Demon-Queller Zhong Kui
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The origins of the engrossing legends of Zhong Kui cannot be firmly established. In the best-known account, by Shen Gua (1031–1095), he was an unrecognized talent in the martial arts who appeared in a dream of the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–56) to kill a harassing demon.
Here, the fierce-looking Zhong Kui wears a hat with a pair of bud-shaped tails that is supposed to detect troublemaking demons. In popular belief Zhong Kui is a powerful guard against evil spirits, particularly at the Double Fifth Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when his image is displayed in households to prevent diseases and other misfortunes associated with the impending heat of summer.
Here, the fierce-looking Zhong Kui wears a hat with a pair of bud-shaped tails that is supposed to detect troublemaking demons. In popular belief Zhong Kui is a powerful guard against evil spirits, particularly at the Double Fifth Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when his image is displayed in households to prevent diseases and other misfortunes associated with the impending heat of summer.
Artwork Details
- Zhong Kui
- Title: Demon-Queller Zhong Kui
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 11 11/16 x 8 7/16 in. (29.7 x 21.4 cm)
Overall: 21 13/16 x 15 13/16 in. (55.4 x 40.1 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art