What the hell is Zhong Kui? GREAT GHOST? Or Shi Tian? Or what do you do?

Classification: society/culture >> religion

Analysis:

Zhong Kui is the ugliest figure among the ancient gods in China. And always associate with the evil spirits of the underworld. But people didn't reject him because of it. Every New Year's Day, people hang up his portrait to ward off evil spirits. This custom has lasted 1000 years since the Tang Dynasty.

However, the true origin of Zhong Kui has been an unsolved mystery for a long time.

Zhong Kui, what kind of legendary experience? How to become the most famous god in ancient China?

Most of what we know about Zhong Kui comes from plays and folk stories.

According to the story "Zhong Kui Marries a Sister", he was a poor scholar in the Tang Dynasty. He read a lot of poems and books since he was a child, and his talent was outstanding. However, he is extremely ugly and does not have the charming and elegant temperament of a scholar. It is because of this ugly appearance that he was discriminated against in the imperial examination room.

Zhong Kui with extraordinary talent, all the way through, the palace exam. However, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty could not tolerate Zhong Kui's ugliness. With a stroke of his pen, he jokingly cancelled his admission. Ten years of hard study at a cold window vanished in an instant. Zhong Kui, with a strong character, chose death. ...

The earliest version of this story can be found in A Bitan Lake in Meng Xi written by naturalist Shen Kuo, which is slightly different from today's story.

Shortly after the unjust case in the examination room, Tang was seriously ill, and he was always harassed by imps in his dreams and couldn't sleep well. Late one night, he dreamed that a child sneaked into the palace, stole his beloved musical instrument and screamed in the palace. Just when he was upset, Tang suddenly saw a blue figure falling from the sky. Grab the child, tear it open and swallow it. Don woke up and the strange disease was cured. Recall that the man in blue in the dream is the ugly scholar Zhong Kui. So I asked the painter to draw a statue of Zhong Kui and hang it inside and outside the palace to ward off evil spirits and keep peace. From then on, Zhong Kui was famous for catching ghosts.

Since the Northern Song Dynasty, almost all Zhong Kui stories are similar to this.

So how true is this story that has been circulating for nearly a thousand years?

Let's start with Zhong Kui.

We looked up the historical documents of the Tang Dynasty, but we couldn't find the name Zhong Kui in all the official documents of the Tang Dynasty. There is no word-for-word record of similar injustice in the examination room.

There are many anecdotes about Li Longji, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. However, there is no story that Zhong Kui appeared in his dream to treat Tang Huangming. More importantly, examining the development history of the imperial examination system, it is impossible for the Tang Dynasty to preside over the imperial examination. Because the imperial examination system was founded by Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin more than one hundred years later.

In this way, the story of Zhong Kui and his becoming a god after his death was probably invented after the Song Dynasty. But there is at least one truth in this story, that is, in the era of Emperor Tang Ming, Zhong Kui was already a famous ghost catcher.

There is such a poem in "The Whole Tang Poetry", which is called "Thanks for Zhong Xiang and Calendar". The author is a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, whose name is Zhang Yue. In the poem, I thank the emperor for giving me the Zhong Kui statue and calendar. Later great poet Liu Yuxi also wrote similar poems. From these Tang poems, we can easily see that Zhong Kui, as a god, was already very famous in the Tang Dynasty, and hanging the statue of Zhong Kui became a popular custom in the upper class.

However, there is no explanation of Zhong Kui's life experience and how he got to the altar.

This may be the reason why people invented the story of Zhong Kui becoming a god after the Song Dynasty: Zhong Kui in the Song Dynasty was as famous as the Tang Dynasty, but people could not explain his origin. Judging from the poems handed down and the portraits of Zhong Kui, this custom appeared as early as the Tang and Ming Dynasties. So people introduced the legendary Tang Huangming, and made up stories about Zhong Kui's scholar status and his appearance after his death to explain the origin of Zhong Kui.

So what is the statue of Zhong Kui that Emperor Tang Ming gave to the minister?

Why did the Song Dynasty use this as a basis to judge Zhong Kui's identity as a scholar?

Can you find out the real origin of Zhong Kui from that idol?

