The worship of door gods is a time-honored tradition in China, as historical recordings show that the earliest door gods were Shen Tu and Yu Lei in the period before the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC). Images of heroic generals were adopted by later generations on the new year pictures as door gods, among which Qin Qiong (571-638 AD) and Yuchi Jingde (585-658 AD), both renowned generals of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), are the most popular ones who have been seen as guardians warding off all demons or evil spirits.