Zhong Kui
The most popular of the various images of exorcists that make their annual appearance on teh day of Double Fifth are pictures of the monster-scholar Zhong Kui.
Zhong Kui was a tragic figure who killed himself with shame on the steps of imperial palace because he was unjustly defrauded of a first class rank in the civil service exams. Emperor Minghuang (712-756 ), however, honered him with an imperial burial, and out of gratitude Zhong Kui vowed to free the world of ghosts and demons in his afterlife.