File:Zhong Kui in a Wintry Grove.jpeg

Ge Hong in his Master Embracing Simplicity of the Eastern Jin period states that demons, spirits, monsters, and ominous creatures haunt the forests. As a result, the spiritual prowess of the martial Zhong Kui, the demon-queller, is most needed there. This serves as the source of "Zhong Kui in a wintry grove." However, in the Ming dynasty, literati-artists such as Wen Zhengming and Qian Gu (1508-after 1578) often substituted an official's tablet for Zhong Kui's sword. In doing so, the image of a military figure in a sword dance from the old days was transformed into the prototype for a "scholar's Zhong Kui."

— National Palace Museum

東晉葛洪《抱朴子》言林中每多魑魅魍魎等輩出沒，為鍾馗最需用武之地，發展出「寒林鍾馗」圖式，但明代的文人畫家如文徵明、錢穀（1508-1578之後）等，多以笏板取代寶劍，一改昔日舉劍揮舞的武官形象，演變成「文相鍾馗」典型。

— 國立故宮博物院

• Expressions of Humor in Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (exhibit). Taipei: National Palace Museum.
  書畫家的幽默感 (展覽). 臺北: 國立故宮博物院.
• Birds-and-Flowers and Figures. Four Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty: Wen Zhengming (exhibit). Taipei: National Palace Museum.
  花鳥人物. 明四大家特展－文徵明 (展覽). 臺北: 國立故宮博物院.