Ghostly Paintings

Whether or not there really are "good ghosts," to most people's minds ghosts are not pretty. The Chinese character for "ghost," in fact, represents "a man with a strange head."

Although Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio does not lack for beautiful ghosts, in popular legend their beauty is just a disguise; their real features are hideous and terrible, an impression confirmed in the common expression "as ugly as a ghost." Even Yuan Mei, a nonconformist writer of the Ching dynasty (1644-1911), held with the popular view when he wrote a comment on a painting by Lo P'in that says, "Women must be painted beautiful; otherwise people aren't moved. Ghosts must be painted ugly; otherwise people aren't scared."

Lo P'in, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangchow," was the most famous Chinese painter of ghosts. Said to have emerald-green eyes, Lo claimed he had actually seen all the ghosts he painted. A critic described the atmosphere of his paintings as "ghastly, desolate, lonely, gloomy and gruesome."

Lo P'in's brush produced ghosts of all shapes and sizes--big-headed ghosts, ghosts in tall hats, little ghosts in red and beautiful ghosts. With their exaggerated features, Lo's ghosts are a favorite object of study by contemporary cartoonists.

Unfortunately, besides Lo P'in, the Chinese artists who have painted ghosts are few and far between. For example, in a 66-volume imperial compendium of picture topics through the ages, ghost paintings are contained in just one volume and most are pictures of Chung K'uei, the Chinese "ghostbuster."

Among the few painters noted for their ghost pictures is Shih K'e of the Five Dynasties period (907-960). This free-spirited and satirical artist used his ghost paintings to criticize contemporary society. His "Hundred Tricks of the Ghosts," depicting a riotous ghostly banquet, is a forceful indictment of the wasteful extravagance of the rich.

Although ghosts per se seldom appear on Chinese paintings, other weird creatures are not uncommon. Works from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) are filled with demons and deities. Han artists lent the bodies of snakes and dragons to representations of the ancient emperor Fu Hsi and the goddess Nu Wa. Even the Mother Goddess of the West is depicted as a monster with tiger fangs, dishevelled hair and a leopard's tail.

The ghosts and monsters depicted on the tombstone of the wife of Feng Yung of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534) are breathtakingly ingenious. Inscribed next to the figures are their curious and descriptive names, such as "Long-Tongue," "Lightning-Flash" and "Gnaw-Rocks," many now only partly intelligible to modern Chinese.

Since the Han dynasty, monsters and demons, reptiles and clouds have gone together with ghosts in making up the darker side of the Chinese imagination. This monstrous world, already quite rich, was made yet more lively with the introduction of Buddhism from India. Many conceptions of the afterworld, such as the ten courts of hell, first entered China with Buddhism and were later embellished by Taoism and local traditions.

At birth, it is believed, each person is assigned a spirit who follows him throughout his life, taking note of his every word and deed. When the person dies, two ghosts grab hold of his soul and take it to the underworld for judgment. In each of the ten courts there, the spirit's deeds for good and evil are weighed on a scale. Punishments include climbing Blade Mountain, immersion in the Pot of Boiling Oil, evisceration and numerous others. After passing through the courts, good spirits can go to heaven or be reincarnated on earth; evil ones become ghosts or serve as menials in hell.

Traditional China had countless paintings depicting the ten courts of hell, but because they were the work of craftsmen and were not considered true works of art, few have come down to us today.

From these paintings we can see that ghosts have not had an easy time of it. What's more, with their friends and loved ones passing away at different times-some being reincarnated before others have yet arrived--the "life" of a ghost is likely to be a lonely one. If the ancients chose to paint them pictures, they most likely had their reasons!

(Peter Eberly)

[Picture Caption]

Ghosts head for the hills when Chung K'uei, the original Chinese ghostbuster, appears. He is shown here in "The Demon-Queller on his Travels" (detail) by Kung K'ai of the Yuan dynasty (1277-1367).

After death, every soul must go before Yama, the king of hell, for judgment.

After death, every soul must go before Yama, the king of hell, for judgment.