Chinese New Year Deities and Guardian Protectors

Examples of these include the door guards Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, the Kitchen God, and the Three Star Gods of Happiness, Wealth and Longevity.

In ancient China, people believed that numerous gods inhabited the Three Realms (heaven, earth, and the underworld) and ruled over human affairs and destiny. To fulfill their hopes for a bountiful harvest, healthy male heir, official promotion, and other auspicious wishes, people sought the blessing of these deities by representing them graphically in a medium that has become a unique folk art tradition known as "paper gods" or "paper joss." With the development and proliferation of printing, the Chinese were able to mass produce woodblock prints since the late Ming dynasty (mid-sixteenth century) to satisfy the high demands.

An even layer of ink was then applied onto the block, and a sheet of paper was pressed on it for the printing process. A similar process would be repeated for each color. Some prints were colored by hand by master painters. In this example, we can see that, despite using the same block, different colors can be used to produce different effects.