er, and a shoe hanging from
his girdle. Having broken through a bamboo gate, he took possession
of an embroidered box and a jade flute, and then began to make a
tour of the palace, sporting and gambolling. The Emperor grew angry
and questioned him. "Your humble servant," replied the little demon,
"is named Hsue Hao, 'Emptiness and Devastation,'" "I have never heard
of such a person," said the Emperor. The demon rejoined, "Hsue means to
desire Emptiness, because in Emptiness one can fly just as one wishes;
Hao, 'Devastation,' changes people's joy to sadness. "The Emperor,
irritated by this flippancy, was about to call his guard, when suddenly
a great devil appeared, wearing a tattered head-covering and a blue
robe, a horn clasp on his belt, and official boots on his feet. He
went up to the sprite, tore out one of his eyes, crushed it up, and ate
it. The Emperor asked the newcomer who he was. "Your humble servant,"
he replied, "is Chung K'uei, Physician of Tung-nan Shan in Shensi. In
the reign-period Wu Te (A.D. 618-627) of the Emperor Kao Tsu of the
T'ang dynasty I was ignominiously rejected and unjustly defrauded
of a first class in the public examinations. Overwhelmed with shame,
I committed suicide on the steps of the imperial palace. The Emperor
ordered me to be buried in a green robe [reserved for members of the
imperial clan], and out of gratitude for that favour I swore to protect
the sovereign in any part of the Empire against the evil machinations
of the demon Hsue Hao." At these words the Emperor awoke and found
that the fever had left him. His Majesty called for Wu Tao-tzu (one
of the most celebrated Chinese artists) to paint the portrait of the
person he had seen in his dream. The work was so well done that the
Emperor recognized it as the actual demon he had seen in his sleep,
and rewarded the artist with a hundred taels of gold. The portrait is
said to have been still in the imperial palace during the Sung dynasty.

Another version of the legend says that Chung K'uefs essay was
recognized by the examiners as equal to the work of the best authors
of antiquity, but that the Emperor rejected him on account of his
extremely ugly features, whereupon he committed suicide in his
presence, was honoured by the Emperor and accorded a funeral as if
he had been the successful first candidate, and canonized with the
title of Great Spiritual Chaser of Demons for the Whole Empire.

CHAPTER X

The Goddess of Mercy