Which Tang generals became the most common paired door gods for Chinese New Year?

The Tang generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong became the most common paired door gods for Chinese New Year. Their images are traditionally placed on opposite leaves of a double door as protective guardians.

The custom is linked to Emperor Taizong of Tang, who reportedly ordered portraits of the two generals placed at his gates after they helped ward off disturbing supernatural threats. Over time, the portraits themselves were treated as protective talismans, and the generals replaced the older paired door gods Shenshu and Yulü in popular practice.

Qin Shubao is also known as Qin Qiong, while Yuchi Gong is commonly called Yuchi Jingde. Both were real early-Tang military commanders, later transformed by folk religion into martial guardians. Wei Zheng and Zhong Kui can also appear as door gods, but they are not the standard paired answer here; they are more often associated with single-door images or regional traditions. New prints are commonly pasted up around the New Year and should face inward toward each other, not stand back-to-back.