Most of the trades had their trade associations or guilds for the purpose of protecting their interests. As each guild called for a leader, there appeared protective trade gods or originating masters who were honoured as guild leaders. China has since ancient times had the tradition of giving moral instructions to people by painting pictures that tell people to learn from the sages and keep away from evil persons. The statues of the originating masters and protective gods of various trades in the temples and shrines of the ordinary people in the past and the "paper horse" pictures and prints of gods worshipped by artisans form a great treasure trove of Chinese art.
This book has been carefully compiled by sorting out and displaying the images of ancient Chinese trade gods and their artistic value. The author has spent a lifetime in collecting a large number of pictures and prints of Door Gods, Kitchen God, God of Wealth, etc. The book lists the gods worshipped by different trades in ancient China and reproduces their images. The 100 and more images of originating masters and protective gods reproduced in this book are selected from among as many as 1000 pictures in the compiler's collection. There are also pictures of shops and work places of various trades. Through these pictures, the "paper horse" pictures and prints in particular, readers may gain some idea about the gods worshipped by the various trades in ancient China, take a close look at the art and see what life was like in bygone days.
