Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional stories - China people have been exploring ghosts and gods for a long time. What did the ghosts in ancient China look like?

China people have been exploring ghosts and gods for a long time. What did the ghosts in ancient China look like?

Because of the fear of death and the memory of the deceased ancestors, China people began to explore ghosts and gods very early, and painting naturally became a way for people to express ghosts. Luo Pin, a painter in the Qing Dynasty, was the youngest among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, and once worshipped Jin Nong as his teacher. I have drawn several funny ghost drawings in my life. Among them, "Ghost Funny Scroll" is Luo Pin's masterpiece, and the painter exaggerates a strange ghost world to satirize the social reality, which can be called an outstanding cartoon in ancient times. There are ***8 funny pictures of ghosts, with ghosts as the theme, which are considered as one of the early cartoons in China by people who study the history of comics today. A strange form.

In China, hell, like human beings, has a strict hierarchy. All kinds of ghosts are full of it. They judge people's gains and losses and give rewards and punishments according to what they did before their death. Among all kinds of ghosts, the most famous is Yamaraja in the Ten Halls. Lu Zhongxin, a folk painter from Ningbo in the Southern Song Dynasty who lives in Yongyuan Temple in Japan, created Ten Kings on Earth, which depicts the image of Yamaraja in the Ten Halls. The picture has delicate strokes, bright colors and strong decorative effect.

In ancient China, there was also a famous ghost-related god, Zhong Kui, whose main function was to catch ghosts. Zhong Kui is a "sage" in the traditional culture of China. According to ancient books, he was a native of central and southern Yongzhou in the early Tang Dynasty. He was born with a leopard head and leopard eyes, a tough face and an ugly face. But he is a talented and knowledgeable person, always upright, upright, and honest with others.

According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty suddenly became seriously ill after a cruise and failed to be cured after many efforts. The emperor was very anxious. One night, he dreamed that a child in red stole his treasure, and the emperor scolded the child angrily. At this moment, GREAT GHOST, wearing a broken hat, suddenly appeared, grabbed the kid and ate it. When the emperor asked him who he was, GREAT GHOST replied: I am a scholar in Central South China, and my name is Zhong Kui. Because the emperor didn't like my ugly appearance, he decided not to admit me. He was killed on the steps of the palace in a rage and engaged in ghost hunting after his death. Xuanzong recovered after waking up, and the bathroom named Zhong Kui as a sage in Fu Town, specializing in ghost hunting.

The drunken picture of Zhong Kui in the Palace Museum was painted by Luo Pin, a painter in the Qing Dynasty. In the picture, Zhong Kui, as drunk as a fiddler, paced forward with the help of the imp. The characters are lively and interesting, and the picture is elegant and atmospheric.