Title
Chinese woodblock print depicting the Military Door God Zhao Gong Ming（赵公明）
Year/Period
Early-mid 20th century
Region
Suzhou, China
Object Type
colour woodcuts (prints)
Material
paper (fiber product), colour (pigment)
Technique
color woodcut (process)
Dimension
Image size: 58.6 x 39 cm,
Image size: H63.9 x W44.1 cm (Mount)
Image size: H63.9 x W44.1 cm (Mount)
Accession No.
2010-00947
Collection of
NLB Type
Cultural artefact
The Military Door God Zhao Gong Ming is often depicted riding a tiger, and is one of the Gods of Wealth. Zhao holds an iron whip while the scissors in front of him are another weapon that he uses. The motif of the three unbroken lines on his forehead is an emblem in the Eight Trigrams. It represents ‘yang’ (阳), which means the presence of the sun and light and hence his capability of warding off evil spirits. Prints of Zhao are usually paired with prints depicting Randeng Daoren （燃灯道人）as Military Door Gods. The print was produced in Taohuawu, a village in Suzhou province in China famous for its New Year prints. The production house, Wang Rong Xing （王荣兴）, was established around the 18th century.
