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Story 92: Death of Zhong Kui

Death of Zhong Kui

Author: Anonymous

During the reign of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, there was a scholar named Zhong Kui. He had the head of a leopard, the forehead of a tiger, an iron mask, eyes and a face covered with beards. Although Zhong Kui is ugly in appearance, he is extremely talented and has outstanding martial arts. This year coincided with the autumn imperial examination. Zhong Kui said goodbye to his relatives and friends and went to Beijing to rush for the examination.

When Zhong Kui came to Chang’an after a long journey, he was very happy to see the prosperous scene of the capital city with its towers and towers, so he started walking around in the streets. When he saw a divination stall in front of him, he walked up to the stall and said, “Sir, I’m rushing to take the divination test. Please give me a fortune-telling to calculate my future.” Then he wrote the character “kui”.

The calligrapher carefully looked at the word “kui”, pondered for a moment and said slowly: “My husband, this scientific research article will definitely come out on top, but you will be unlucky when the time comes. Not only will you lose your reputation, but you will also have bad luck.”

The calligrapher paused for a moment and said: “Take apart the word “kui”. It’s the ninth month and you will definitely be at the top of the list when you take the exam. But if this first word is thrown aside, I’m afraid a disaster will befall you within ten days.

Please be careful.” After hearing this, Zhong Kui thought to himself: As long as a man is alive, he can do what he wants. How could a disaster happen if you are honest? So he paid the money and walked away without taking it seriously.

A few days later, Zhong Kui entered the examination room to take the exam. Zhong Kui read the test questions and immediately finished writing the article and handed it in. The chief examiner that day was Han Yu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and the deputy examiner was Lu Zhi, a great scholar. When they read Zhong Kui’s paper, their eyes lit up and they said in unison: “Wizard, Wizard, every word of his article is worthy of being followed by Li Taibai and Du Zimei.” So they named Zhong Kui as the first place.

Emperor Dezong listened to Han Yu’s report that Zhong Kui, the new number one scholar in the imperial examinations, was extremely talented, so he summoned Zhong Kui in the Golden Palace.

When Dezong saw Zhong Kui’s ugly appearance, he immediately felt displeased and said: “The selection of scholars in our dynasty is all based on words and deeds. How can such an ugly person be regarded as the number one scholar?”

Han Yu quickly knelt down and said: “The merits and demerits of a person have nothing to do with it.” Don’t you, the Holy Master of Appearance, hear that Yan Ying is three feet tall and that he can assist the Han Dynasty?

Confucius judged people by their appearance and lost his son Yu Wanwang. Your Majesty, please think twice.” Emperor Dezong pondered for a moment and said: “Although Han Aiqing’s words are reasonable, I once said that when I was Emperor Taizong Eighteen bachelors came to Yingzhou and said that this man was the number one scholar, fearing that the world would laugh at me for not recognizing talents.”

Prime Minister Lu Qi was narrow-minded, and jealous of the virtuous, but after hearing the emperor’s words, he hurriedly knelt down and said: “The number one scholar in the Jin Dynasty must study both internally and externally. There are three hundred people taking the science examination. Why don’t you choose another one?” When Zhong Kui saw how confused this man was, he couldn’t help but got angry, pointed at Lu Qi and cursed: “Wouldn’t it harm the country if such an ignorant official is in the government?”

After saying this, he shook his fist Hit Lu Qi. When Dezong saw this, he was furious and said: “How dare you make a big fuss in the Golden Palace and take it quickly?” Zhong Kui was so angry that he pulled out the sword from the waist of the general standing in the palace and sighed loudly: “It’s hard for a frustrated cat to learn from a tiger.”

A parrot with a broken feather is not as good as a chicken.” After saying this, he committed suicide.

When Dezong saw that Zhong Kui committed suicide in anger, he unexpectedly committed suicide. In order to win over people’s hearts, he decreed that Zhong Kui be buried with the title of No. 1 Scholar and he was named the God of Exorcism to rid the world of evil spirits.