Shentu and Yulü

Origin of Door Gods

Guardians under the great peach tree of Mount Dushuo who bound evil ghosts; their images became door gods.

On the great peach tree of Dushuo Mountain, where all ghosts enter and leave the world, two brothers named Shentu and Yulü stand guard with reed ropes, binding the evil ghosts and feeding them to tigers. The Yellow Emperor first hung their images on peachwood at the gate, and from this rite came the New Year custom of spring couplets and door gods — guardians who hold the line between home and the dark.