According to records, Wu Daozi, a painter in the Tang Dynasty, was the first master who was good at Zhong Kui's painting. Although his painting of Zhong Kui has been lost, some people have seen it in the imperial palace of the Northern Song Dynasty. Guo, a connoisseur of the Northern Song Dynasty, described in detail the original statue of Zhong Kui he saw in Wu Daozi. Guo wrote in "Pictures and Experiences" Volume VI "Recent Events":

"Yesterday, Wu Daozi drew Zhong Kui, wearing a blue shirt, with one foot and one waist and one hair, catching ghosts with his left hand and distinguishing ghosts with his right hand. The handwriting is thick and the painting is excellent. "

The blue word "blue shirt" is synonymous with "in rags", which means in rags, that is, in rags. "Waist water" means that there is water on the belt, which is a wooden ritual vessel held by the minister when he goes to court. "shawl and hair" is an instrument to describe his Confucian identity and poverty. Judging from the description of Zhong Kui's paintings by Guo, an appraiser of calligraphy and painting in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhong Kui is indeed an ugly scholar who was born in poverty.

This is the earliest existing portrait of Zhong Kui, and it is the work of Shi Ke, a figure painter of the Five Dynasties. Zhong Kui's image comes down in one continuous line, and he has always been a poor scholar.

It seems that from the early portraits, there is still no clue to the real origin of Zhong Kui.

Perhaps we have overlooked an important aspect, that is, the image of Zhong Kui among the people.

If you want to know the real origin of Zhong Kui, you should turn your attention to the people. However, in the historical documents of the Tang Dynasty, the record of Zhong Kui, a folk image, is blank.

1900, Dunhuang. A Taoist priest of Wang Xing came across a reference to Zhong Kui in a scripture written in the Tang Dynasty. The article is called "New Year's Eve".

At a ceremony called Nuo, Zhong Kui wore leopard skin with silver forehead and steel head, and his whole body was dyed with vermilion. Lead a hundred thousand jungle monsters and catch wandering ghosts everywhere.

It seems that another kind of Zhong Kui appeared among the people in the Tang Dynasty, which is quite different from the popular literati image in the upper class. What kind of ceremony is Nuo, and what role does Zhong Kui play in it? Is his birth closely related to this ceremony?

You can see the records about Nuo when you open the Book of the New Tang Dynasty.

The Book of Rites of the New Tang Dynasty records in detail the Nuo ceremonies held in the palace. According to the Book of Rites, although the names of ceremonies are all Nuo, there are obvious differences between Nuo in the palace and exorcism in Dunhuang and Zhong Kui. First of all, the scale is different. Secondly, Fang is the leader of Nuo dance in national ceremonies, not Zhong Kui in Dunhuang exorcism.

Why are the same Nuo in the Tang Dynasty so different? This is because in the Tang Dynasty, there were indeed two kinds of Nuo; One is officially sponsored, called palace furniture or national furniture, and the other is popular among the people, called township furniture.

This difference existed not only in the Tang Dynasty, but also in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The Exorcism Map of Zhong Kui unearthed in Dunhuang is the earliest document that records Zhong Kui's appearance in Nuo ceremonies. From the description of some customs and poems after the Tang Dynasty, Zhong Kui can only be seen in rural Nuo.

Fortunately, we can still see this ancient rural furniture ceremony. Shidongkou Village, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province is famous for its Nuo dance. The villagers believe that their ancestors were Zhongyuan people who moved here in the Tang Dynasty. Nuo dance was brought from the Central Plains at that time and passed down from generation to generation today.

The most active role in Nuo dance is Zhong Kui. Because of his frequent appearances and absolute leading role, people sometimes refer to Nuo dance as Zhong Kui. Slightly different from the Nuo ceremony in the Tang Dynasty, Zhong Kui here is no longer dressed in leopard skin, but dressed as a deputy governor, and his 100,000 jungle monsters are also simplified to four deputy governors. But his role in the ceremony has not changed. He is still catching ghosts.

After the ceremony began, the Nuo dancers immediately adopted this footwork. And this footwork exposed Zhong Kui's true identity. This gait has a resounding name, Yubu, which is Dayu's gait.

One thousand seven hundred years ago, Ge Hong, a Taoist scholar in Jin Dynasty, recorded this kind of footwork in Bao Puzi. Legend has it that Dayu was injured in both legs when he was managing water, so he could only walk with broken steps. However, people are grateful for his good deeds in water control, which are not regarded as defects, but as sacred evidence because they are different.

