Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 18

This leaf is part of an important album of 50 drawings encompassing three subjects: processions of Daoist deities to the celestial spheres, the Ten Kings of Hell, and Erlang’s Campaign to Rid Mount Guankou of Dangerous Beasts ( soushan tu 搜山圖). In this section of the Daoist pantheon, Zhong Kui 鍾馗, the hero who fights demons, is portrayed with two ghost attendants. One holds a handle at the end of which is a large wheel with drums. Thunder, which drums can evoke, is a theme of many of the Daoist Pantheon leaves in this album.