The Demon Queller Zhong Kui and His Sister

Known as the demon queller in Chinese culture, Zhong Kui was a scholar who lived in the early 700s, and his spirit became a demon-killing ghost, ridding the world of evil. Although Zhong had an ugly face, his sister was an exceptional beauty. In gratitude to his best friend, Du Ping, for a lifetime of support, Zhong Kui allowed his sister to marry Du. This tale later became a popular subject and generations of artists depicted this imagined scene in various styles and mediums. Many paintings show the demon queller seeing his sister off in a palanquin, accompanied by a procession of little demons.

The oldest son of the famous painter Fu Baoshi, Fu Xiaoshi graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1958 and joined Jiangsu Art Academy. Like his father, Fu Xiaoshi painted mostly historical figures. His works do not, however, resemble those of the elder Fu, who is known for elegant figures in lyric landscapes. Xiaoshi had a stroke in 1979 and lost the use of his right hand. Painting with his left hand, Xiaoshi defined his figures with broad applications of ink and color washes rather than with refined outlines, and there is a looser and more abbreviated quality to his painting. Here, the artist depicts Zhong Kui and his sister in the splashed-ink style, and the work conveys a spontaneous and whimsical feeling.