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.