A Psychological Analysis of the Imagery of Chinese Menshen

Abstract

The prominent imagery of Menshen (门神door gods) within traditional Chinese culture has led to the development of a variety of cultural symbols, including military door gods, civil door gods, praying door gods, and other related ones, such as stone lions and Shigandang (stone tablets). This article studies the impact of the belief in Door Gods and their worship on Chinese psychology and behaviour on both a conscious and unconscious level. At the conscious level, from its first articulation to its development into a cultural image and related myths and legends, the belief in Door Gods can be said to have gone through four stages: a primitive worship of reproduction in ancient times, animal worship during the Zhou Dynasty, the worship of anthropomorphic gods during the Han Dynasty and the worship of hero gods worship during the Tang Dynasty. This process corresponds to the four specific symbols of ‘peach branch’, ‘tiger/chicken’, ‘Shēn Shū(神荼)’ and ‘Yù Lǜ(郁垒)’ (‘鬼’: the two spirits guarding the entrance of the house), and ‘hero’. On an unconscious level, the psychological symbolism of the belief in Door Gods belief is interpreted through the Door Gods sacrifice and the Fu(复)” hexagram. Closing the door is related to Kun (坤, the receptive, earth), while opening the door is related to Qian (乾, the creative, heaven). Together, Kun and Qian were held to be in a state of continual transition, one changing into the other, which reflects Chinese philosophy’s emphasis on movement. Traditionally, Chinese people held more than 10 kinds of door-related sacrificial activities every year. Although some of these activities have gradually fallen out of use, the traditional custom of pasting door couplets and images of Door Gods to doorways has been preserved. By repeating the ritual every year, the Chinese gain the strength to protect themselves and their family members. Clinical studies of sandplay therapy have found that the image of Door Gods constitutes a ‘patron saint’ on an unconscious level. Door gods guard the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness (the inner and outer worlds), thereby protecting the spiritual strength of those who supplicate them. This suggests that using their images in a therapeutic context could help individuals to maintain boundaries and protect themselves. The emergence of the Door Gods image can transform the guardian energy hidden at the border between unconsciousness and consciousness, help the clients keep the boundary and protect themselves.