Abstract: The art of door-god culture has a variety of forms among the folks, including peach-wood charms, pictures of Shentu and Yulei, drawings of tigers, snakes, hares, mussels and roosters, door knockers in the shape of dragon, and stone lions in front of the gates. The author contends that, at the very beginning of the long evolution history of this form of art, yin and yang were considered to be opposite beings, just like man and ghost, and objects and signs connected with yang that represents the positive being and power consequently became the original objects and signs believed to be able to keep out the evil. This explains why peach-wood charms, Shentu, Yulei, tigers and snakes are symbolic objects connected with yang.

Key words: notion of yin and yang, door god, Shentu, Yulei, capsaicin