For the Dragon Boat Festival, people also shoot arrows and hang portraits of Zhong Kui. According to The History in the Jin Dynasty• Ceremonies (Jin Shi•Li Zhi), in the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people would ride a horse, shoot arrows at willow branches and try to take the branches. In the Ming Dynasty, such a game had also become a show among noblemen.

Tie Colorful Silk Treads

According to Customs in Beiping (Beiping Feng Su Lei Zheng), to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival from the first to the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, some would hang a portrait of Zhong Kui at home as a way of driving out evil spirits. Others would wear a coin with Zhong Kui’s portrait on it for the same purpose. Today, portraits of Zhong Kui are still an important symbol of the festival, some of which have been sold at high prices in various auctions.

By Yang Guozhen and Liu Fang

Editor: Liu Fang