The Complete Biography of Zhong Kui
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers who enjoy Zhong Kui legends and folk supernatural stories
- Researchers interested in folk beliefs and classical fiction subjects
- Readers looking for traditional vernacular stories for leisure reading
- Readers interested in Bao Zheng's case-solving and underworld trial episodes
Not a good fit for
- Readers who prefer modern fast-paced narrative and short sentences
- Readers seeking rigorous academic textual criticism and annotations
- Readers uninterested in themes of gods, ghosts, and retribution
Reading tips
- Read the table of contents first to understand the trilogy structure, then proceed in the order of Subduing Demons, Slaying Ghosts, and Pacifying Ghosts.
- When encountering traditional vernacular wording, skip it first and look back at the context after finishing a section.
- Read the underworld trial sections as detective stories, noting the narrative logic of good and evil being repaid.
- After finishing, compare with folk paintings of Zhong Kui and New Year customs to deepen impressions.
About the publisher
China Theatre Press takes professional theatre publishing as its foundation while extending into fiction, biography, military and cultural reading. Its books cover fine fiction, general biography, war and military life, culture, classical literature and inspirational growth. They include historical narratives such as The Long March, artists' biographies such as Art Sea Sentiments: Good People Accompanied Me All My Life, and scholarly collections of traditional tea-picking opera tunes from southern Jiangxi. Representative authors include Wang Chaozhu, Bao Guo'an, Zhu Bing, Xin Zhou, Wang Yuyang and Guo Xianjun. The press balances theatre scholarship with general reading, and also touches on traditional tunes, classical novels and Jewish culture. As public information is limited, this description focuses on the directions reflected in its catalog without further speculation.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 钟馗降妖传
- 锺惠夫妇花园游玩
- 邻族庆贺白鼠入房
- 锺惠夫妇与儿取名
- 锺惠夫妇议儿就学
- 锺惠入馆从师
- 游玩龙舟
- 习学举业
- 帝试钟馗
- 求医疗病
- 帝试钟馗
- 帝赐笔剑
- 送礼求婚
- 雷击雉精
- 立斩石马
- 收除鳖精
- 赴试不捷
- 超度秀英
- 刀山地狱
- 寒冰地狱
- 锯解地狱
- 磨磨地狱
- 沸油地狱
- 磑捣地狱
- 割舌地狱
- 称秤地狱
- 木驴地狱
- 转轮十殿
- 回转天宫
- 诛戮山魈
- 捉获小鬼
- 收捉蝙蝠
- 证除元弼
- 对证盆冤
- 简击五通
- 钟馗斩鬼传
- 第一回 金銮殿，求荣得祸 酆都府，舍鬼谈人
- 第二回 诉根由，两神共愤 逞豪强，三鬼齐诌
- 第三回 咸司马，计救赛西施 富先锋，箭射涎脸鬼
- 第四回 因龌龊，同心访奇士 为仔细，彼此结冤家
- 第五回 忘父仇，偏成莫逆 求官位，反失家私
- 第六回 驱骗人，反被人抠掐 丢谎鬼，却交鬼偷尸
- 第七回 对芳樽，两人赏明月 献美酒，五鬼闹钟馗
- 第八回 悟空岭，懒诛黑眼鬼 烟花寨，智请白眉神
- 第九回 喜好色，潜移三地 爱饮酒，谬引群仙
- 第十回 妖气净，树睁归地狱 功行满，钟馗上天堂
- 钟馗平鬼传
- 第一回 万人县群鬼赏月
- 第二回 烟花巷色鬼请医
- 第三回 贾在行误下绝命丹
- 第四回 下作鬼巧设连环计
- 第五回 唐钟馗火烧不修观
- 第六回 短命鬼被擒子母山
- 第七回 五里村酒店收穷鬼
- 第八回 溜子阵战败遇穷神
- 第九回 桃花山收服两兄弟
- 第十回 五里村斩烧一全家
- 第十一回 奈河关下作鬼署印
- 第十二回 吊角庄风流鬼攀亲
- 第十三回 冒失鬼酒里逃生
- 第十四回 粗鲁鬼梦中丧命
- 第十五回 耍乖山勾兵取救
- 第十六回 森罗殿缴册复命
FAQ
Which parts of the Zhong Kui story does this book collect?
What main events does Zhong Kui experience in the book?
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About the author
Yunzhong Daoren is the attributed author of the classical Chinese novel The Complete Biography of Zhong Kui. Beyond this name, publicly available information about his real identity, native place, dates of birth and death, and life is extremely limited, making verification difficult. The name itself, meaning "Daoist of the Clouds," carries clear Daoist connotations and may be a sobriquet or a pseudonym, a practice not uncommon in Ming and Qing popular fiction publishing. The surviving work, The Complete Biography of Zhong Kui, draws on the widely circulated folk belief and legends surrounding Zhong Kui, telling of his subduing of demons and ghosts and his protection of the human world; it is a typical classical tale of gods and spirits. Such works generally draw on folk religion and oral storytelling traditions, employ accessible language and fantastical plots, and bear strong marks of popular narrative, holding a place in the genealogy of supernatural themes in classical literature. Given the scarcity of material on the author, further discussion of him and his work depends on the discovery and study of additional documents.
“Anonymous” is a common attribution in classical Chinese books, indicating that the author’s name has been lost or that the original text did not name an author; it is not the real name of a particular writer. No public information is available about this figure’s life, native place, or dates of birth and death. The only work attributed to “Anonymous” is the full text of The Complete Story of Zhong Kui, usually classified as classical literature. It is a chapter-division novel on gods and demons centered on the long-circulated folk legend of Zhong Kui, telling of his strange appearance, his failure in the imperial examinations, and his transformation after death into a deity charged with exorcising ghosts and driving away evil. Such novels often blend tales of the strange, religion, and folk belief, with accessible plots and rich imagination, and are representative of Ming and Qing popular literature. Owing to limited public information, the identity and editorial circumstances of this attributed author cannot be confirmed.
Yanxia Sanren is a pseudonymous author in the tradition of classical Chinese popular fiction, whose real name, courtesy name, native place, and dates of birth and death are all unknown; available public information is very limited. Judging from the extant works, two versions of The Complete Biography of Zhong Kui are attributed to this name, both belonging to classical literature and telling the wondrous tales of Zhong Kui, a figure from folk legend, with a strong flavor of the strange and the supernatural. The works are often classed under otherworld fiction, with extraordinary imagination and plots unfolding between the human realm and the underworld; the language is accessible and aimed at a popular readership, reflecting the common approach of Ming and Qing popular fiction, which used gods and ghosts to convey worldly concerns. Owing to the lack of historical sources, the author's life is difficult to verify, and the editions and attributions of the works should be treated with caution. Overall, Yanxia Sanren may be regarded as a pseudonymous writer of classical fiction known for Zhong Kui stories, whose works offer useful texts for studying Zhong Kui belief and the evolution of supernatural fiction.
