Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)
Mária FERENCZY: Door Gods. Art and Craftsmanship in the various styles of Chinese New Year Pictures
Pictures closely associated: 13 Standing door gods. Yangliuqing, 1990 u (pictures No. 3-4). - The two pictures were produced in 1990 and came into the possession of the collection as presents. The representation of the two standing generals follows the tradition characteristic of the earlier pair of pictures. The printed contours are similar indeed, the manner of painting, however, is highly divergent: in these pictures the details are delineated in an epic tune, with meticulous care. Red, cobalt blue, green and (in one of the pictures) brown colours 15 were printed on the detailed woodprint; yellow, light blue, light green, orange and hues of pink were applied carefully with thin brush. Standing door gods. Yangliuqing, the beginning of the 1950s ]b (pictures No. 5-6) - The pair of pictures was published in the 1950s and, in conformity with the publisher's intention, follows the traditions so highly esteemed. They were prepared with meticulous care; the details lend themselves to unambiguous interpretation. The makers considered the peculiar background (that is, stylized clouds floating on a blue sky, with the repetitive lines resembling the miraculous mushroom and the head of the magic sceptre) characteristic of the Yangliuqing tradition and reproduced it. The background shows strong similarity with that of the below pictures (of different origin). Standing door gods. Peking, late 19 th century - early 20 th century" (pictures No. 7-8). The pictures were painted on silk, with strong colours and fine brushes; the ornamentation is rich and detailed. According to Bo Songnian, originally they belonged to the collection of the imperial palace. Perceptibly, they were meant to fulfil the same function as other pictures painted on paper, yet in a still more elegant environment. Remotely associated pictures:"* Standing door gods. Weixian (Shandong province)^ (pictures No. 9-10) - The pictures were printed on yellowish paper, with dark red, dark green and a small amount of yellow colours. If compared to the pictures described above, the delineation of the figures is somewhat more static. Several details were represented fairly precisely; at the same time, however, one of the objects held in the generals' hand are indistinguishable (the other being a mace). A peculiar feature of the pictures is that between the phoenixes above the figures' heads the characters denoting the sun (on the right) and the moon (on the left) can be seen. Standing door gods, S hen Tu and Yu Lei, Peking 20 (pictures No. 11/a-b) - The thick-set figures of the two costumed generals 21 are characterised by colours distinctively different from those of the other pictures: yellow, orange, red, greyish green, greyish purple and dark brown. All colours were printed with blocks; as a matter of fact, the depiction consists of patches of colours. Standing door gods, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong. Zhangzhou (Fujian province) 22 (pictures No. 12/a-b) - The pair of pictures are printed on red paper in black Chinese ink and painted with yellow and dark green colours; the colours are characteristic of the Southern traditions, more specifically, the traditions prevalent in Fujian province. The two costumed generals are wearing mandarin's headgear instead of helmets; one of them is armed with two swords, the other with two iron lashes (bian). Standing door gods, Mianzhu (Sichuan province) 23 (pictures No. 13/a-b) - The two costumed generals are wearing mandarin's headgear and belts, they are armed with swords and iron lashes. The hand-painted colours (characteristic of Sichuan) glitter, yet there is no red applied, that is, the pictures were prepared for a family in mourning. 24 Standing door gods, Yang Kun and Zhao Guangyin. Kaifeng (Henan province) 2 ' (pictures No. 14/a-b) - The contours of Chinese ink as well as the yellow, red and green colours were applied on the picture of rustic style by means of printing. The two generals are holding long-handled weapons (called sword, Chinese dao) and magic sceptres (ruy'i). This "sword" is Guandi's 26 attribute; the names of the two generals are in connection with the Song dynasty. 27
