therefore, Chinese people began to carve their images out of peach wood and place them at their doorsteps to ward off evil, prevent harm and ensure safety. Later, people simply carved the names of Shencha and Yulei on peach wood boards, believing that doing so could also ward off evil. This kind of peach wood board was later called "Tao Fu". In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on peach wood boards. First, to retain the meaning of peach wood in warding off evil spirits, second, to express their good wishes, and third, to decorate the door for beauty. People also write couplets on red paper, which symbolizes happiness and good luck, and paste them on both sides of doors and windows during the New Year to express their good wishes for good luck in the coming year.

2. Door God

In order to pray for the family's happiness, longevity and health, people in many places still retain the habit of pasting door gods. It is said that if two door gods are posted on the door, all demons and monsters will be afraid. In Chinese folk culture, door gods are a symbol of righteousness and military power. Therefore, China's door gods always have their eyes wide open, holding various traditional weapons in their hands, ready to fight against ghosts who dare to come to the door at any time. The front doors of residential houses usually have two doors that open opposite each other, so door gods are always seen in pairs. Before the Tang Dynasty, it was not known whether there were door gods. If there were, they would probably be Shencha and Yulei. These two gods looked very strange and ferocious. The ancients believed that people with unusual appearances often had magical qualities and extraordinary abilities. Although they have ferocious appearances, they are upright and kind-hearted. Catching ghosts and demons is not only their responsibility, but also their nature. The ghost-catching master Zhong Kui, who is known to many people, has this appearance. After the Tang Dynasty, in addition to Shentu and Yulei, people also regarded Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, two Tang Dynasty generals, as door gods.