Shentu (deity)

Shentu (Chinese: 神荼) or Shenshu is one of the two door gods in Chinese mythology known as Menshen. It can found in an early text from Shanhaijing. The gods were later incorporated into Taoism.[1]

History

The earliest mention of Shentu is from the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC–256 BC). The other deity is Yulü. The two gods are responsible for supervising all spirits and stayed above the gate. Evil and harmful spirits were tied up and fed to tigers. The gods were believed to protect people from disasters, protect "fortunes and dispell evil influences".[2] The oldest reference to the gods can be found in Classic Liji 禮記 "Book of Rites".[3]

The story of Zhong Kui, the ghost fighter, which emerged during the Tang Dynasty was believed to help guard the gates as well.[3]

During the Qing Dynasty, there was doubt of two door gods. Chinese scholar Yu Zhengxie believed there was only one god name Yulei (郁垒) or Tulei (荼垒).[3]

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References
  1. Lihui Yang; Deming An; Jessica Anderson Turner (2008). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. Oxford University Press. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6.
  2. Beck, Stewart Lee (26 January 2017). "Meet the Gods of Chinese New Year". China Simplified. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  3. "Menshen 門神, the Door Gods". chinaknowledge.de. Retrieved 2018-03-13.


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