From the back of the card:
Advanced-scholar Chung Moving (detail) Kung K'ai, Sung Dynasty (960-1279) "Portraits of Chung K'uei" from Ancient Chinese Painting; National Palace Museum, Tapei.
The character Chung K'uei (鍾馗) has his roots in talismans, used by the Chou Dynasty court to ward off evil spirits, that were called 'chung-kuei".
During the South and North Dynasties, the court promoted the use of chung-kuei among the people.
The folk belief in man named Chung K'uei, who became a deity after he died, began in the Tang Dynasty. In more than one thousand years since, Chung K'uei has become very popular.
With widely held view of him as the greatest ghost buster of all--capable of vanquishing demons and monsters and eating ghosts--painters, novelists and dramatists have all made him the focus of their works.
As the end of the year approached and during the Dragon Boat festival, each and every household used to put up his portraits to ward off evil and bring good fortune.
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