Zhong Kui

Demon Queller

Failed scholar who became the great ghost-catcher, painted on doors at New Year to ward off evil.

Zhong Kui is the great ghost-catcher of Chinese folklore. According to the best-known tale he was a scholar of Zhongnan who failed the imperial examination because of his looks and died by his own hand; long afterward he appeared in Emperor Xuanzong’s dream to devour a mischievous ghost. From then on his fierce image has been hung at New Year to guard homes against evil.