Zhong Kui is a demon lord in late Chinese mythology. The image of Zhong Kui appeared, apparently, in ancient times (no later than the 7th-6th centuries BC) and was initially associated with a peach tree club that drove away evil spirits (according to some interpretations, zhong and kui mean “club”). In the Middle Ages, he was replaced by an anthropomorphic image of the leader of demons.
It became a custom to paint Zhong Kui grabbing demons with red paint and hang it up for magical purposes (usually on the Duanyang holiday - the 5th of the 5th moon). On popular popular prints, Zhong Kui was usually depicted in the costume of an official, in a pose threatening demons. Such splints were often glued to both leaves of the door, thus he served as the god of doors.
One day, Emperor Ming-huang fell ill with a fever. One night, when he was feeling hot and cold, he suddenly saw this. A small demon in a dark red dress and short pants, one foot in a sandal and the other bare, crept up to the emperor’s bed, grabbed an amulet with aromatic herbs and a jade flute, which Ming-huang played in his free time from government affairs. The thief jumped off the palace terrace and ran into the peach garden that surrounded the palace. But then a big demon appeared. He was wearing a blue robe, a hat, and boots on his feet. I rolled up my sleeves, caught up with the little demon, gouged out his eyes, swallowed him alive, and the flute and amulet - My name is Zhong Kui. I made a vow to cleanse the Celestial Empire from all evil spirits for Your Majesty.
Thus, for the first time in his true form, the great demon lord Zhong Kui appeared before the eyes of the emperor. Before this, it was believed that Zhong Kui was hiding in a club made from the trunk of a peach tree. People used this club to drive away demons.
The emperor woke up and felt that the disease had left his body. He summoned the greatest artist of the empire, told him in full detail about how the demon lord appeared to him. And the artist depicted Zhong Kui grabbing the demon as if he had seen it himself. The emperor hung this painting on his bedroom door. And then all the residents began to hang images of Zhong Kui on their doors. The demons feared the image of the great demon as much as they feared the peach club.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru