In the story of the demon queller from the Ming dynasty, Zhong Kui travels with a friend from his hometown to take a civil service exam in Xi'an, where the eight thousand strong terracotta army continues to stand guard over the emperor buried there. Though Zhong Kui scored high in his exams, according to folklore he was denied certification and sentenced to the capital of hell because his bulging eyes and ungainly figure made him most unattractive. He was so angry and upset that he bashed his head repeatedly against the pillars of the imperial palace until he died. You could say he wanted to go in a big way, make the royals feel remorse. Perhaps it worked, because then the gods of the underworld turned him into the king and vanquisher of ghosts—eighty thousand demons did his bidding, and if any one of them should ever think to cross him, he'd tear out its eye and eat it with relish like a quick pickle. Zhong Kui's likeness is carved into many objects, including those miniature fasteners called netsuke. There's one of him brandishing a sword at demons around his bed: smaller than a Matchbox car, it sits unlabeled in a glass case at the Hermitage Museum up the road. Once, it might have cinched tight a coin-filled purse dangling from a sash around your waist. Once, it might have bared its teeth, sensing a hand coming close, ready to snatch or touch.
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