Zhong Kui

Uncommon card · No. 100536

Zhong Kui (Chinese: 鍾馗; pinyin: Zhōng Kuí, in Japanese: Shōki) is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. He is depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and a wrathful expression. Zhong Kui is able to command 80,000 demons to do his bidding and is often associated with the five bats of fortune. Worship and iconography of Zhong Kui later spread to other East Asian countries. In art, Zhong Kui is a frequent subject in paintings and crafts, and his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit as well as in places of business where high-value goods are involved. He is also commonly portrayed in popular media.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Anonymous Note: It has been traditionally attributed to Wu Wei (1459 - 1508), but it was probably painted by an anonymous painter from the Ming dynasty., Public domain