This book is adapted from The Tale of Slaying Ghosts, a long supernatural novel written by Liu Zhang of the Qing dynasty.
Set during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, the story recounts the legendary life of Zhong Kui. Talented and full of ambition, Zhong Kui took the imperial examinations, but was rejected because of his ugly appearance. In despair, he chose to take his own life. Perhaps Heaven took pity on him, because after his death Zhong Kui was made a great demon-quelling deity and tasked with ridding the human world of ghosts.
On his ghost-hunting journey, Zhong Kui subdues demons and vanquishes evil, encountering all manner of ghosts along the way. Each has distinctive traits and represents a different kind of ugliness in the real world. For example, the Boastful Ghost excels at bragging and lying; the Shameless Ghost has skin as thick as a city wall and no sense of shame; the Filthy Ghost is miserly and greedy, unwilling to part with a single coin and ready to do anything for money; and the Fussy Ghost is so stingy that it quibbles over every last bit, even when the gain is no bigger than a sesame seed.
Through these ghosts, the author deftly mirrors the world, exposing the darkness of society, the ugliness of human nature, and the decline of public morals. Zhong Kui's ghost-slaying acts express a desire to uphold justice and a longing for a better society. The fantastical story allows readers to deeply feel the many problems of the real world, giving the work a strong satirical edge and a spirit of criticism.
