Why did Zhong Kui become a ghost catcher? The legend of Zhong Kui catching ghosts

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. Why can Zhong Kui catch ghosts? There are mainly the following factors.

First of all, Zhong Kui's prototype is an exorcism tool-a wooden stick. Zhong Kui, a fictional character from the ancient "Zhong Kui", "Zhong Kui" is an object used by ancient families, that is, the wooden stick as it is called today, and it is an ancient surname, which is rare now. The origin of this surname is also closely related to the stick. The Zhong Kui family specializes in making 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 think that walking sticks have magical power, and then think that the name Zhong Kui also implies auspiciousness, and even use the word Zhong Kui as the name. According to legend, in ancient times, some patients in the family thought that ghosts were worshipping, so they picked up a wooden stick (Zhong Kui) to drive away ghosts. Since the Six Dynasties, many people named their children "Zhong Kui", such as Yang, the general of Emperor Wei Xianwen, because Zhong Kui was considered to have the function of exorcising ghosts and evil spirits. Li, King Dunqiu of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei; Zhong Kui, eunuch of Wu Chengdi in Northern Qi Dynasty; Joe and others in the reign of Yang Di. It's all to cure ghosts and ward off evil spirits and keep peace.

Secondly, Zhong Kui's ghost hunting was granted by the emperor, which was authoritative and feasible. Before the Tang Dynasty, the image of Zhong Kui was not widely circulated, but since it was said that Tang Huang Ming dreamed that Zhong Kui was catching ghosts, Zhong Kui became popular. It is said that during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Huangming got falciparum malaria and was ill for more than a month, which did not look good. One night, in his dream, he saw a child stealing a real purple sachet and little Yu Di. Then he went to a GREAT GHOST and ate it. Tang asked him who he was, and said that he was a scholar, Zhong Kui, and vowed to help the emperor, because he was not exposed to the steps of the martial arts exam. Huang Ming, Emperor Taizong, recovered after waking up, so he ordered Wu Daozi to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui, and presented a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts to ministers, one of which was hung on the gate on New Year's Eve to ward off evil spirits. Later, this method was introduced into the folk Zhong Kui and became the gatekeeper of every household.

Thirdly, Wu Daozi, a famous painter in the Tang Dynasty, created a vivid image of Zhong Kui catching ghosts. Since then, Zhong Kui's image is basically fixed, intuitive and emotional. 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 "Recent Events, Volume 6": "In the past, Wu Daozi painted Zhong Kui, dressed in a blue coat, with leather armor, eyes and waist. He catches ghosts with his left hand and distinguishes ghost eyes with his right. The handwriting is thick and the painting is excellent. " The blue word "blue shirt" is synonymous with "rags", which means rags, that is, 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. Zhong Kui's fierce ghost-catching image jumped from the page and left a deep impression on people. It had a strong influence on later painters. Therefore, Wu Daozi initiated painters, writers and dramatists to paint Zhong Kui, write Zhong Kui and play Zhong Kui.

Fourthly, Zhong Kui is directly related to exorcism, which strengthens the historical basis and influence of ghost hunting in Zhong Kui. Sima Xiaguan, Zhou Li, contains: Fang wore a bear skin and a mask with four golden eyes on his face. The factors that make China people wear masks and totems. Fang Xiang's fierce modeling. It is based on the old belief that wearing a mask of evil spirits can scare away ghosts. This is a kind of tooth for tooth, or evil for evil, evil for evil. You can get the effect of scaring ghosts with ghosts Zhong Kui's ugly appearance may have been deformed by Fang Xiang wearing a terrible mask. What Zhong Kui and Fang Xiang have in common is "ugliness" in appearance. The Exorcism of Zhong Kui unearthed in Dunhuang records the appearance of Zhong Kui in the exorcism ceremony. In Song Dynasty, Meng Yuanshen recorded the grand Nuo ceremony held in the palace, including Zhong Kui. 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.

Fifth, Zhong Kui is a man without humanity, who straddles the underworld and the dead. He has supernatural power, looks ferocious and makes ghosts afraid, so he is the best person to catch ghosts. The primitive belief holds that diseases and disasters are worshipped by some kind of elves and ghosts, just like poisonous snakes and wild animals. Can be deported. The ancients used the method of "returning evil for good". People who think they look strange often have magical qualities and extraordinary skills. Therefore, folk door gods always glare. It looks fierce. Armed with all kinds of traditional weapons. Always ready to fight ghosts who dare to come to the door. The way he catches ghosts is to gouge out his eyes before eating. It is also bold and ruthless to use thunder. In addition, he is ambitious and has publicly declared that he wants to catch all the evil spirits in the world. It has set off a storm of catching ghosts for thousands of years.

Zhong Kui has a chivalrous face. He looks fierce. Behind his strong personality, he has an extremely kind heart. This strong contrast is enough to construct a classic artistic image. Folk painters carve their works on stones. Or lettering rubbings. As an exorcism ceremony for the new year. Geely paints to ward off evil spirits and attract wealth. Stick it on the door or hang it on the high hall. Welcome good luck. Zhong Kui is like a painting of a bell. Brave and fierce. Look ferocious. There is a kind of courage not to be an enemy. In terms of modeling, the sword-shaped eyebrows and tiger's eyes gradually formed, with a broad forehead, rough and powerful, powerful and aggressive, rough and charming, and chivalrous and martial. Gentleness is revealed in boldness. Unique local characteristics, such as toughness, can only be shown in this case.

Handed down works include Judge Ye, Song Zhengqi, Ode to Zhong Kui and Zhong Weitu. The shape is rough and elegant. The expression is dignified and gentle. Character is violent and kind. The atmosphere is dull and mysterious. Zhong Kui is dressed in red official clothes. His feet were wrapped in boots. Keep my sleeves clean; Clench your fist with your right hand. Hold the sword in your left hand and hold it above your head. Take a big step to the left. A grand exorcism ceremony is going on. Especially his locked broadsword eyebrows. Round angry eyes. Plus a thick beard and a full mouth. It looks like an oriental lion roaring and awakening. Zhong Kui's night patrol map, Zhong Kui's ghost catching map, Zhong Kui's ghost evaluation map, Zhong Kui's sword dance map and so on.

Sixth, Zhong Kui's unyielding character makes him a fair judge. Give him the status and ability to catch ghosts. 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 paranormal sutra southeast wasteland sutra, this ruler Guo catches ghosts out of instinct-in order to eat his own 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. Zhong Kui was a typical civilian intellectual in ancient times. In the year of Emperor Xuanzong's accession to the throne (the fourth day of August in the first year of Emperor Taizong+September 9, 2002), he went to Chang 'an to take the exam, and Zhong Kui wrote five pieces of Yingzhou Waiting Banquet, which was praised as a "wizard" by the examiner and was the first of Gong's. However, in the imperial examination, the traitor Qilu was repeatedly slandered for judging people by their appearances, thus losing the position of the top scholar. In a rage, Zhong Kui hit his head on the temple pillar and died, shaking with one hand and one hand. The emperor used the official position of the champion to hold the funeral.

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 resonance of scholars in previous dynasties. In almost all versions of Zhong Kui's stories since the Song Dynasty, this plot is strikingly similar. 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.

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.

Zhong Kui's injustice 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. 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.

Seventh, Zhong Kui's ghost-catching portraits are posted everywhere among the people and spread widely, which has become a ritual behavior for people to ward off evil spirits and seek happiness every day. Zhong Kui's portrait gives people a strong psychological hint and comfort. Lingbi County, Anhui Province is 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.