文、攝影／曾凱暄
大家看北門旁邊雕刻上有兩個人，有人知道他們是誰嗎？嗯，你們猜得很好，不過他們其實是神荼和鬱壘。右邊那位是神荼，左邊那位是鬱壘。
There are two people on the carvings. Is there anyone that knows who they are respectively? Well, those are good guesses, but the correct answer is 神荼,鬱壘. The one on your right hand side is called 神荼, whereas the one on your left hand side鬱壘.
現在我就來跟你們說說北門為什麼會有門神的故事。 原本城門是沒有門神的。 但是北門非常特別，只有北門有門神，因為據傳當時的知縣被謀殺了。儘管後來證實這個消息有誤，不過當時的人認為這很不吉利，所以雖然一般城門很少會有門神，他們還是在這裡擺上門神。
Now I cannot wait to tell you the stories of these two. Basically, there were not any Door Gods at any city gates. But, the North Gate, in particular, was very unique. It is because this North Gate is the only one having Door Gods. That was because allegedly the governor of that time was murdered. Even though later it was confirmed a misinformation. However people of the time thought it was inauspicious, and therefore they thought it was more appropriate to incorporate this feature despite being rarely seen.
神荼和鬱壘是中國古代捉拿厲鬼的神祇，專門對付邪惡鬼怪。由於兩人相貌兇惡醜陋，因此負責看守大桃樹和鬼怪進出的鬼門。一旦發現有鬼怪害人，神荼和鬱壘就用草繩把它們綁起來，扔進山裡餵猛虎。據傳有人掛上他們的畫像，真的嚇跑鬼怪，因此當時人們紛紛仿效這種作法，以求驅邪避兇。總而言之，神荼和鬱壘就是門神。你去寺廟參觀一定可以看到他們的畫像，所以說他們確實相當常見。現在你們都看過這個獨一無二的傑作了。我們可以從中借鏡歷史，同時欣賞古人的優點和美德。
Both of them were the deities that examined evil ghosts in ancient China. These two were to be against them. It was even said that they both were quite ugly-looking and fierce-looking. As a result of this, they were responsible for taking good care of the gigantic peach tree and the ghost doorway that many came to and fro. If found any ghosts that harmed folks, then 神荼 and 鬱壘 would tie them with a straw rope and dump them into the mountain so as to be eaten by ferocious tigers. Legend even has it that it did pay off. Consequently, quite a few people back then had the portrait of these two at the door in order to expel the evil spirits or the ghosts. All in all, 神荼 and 鬱壘 are the Door Gods. Whenever you pay a visit to a temple, you will get to see these two portraits inside a temple for sure. It goes without saying that they are really commonly seen. So, you have all seen this one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Then we are more able to learn lessons from history itself. On the other hand, we can appreciate the merits and the virtues that ancient people had at their times.
北門旁的門神像
