Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Zhong Kui the Demon Queller
钟馗捉鬼
Zhong Kui the Demon Queller (钟馗捉鬼, Zhōng Kuí zhuō guǐ) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from the Tang-dynasty legend of Zhong Kui, first written down by Shen Kuo: a scholar turned away from the palace for his fearsome face becomes the one ghost-catcher a little blue thief fears.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — An old storyteller who tells Zhong Kui's tale the way it has been told by Chinese firesides for more than a thousand years.
- Zhong Kui · 钟馗 — A brilliant young scholar from Zhongnan Mountain whose huge eyes and bushy beard frighten everyone, though his heart is brave, proud and kind.
- Du Ping · 杜平 — Zhong Kui's loyal, cheerful friend, who travels with him to the exam and never misses a chance to tease him.
- Yaya · 丫丫 — A lively little girl of Chang'an who is scared of Zhong Kui's face for exactly one minute, and never forgets his kindness.
- The Official · 大官 — A smug palace official who cares far more about a man's face than about his writing.
- The Emperor · 皇帝 — Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, a great lover of music, who has been sick for a long time when a strange dream comes to him.
- The Consort · 贵妃 — The emperor's beloved consort, the famous beauty Yang Guifei, who leaves her perfume pouch by his pillow to help him sleep.
- Little Ghost · 小鬼 — A sneaky, giggling little blue ghost called Xuhao, who wears only one sandal and can't see a nice thing without shouting 'Mine!'
- Wu Daozi · 吴道子 — The greatest painter of the Tang court, calm and a little mysterious, who can paint a face he has never seen.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: First Place
第一名
A scholar with the fiercest face in Chang'an comes first in the exam, and the palace gate stays shut. What will he do next?
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Little Blue Ghost
小鬼来了
The emperor is sick, and in his dream a giggling blue thief steals his favorite things. Who is coming through the door?
Free to read
Chapter 3: The Picture on the Door
门上的画
A big man in a red robe has cornered a little thief, and the emperor wakes up needing a painter.
Free to read
Key words in Zhong Kui the Demon Queller
Behind the story
Zhong Kui (钟馗) has guarded Chinese homes for well over a thousand years. One of the oldest written accounts of his legend, recorded by the Song-dynasty scholar Shen Kuo (沈括), tells how Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, sick with a fever, dreamed that a little ghost stole his jade flute and Yang Guifei's perfume pouch, until a huge spirit caught it and said his name was Zhong Kui. When the emperor woke up well, he had the great painter Wu Daozi (吴道子) paint the spirit he had seen.
Over the centuries, storytellers added that Zhong Kui had come first in the imperial exam, only to be turned away because of his frightening face, and that is the version retold here. His bushy beard, red robe and sword became one of China's best-loved guardian pictures: people put him on their doors at New Year as a door god (门神), and in many places hang his picture at the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) to keep away illness and bad luck.
Did you know?
- Records from the Tang dynasty mention officials thanking the emperor for a gift of a Zhong Kui picture and a calendar at the end of the year.
- The top scorer in the imperial exam was called the 状元 (zhuàngyuan). People still use the word for anyone who comes first, like the best scorer in a province's university entrance exam, the 高考状元.
- In a favorite Chinese opera, 钟馗嫁妹 (Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister), Zhong Kui comes home one night with a band of little ghosts to marry his sister to Du Ping, the loyal friend who stood by him.