Then the origin of Zhong Kui's adoption of this footwork can be inferred as follows: Dayu lived in a clan society, and clan leaders often served as wizards. Therefore, the sacrificial ceremony he presided over was unique because of this special footwork. Later wizards followed this footwork and called it Yubu, not only to commemorate Dayu, but also to increase the mystery of the ceremony.

Does this speculation make sense? At least one thing is certain, that is, Zhong Kui Nuo dance is an ancient witchcraft activity, and it really originated very early, even before the legendary Dayu era, which can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. Judging from the patterns on early rock paintings, stone carvings and pottery, as early as the birth of civilization, there was a ritual of offering sacrifices to gods with witchcraft, which was probably accompanied by Nuo dance.

So was Zhong Kui born at that time?

The investigation of Zhong Kui's mask may provide us with some help. Mask is an indispensable prop in Zhong Kui Nuo dance popular among ethnic groups, and it also plays an important role in early Nuo ceremonies.

The importance of masks in Nuo dance ceremonies can still be seen today. After the ceremony, people put the masks back in place and burned incense to worship. As usual, the host of the ceremony will have a lyric to express his gratitude and praise. People are full of respect for these wooden masks as always.

Because the masks of dancing in Zhong Kui are similar to those in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, there is a hypothesis about the origin of Zhong Kui: as early as Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Zhong Kui appeared. Zhong Kui's name probably comes from a famous wizard at that time.

Some scholars have verified that there was a legend about the famous wizard Zhong You in the Shang Dynasty, that is, three or four thousand years ago. His best spell is asking for rain, and every time he comes forward to preside over the ceremony of asking for rain, it is the most effective, so people use his name to refer to the position of wizard. However, Zhong You and Zhong You have similar pronunciations, and were mistakenly recorded as Zhong You in the process of circulation. This is the first statement about the origin of Zhong Kui.

But Pingxiang people have a completely different view. They say that Zhong Kui is a big club for washing clothes. Beating clothes with peach sticks to clean up filth is really related to Zhong Kui's evil spirits.

In the brick paintings of the Han Dynasty, we can really see many warriors waving sticks. This is a big stick in the murals of the Western Han Tomb in Luoyang. But why is the stick called Zhong Kui instead of a stick?

Three hundred years ago, Gu, a great scholar in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, made an interesting textual research on the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Gu believes that in exegetics, the pronunciation of the word "Zhong Kui" is reversed, that is, the initials of the bell are spelled with the finals of the item-called "chasing". The so-called vertebra means big stick in ancient Chinese.

In addition, Zhong Kui's word "Zhong Kui" is an ancient surname, which is rare now. The origin of this surname is also closely related to the stick. According to historical records, there were seven families of adherents in the Yin Dynasty, namely, Tao, Shi, Fan, Shu, Hunger and Zhong Kui. Their surnames come from their specialty-making pottery by Dow. Fan Shi makes fences, while the Zhong Kui family specializes in making wooden sticks and mallets.

From this point of view, we can infer that a long time ago, the host of the Nuo dance ceremony was a wizard with a big stick. The big stick in his hand is called Zhong Kui, also called Vertebra. Wizards frequently use Zhong Kui as a ghost to exorcise evil spirits. Over time, people thought that the stick had magical power, and then thought that the name Zhong Kui also implied good luck, and even took the word Zhong Kui as the name. For example, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, some names included the word Zhong Kui, such as Joe Zhong Kui, which meant good luck and exorcism. By the Tang Dynasty, people had long forgotten Zhong Kui's original identity as a club body and mistook him for an ancient ghost killer named Zhong Kui. The custom of hanging the statue of Zhong Kui, which is popular in the upper class, adds fuel to the fire, and Zhong Kui's fame is increasing day by day.

In the Song Dynasty, people couldn't verify the origin of this great god in the Tang Dynasty, so they invented his scholar status and tragic experience of unjust death, and interpreted a period of gratitude and resentment between Tang and Zhong Kui. In this way, a big wooden stick became a man, stepped onto the altar and became a respected god. Such a blundering experience can be regarded as a great spectacle in the history of ancient god-making.

However, the story of creating God is far from over.

