Sunday, May 1, 2011

Gods And Goddesses: Kui Xing and Zhu Yi

Of the gods, there’s the attendants of Wen Chang who are known as Kui Xing and Zhu Yi. One attendant is deaf while the other mute, although which attendant is what is unclear. Zhu Yi the god of school tests and examinations with Kui Xing of official documents and paperwork.

Zhu Yi is described as a kindly god who rewards effort in school. He is often depicted as an old man in red robes, his name Zhu Yi is said to even mean “Red Robe”.

The other attendant of Wen Chang is Kui Xing whose name means “Chief Star” and of an ugly appearance. Often depicted with his right foot on a giant turtle and with left foot supporting a ladle. Depictions of Kui Xing also are often holding a writing brush in hand and with his body filled with vigour. His birthday is on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

The story of Kui Xing is that originally he was a mortal who was highly talented yet had the misfortune of an ugly appearance. The emperor of the time wouldn’t allow his success due to his ugliness, so Kui Xing threw himself down a cliff and was saved by a dragon. It was being saved by the very dragon that caused him to become an attendant of the literary god Wen Chang. Now Kui Xing is the god of imperial examinations.

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