Also known as K’uei Hsing, Chung Kuel was a brilliant mortal who finished first in all of his examinations. However, he was so ugly that the Emperor would not affirm his success. When the despondent Chung Kuel threw himself into the sea, a turtle saved his life. The Emperor took this as a divine sign and acknowledged the examination result. Chung Kuel served so efficiently and honestly that Shang-ti granted him immortality, making him assistant to Wen Chang Ti, Chinese Power of literature. Eventually, as the need for bureaucrats increased, Shang-ti created a ministry to watch over truth and the examination process, placing Chung Kuel in charge of it. In his true form, Chung Kuel is a finely dressed man with a magnificent potbelly, a hairy nose of grotesque proportions, red-rimmed eyes, and a tiny chin completely lost beneath the folds of his bulging cheeks.
Chung Kuel’s primary duty is to oversee the imperial examinations. There is a even chance that he will notice any cheating. This chance increases to almost surely if magic is used. When a cheater is noticed, his test paper bursts into flames in his hand, inflicting damage, possibly lethal, to the cheater.
Chung Kuel's Realm, The Ministry of Virtue, is found on Mount Celestia's fourth Layer of Solania on a mountain adjacent to the Lotus Garden of Kuan Yin. Followers of Chung Kuel seek out the god of truth and testing for knowledge. He is served by Archons and spirit folk. In his realm is a well from which the god can draw knowledge enough to meet any test with success.
Source: Deities & Demigods (First Edition), Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, Legends & Lore (Second Edition), On Hallowed Ground, Warriors of Heaven, Manual of the Planes (First Edition)
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