Lingbi County, Anhui Province has been famous for Zhong Kui's paintings since ancient times, and the painting and calligraphy shops that run this road are crowded with the whole street. Every year, nearly 10,000 portraits of Zhong Kui flow from here to the whole country and even abroad. Looking through the Lingbi county annals compiled in the early Qing Dynasty, we can see that this number will double to tens of thousands in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Zhong Kui is also the most popular variety in other producing areas of New Year pictures. This shows that people really trust Zhong Kui's ability to catch ghosts and gods. It also reflects the deep-rooted concept of ancient folk ghosts and gods from one side. It is because of the superstition of ghosts and gods that people created Zhong Kui who catches ghosts.

But the concept of ghosts and gods has long existed. Judging from the patterns on clay pots unearthed in banpo village, the concept of ghosts and gods can be traced back to the Neolithic Age, that is, 7,000 years ago. It was not until after the Tang Dynasty that Zhong Kui became a famous ghost catcher. So, before Zhong Kui appeared, who was in charge of catching ghosts? Why did it change to Zhong Kui?

Let's take a look at the early full-time ghost hunters. This is a portrait brick in the Western Han Dynasty, when Shen Tu and Lei Yu were experts in ghost hunting. In the fairy tales of the Han Dynasty, they are brothers and are famous for their bravery. Their images can often be seen in the Han Dynasty portrait bricks. Shen Tu and Lei Yu are the oldest ghost hunters.

This one, called Chi Guo, is a more different kind of evil ghost terminator. According to the strange book of Southeast Desert, this ruler Guo catches ghosts out of instinct-to fill his stomach. Legend has it that he will swallow 3000 evil spirits for breakfast, and he will need 300 for dinner at night.

Before the Tang Dynasty, these people were all powerful ghost hunters. But the appearance of Zhong Kui eclipsed them. Why can Zhong Kui quickly become popular and become a trustworthy ghost catcher? This also benefits from the successful shaping of folk stories since the Song Dynasty.

First of all, people gave him the status of a poor scholar, which made him have practical significance.

Zhong Kui was a typical civilian intellectual in ancient times. In the story, Zhong Kui was only one step away from his dream, but he lost his bright future in official career because of the emperor's personal likes and dislikes. Presumably, his uneven experience has aroused the admiration of scholars in previous dynasties. In almost all versions of Zhong Kui's stories since the Song Dynasty, this episode is strikingly similar.

For today's people, this is somewhat incredible: will such a ridiculous thing really happen if you are deprived of the opportunity to be an official just because you are ugly? Judge a person by his appearance, and his appearance determines a person's career fate; This is nothing new in the Tang Dynasty.

According to the records in Old Tang Book, passing the exam is only the most basic requirement. Finally, the official department has to go through four levels, one of which involves appearance. It seems that Zhong Kui's uneven plot is based on reality.

Zhong Kui, a part of the story, died in anger and rebelled against the unjust system in an extreme way, which is the embodiment of his indomitable character. Describing Zhong Kui's character in this way laid the groundwork for him to become the most trustworthy ghost catcher.

Nuo Temple is one of the few remaining temples dedicated to Zhong Kui in China. It is said that it was built in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Among them, the statue of Zhong Kui is different: he is not the powerful image of waving a golden mace or sword, but the bearing of a court official. Zhong Kui here has another honorific title, Judge Sir, who often performs on the stage in front of the temple.

When Zhong Kui's status as a judge originated, there is no way to verify it. According to documents, it appeared as early as the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty.

How did Zhong Kui become a judge?

The explanation of folktales is as follows: The injustice suffered by Zhong Kui touched the Jade Emperor, the supreme ruler of the sacred world. Originally, after Zhong Kui's death, he had to go to the underworld to suffer like everyone else, and was under the jurisdiction of the terrifying. But when the Jade Emperor heard about Zhong Kui's grievances, he was very sympathetic, so he was merciful. Send messengers to inform the lower bound, and don't make things difficult all the way. The Jade Emperor seems to appreciate Zhong Kui's unyielding character and intends to entrust him with an important task. On the way to the grave, Zhong Kui received the power of attorney and was appointed as the judge of Yin and Yang by the Jade Emperor.

