The civil servant door gods and the blessing door gods entrust people with their wishes for promotion, wealth, and longevity.
The majority of civil servant door gods are heavenly officials. This kind of door god wears a gauze hat, a first-grade embroidered crane court dress, or holds an ivory wat board, or holds an auspicious utensil. He has a white face and five locks of beautiful beard, giving him a graceful and luxurious appearance. Tianguan is the head of the three officials (Tianguan, Diguan, Shuiguan), and is called "Blessing Ziwei Emperor", so it is also called "Blessing Tianguan". Among the people, Tianguan is regarded as the God of Fortune, sometimes alongside the two Immortals of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity, which is the so-called Three Immortals of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity. Most of the Tianguan door gods are posted on the doors of halls in the courtyard, which are different from the warrior door gods on the gates that exorcise ghosts and suppress demons. They also have the meaning of welcoming good fortune and bringing in wealth.
Among the civil servant gods, there is also a pair of white-bearded civil servants, said to be Liang Hao from the Song Dynasty. "Dunzhai Xianlan" said that Liang Hao won the first prize at the age of 82, so Liang Hao was painted as the "Grandpa No. 1 Scholar" with a white beard and a bright head. Actually, this is a misunderstanding. Historically, Liang Hao was a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty. When he ascended the throne, he was 23 years old and a young man. When the Liao army attacked Hebei, he went to Shu to ask for rewards and punishments, killed cowardly generals, and promoted brave and strategic people. Later, when Liang Hao learned about Kaifeng Mansion, he died of a sudden illness at the age of 42. Folks don't know it, and they often use "Duzhai Xianlan" to explain it. In the "Three Character Classic", a very popular enlightenment reading in the old days, there is a sentence "Ruo Liang Hao, eighty-two", which shows its great influence. Liang Hao became a typical example of a "late bloomer". Using him as a door god painting obviously meant to encourage the elderly to make progress. Wenmenshen paintings are also based on the theme of "Five Sons Enrolled in the Imperial College". There are five boys holding lanterns, halberds and cinnamon branches in their hands, which means "five sons have passed the imperial examination". This allusion comes from the story of Dou Yanshan (Dou Yujun) of the Five Dynasties who educated his five sons and succeeded in passing the exam.
The civil door gods are mostly related to promotion and wealth, while the door gods praying for blessings are related to having more children, more blessings, and longevity. Sometimes the two are paired together. For example, the Tianguan (or Number One Scholar) door god is often paired with the Lady who gives birth to children. In addition, there are two gods of joy and harmony (symbolizing the love and harmony between husband and wife). There are also bangs and a boy who attracts wealth, both of which are small gods of wealth, especially worshiped by merchants. This kind of prayer to the door god has many meanings. For example, an official holding a plate with his left hand has a Shoushan stone on it, and a brush rises from the stone, implying "Shoubi (brush) in the East China Sea". Another heavenly official holds a red bat or sea water in his hand, implying that "blessings (bats) are like the East Sea". Interestingly, the ghost fairy Zhong Kui sometimes appears as a praying door god. He is dressed in red official clothes, wearing a gauze hat on his head, holding a wat in his hand, with a peach and a stroke of peach on it, which means "will (pen) live long (peach)".
Some mascots are often painted on the door gods to pray for blessings, and they often use homophonic puns to choose their auspiciousness. Just as the "Yue Ling Guangyi·December Order" said: The door god reaches "Later generations painted generals and court officials in various styles, adding shapes such as knights, deer, bats, xi, horses, treasures, bottles, saddles, etc., all of which got good names. "Jue, deer, bat, xi, horse, treasure, vase, and saddle have eight meanings: jue bottle, which refers to rank and official position; deer, which refers to honor and wealth; bat, which refers to scenery and blessings. Magpie refers to celebration; horse refers to stagecoach; Yuanbao is homophonic to "Chi Bao"; vase and saddle are homophonic to "peace". The eight objects drawn here take the meaning of the eight characters "Jue Lu, Fu Xi, Horse Bao Sheng".