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This dissertation, "Ren Bonian's Zhong Kui Paintings" by Yu-ping, Luk,, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled Ren Bonian's Zhong Kui Paintings Submitted by Luk Yu Ping for the degree of Masters of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong in August 2004 Ren Bonian (1840-1895), a leading painter of nineteenth century Shanghai, was well known for his technical skill and versatility. Among the wide range of subject matter that he mastered in his career, he showed particular interest in the subject of Zhong Kui, the queller of demons in Chinese folklore. Ren painted Zhong Kui repeatedly throughout his career with considerable variety and invention. More than forty works are known, making it his most repeated figure painting subject. The four chapters in the thesis consider Ren's Zhong Kui paintings from different angles. The thesis begins by examining the features of Ren's Zhong Kui paintings first in terms of style, then the representation of the deity. The artist shows considerable familiarity with the conventions of the subject, while his works are distinguished by clever manipulation of compositional elements to generate visual interest as well as ease in the adaptation of a variety of sources, both past and present. The thesis goes on the consider Ren's Zhong Kui paintings in relation to the continued belief in the deity in the nineteenth century. It is found that the works are directly connected, in their dating and visual elements, to the popular custom of displaying Zhong Kui images to expel evil around the fifth lunar month. The ready dema