南宋/元 顏庚 鍾馗嫁妹圖 卷|The Demon Queller Zhong Kui Giving His Sister Away in Marriage

Yan Geng

Date unknown · Handscroll; ink on silk · Asian Art

Here, the legendary "demon queller" Zhong Kui leads his sister to her new home accompanied by an escort of demons performing feats of martial prowess. The comic climax to this spectacle is Zhong Kui himself—stone drunk and propped atop a small donkey by three retainers while his sister sits helplessly astride a recalcitrant water buffalo. The painting illustrates a rebus: "marrying off one's sister" (jia mei) is a pun for "subjugating demons." Yan Geng may have derived inspiration from actual New Year's processions, during which costumed figures impersonating Zhong Kui and his band of demons circulated through neighborhoods and banished evil in return for payment. Paintings on this subject clearly enjoyed widespread appeal, perhaps serving as auspicious gifts for the New Year.

Artist

Yan Geng

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Handscroll; ink on silk

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift and Rogers Fund, 1990