The position of judge did not come out of thin air. In the officialdom of the human relations court, the judge is also a powerful figure. In the official system of the Northern Song Dynasty, judges assisted the work of the three divisions. The third secretary is the chief financial officer of * * *, and always holds the state financial power, ranking only below the prime minister. Then the judge who assists him in his work is naturally a powerful figure in officialdom. Because judges are in charge of financial power, it is easy to produce the phenomenon of * * *, so they have always chosen highly respected and selfless officials. Bao Zheng, a famous upright official in the Northern Song Dynasty, once served as a judge. There is a phenomenon in Pingxiang area that Zhong Kui and Bao Gong are inseparable. Their masks are usually interchangeable. In many people's minds, they have the same personality characteristics, integrity and selflessness. One is Bao Qingtian, an upright official on earth, and the other is Zhong Kui, the judge of the underworld. But Zhong Kui, the judge of the underworld, seems to have more power.

Since the Northern Song Dynasty, folk stories have successfully endowed Zhong Kui with the status of a poor scholar, and its practical significance has been recognized by the public. His unyielding personality makes him an impartial judge, and his integration with Bao Zheng's image as an honest official finally makes him the most trustworthy ghost catcher.

Looking at the changes of Zhong Kui's early image, we find an interesting phenomenon. That is the duality of Zhong Kui's image. He has both elegant and solemn traditional literati character; There is also a humorous and secular side.

In the Northern Song Dynasty's Great Nuo Map, the court painter made a statue of Zhong Kui at that time. He wore a fancy mask and sang and danced. The whole scene is full of festive entertainment and festive atmosphere, and there is no dignified bearing of a ghost killer at all. This is Su Hanchen's Five Ruitu in the Northern Song Dynasty. Judge Zhong Kui danced with four other immortals. It is also a kind and fairy demeanor.

This is the scene of welcoming local officials in the land and water painting "Three Officials Tour Local Officials" in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhong Kui is located at the bottom of the picture, much lower than the magistrate.

This is also the uniqueness of Zhong Kui as a god: although the image of Zhong Kui in past dynasties frequently appears in various paintings, there are countless legends about him; But because he really has no evidence in history and no code, he is ugly and ghost. I have never been given a title by a former emperor, and there is no record that the central government personally presided over the building of a temple for Zhong Kui. But because of this, people have more freedom in shaping Zhong Kui. This enabled Zhong Kui to acquire a distinctive secular character.

This secular character permeates the details of people's daily life. Shen Kuo in the Northern Song Dynasty recorded a mousetrap used by people at that time, named Zhong Kui. The working principle of this mousetrap named Dance Zhong Kui in Song Dynasty is actually the same as today's. From a practical point of view, the statue of Zhong Kui is actually completely redundant. Even without Zhong Kui, the mousetrap can still work normally. So why add the image of Zhong Kui? The only reason is his deterrent.

The practicality of ancient folk gods is also reflected in an important folk custom-that is, the doors of the paintings of Zhong Kui in ancient houses bear the brunt, and they are attached to two door panels in pairs, and the single one is attached directly above the door. Prevent evil spirits from harassing you at home. Some residential courtyards, after entering the door, can't see the owner's room, so they are separated by this wall. Another place where Zhong Kui often appears is here.

Because people have this understanding of ghosts: they think that ghosts can only walk in a straight line, so even if they accidentally let ghosts slip in, they will be caught by Master Zhong Kui. Sticking the portrait of Zhong Kui here also brings another convenience: it is convenient to put incense burners and red candles here. People expect Zhong Kui to try his best to look after the house, so like other gods, he will offer rich offerings and burn incense to worship on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

Although he is a fairy, he is used to meeting from time to time. Over time, he regarded Zhong Kui as his family. In addition to awe, there is also a kind side. But if Zhong Kui, the janitor, neglects his duty, the head of the family will show his parents' dignity and even swear.

The drama Ghost in the Pot describes the special relationship between folk gods in the Yuan Dynasty. Yang, a small businessman in Liangdu, was murdered. The murderer burned his ashes and mud in a clay pot and gave it to his neighbor Zhang Laohan. Clay pots bring the ghosts of the dead, make noise and tell grievances. Zhang Laohan was frightened out of his wits when he learned that there was a ghost in the basin. Immediately thought of, their keeper Zhong Kui master serious dereliction of duty. I am as blind as myself, and I don't know. I was so confused that I let the ghost into the house. Then he swore, "Good watchman, why did you let the ghost in? What do I want you to do? "

From the casual attitude of ordinary people towards Zhong Kui in Yuan Zaju, we can see that his divinity has been completely lost. In this case, we can't help asking: As a god, why can Zhong Kui be preserved to this day? This may be related to the worship of Taoism. From a special weapon he often uses, we can see the traces of this shaping.

