Zhong Kui （钟馗） is the god of Chinese folklore who drives away ghosts and evil spirits. Legend has it that he was born in the early Tang Dynasty at the end of the South Mountain, with a leopard’s head and ringed eyes, gnarled iron face and sideburns, and a strangely ugly appearance; however, he was very talented and full of experience, and he was upright, unafraid of evil spirits, and specialized in driving away demons and catching ghosts. His mount was the divine beast White Zephyr, and his right and left generals, one of whom was a bearer of grievances, the other of whom was a bearer of wrongs.
Long, long ago, during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuan Zong felt unwell after returning to the palace from Mount Li.
He consulted the imperial physician for over a month, but the illness did not improve.
One night, Emperor Xuan Zong fell asleep with a high fever and suddenly saw a little ghost enter the palace.
The little ghost wore colorful clothes, had a bull’s nose, was barefoot on one foot, wore one shoe, with the other shoe hanging at his waist, and had a paper fan stuck in the back of his neck.
The little ghost reached out and stole Yang Guifei’s sachet and Emperor Xuan Zong’s jade flute.
Emperor Xuan Zong was angry and asked, “Who are you?”
The little ghost replied with a sly smile, “I am Xu Hao. Xu means stealing from others like playing a game; Hao means deliberately ruining people’s good fortune, making them turn happy into sad.”
Emperor Xuan Zong was very angry and was about to call the warriors to drive the little ghost away when another big ghost rushed in.
The big ghost had messy hair, a full beard, and looked terrifying.
He wore a blue robe, exposed one arm, and had leather wrapped around his feet.
The big ghost grabbed the little ghost, gouged out his eyeball, and swallowed it.
Emperor Xuan Zong was scared out of his wits and asked, “Who are you?”
The big ghost bowed to Emperor Xuan Zong and said, “I am Zhong Kui from Mount Zhongnan. I once went to Chang’an to take the military examination but failed. Ashamed to return home, I bumped my head against the steps of the palace and died.”
“Fortunately, Emperor Gaozu granted me a green robe for my burial. I am deeply grateful and vowed to eliminate all Xu Hao and demons for the Tang Dynasty!”
His voice was as loud as a bell, and it scared Emperor Xuan Zong awake.
Emperor Xuan Zong touched himself and found he was covered in cold sweat, and his malaria was suddenly cured.
Later, Emperor Xuan Zong summoned the famous painter Wu Daozi and told him about his nightmare, asking him to paint a picture based on what he saw in the dream.
Wu Daozi painted it quickly as if he had seen it himself.
Emperor Xuan Zong was so surprised that he couldn’t speak for a while and exclaimed, “Did you also have the same dream as me? How can you paint it so lifelike!”
Wu Daozi said, “Your majesty works hard day and night, so malaria took the opportunity to invade. Now that there is something that can ward off evil, it is a good omen for your majesty’s longevity!”
Emperor Xuan Zong was pleased with these words and rewarded Wu Daozi with 100 taels of gold, and inscribed a poem on the painting.
The relevant departments followed the emperor’s order, engraved Wu Daozi’s painting of Zhong Kui catching ghosts onto wooden boards for printing, and widely distributed it across the country along with the cause and effect of this story.
Everyone would paste this painting on their door at the end of the year on New Year’s Eve to ward off evil spirits and ghosts.
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