Apart from Strafe and the golden hoop, Zhong Kui probably used this sword the most. It is really appropriate for Zhong Kui to use whip and mace as ghost weapons, and it is also in line with Zhong Kui's heroic image. In contrast, the sword is very gentle, because in ancient times, no matter civilian military commanders, most of them would wear such a sword. Why do people give this seemingly insignificant sword to Zhong Kui?

This is not an ordinary sword, but a seven-star sword, a special weapon for Taoist priests to kill ghosts. The seven connected points on the sword are the patterns of the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper, which occupies a lofty position in Taoism, is the most important star god visited by Taoist priests when doing things. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many Taoist priests have been active among the people. They wandered around the rivers and lakes to do things as their profession. It is said that through their sincere prayers, the God of the Big Dipper will come to earth to eliminate disasters, diseases, evil spirits and monsters. These rural Taoist priests are everywhere in people's lives, involving big things and small feelings. They frequently invited Zhong Kui to come down to earth to catch ghosts, which gave Zhong Kui new functions-so Zhong Kui, which has Taoist immortal method, took on a new look.

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival is a spring festival. In the concept of old Beijingers, the fifth month of the lunar calendar is an evil month. It is said that in this month, all poisonous insects and diseases have come out to make people sick. This poisonous insect is so numerous that it is called five poisons. Hanging a statue of Zhong Kui on the Dragon Boat Festival gave him new functions, and Zhong Kui cut off the five poisons.

But there are five little devils in Zhong Kui's story. It is these five children who often follow Zhong Kui in the portrait. They are new characters in the story of Zhong Kui in Ming Dynasty, and it is said that Zhong Kui's ugliness is related to them.

The Ming version of Zhong Kui's story changed the old saying that literary works are born ugly. The story is about Zhong Kui, a handsome and charming scholar, who was disfigured by five troublemakers during the exam. Zhong Kui died unjustly, and became a ghost hunter. He immediately subdued these five kids.

Later, the Five Ghosts further evolved into the Five Poisons, which made Zhong Kui assume another brand-new function, namely, Zhong Kui, Shi Tian who cut the Five Poisons. In fact, there is another person, Zhang Tianshi, who used to be a full-time poison killer. Zhang Tianshi is the deified image of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Tianshidao. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the spread of Zhong Kui's story, especially the feud between Zhong Kui and five imps, Zhong Kui gradually replaced Zhang Tianshi. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the images of Zhong Kui and Zhang Tianshi have been integrated, and Zhong Kui has become the most popular star of the Dragon Boat Festival-Zhong Kui, the heavenly master who cut off the five poisons.

These five kids can't escape from Master Zhong Kui's eyes any more, and then they become five little bats-meaning happiness is just around the corner, or hate it for coming too late. These five ghosts become Five Blessingg, which is more telling. Shang Shu Hong Fan explains that Five Blessingg's specific content is "one is longevity, the other is wealth, the third is corning, the fourth is virtue, and the fifth is end".

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the elements of blessing in Zhong Xiang's paintings have increased. This painting is a good morning picture by Emperor Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty. Zhong Xiang, holding Ruyi, led the imp to drive. The tray in the child's hand is full of persimmons with cypress leaves, and there are bats in the sky, which means that Pepsi (persimmon) falls from the sky.

Yangliuqing's door-keeper painting is a typical "martial trial" style. Zhong Kui made all kinds of mighty gestures with his sword, surrounded by floating clouds, eight treasures, double happiness and other patterns, which were lively and auspicious.

Among the gatekeepers of Taohuawu in Suzhou, there is a graceful and handsome donkey riding with a servant boy who broke an umbrella. He gritted his teeth and looked at bats flying in the sky or spiders hanging on his body, symbolizing "happiness falling from the sky" and "happiness falling from the sky" and full of festive colors. Even more, a painting shop in Beijing is ingenious. It removes the weapon from Zhong's hand and adds a huge copper coin, which is called "Judge by Trusting Money".

In old Beijing, the judge was followed by a voice called Judge Er, or simply Judge Er. So someone changed the big copper coin in Zhong's arms into a fat doll, which means "I hope to have a baby".

That's it-exorcising evil spirits, beheading ghosts, praying for blessings, hoping for success and seeking wealth. Everyone has his own needs, and Zhong Kui eventually became a superstar among the ancient folk immortals.