A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVENAs gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXOn the Matter of the Ten Courts of Hell — 十殿閻羅 — Shi Dian Yan Luo
They are called the Shi Dian Yan Luo — 十殿閻羅.
Shi — 十 — means ten.
Dian — 殿 — means court. Hall. Palace.
Yan Luo — 閻羅 — is the Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit Yama — the lord of death.
Together — 十殿閻羅 — the Ten Courts of Yama. The Ten Courts of Hell.
They are located beneath the earth — 地下 — di xia.
The Chinese term for this place is Diyu — 地獄.
Di — 地 — means earth. Ground.
Yu — 獄 — means prison.
Together — 地獄 — Earth Prison. Subterranean Prison. The Chinese word for hell.
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On the origin of the Ten Courts.
The concept of the Ten Courts of Hell first appeared during the Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao — in the seventh century of the common era.
The primary source text is the Dizang Shiwang Jing — 地藏十王經 — the Scripture of Dizang and the Ten Kings.
This is an apocryphal Buddhist text — 偽典 — wei dian — meaning it was composed in China, not translated from Sanskrit.
It was composed to introduce Chinese readers to the concept of purgatorial judgment.
The text describes the soul's journey through ten successive courts after death.
The Song dynasty — 宋朝 — Song Chao — Taoist tract called the Jade Record — 玉曆寶鈔 — Yuli Baochao — attributed to the priest Danchi — 淡痴 — expanded on this cosmology in remarkable detail.
The Jade Record is the primary source for most modern popular knowledge about the Ten Courts.
It is still in print.
It is still read.
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On what it is not.
The Ten Courts of Hell is not hell in the Christian sense — 基督教意義上的地獄 — Jidujiao yiyi shang de diyu.
It is not a place of permanent punishment.
It is not a place of eternal damnation.
The Columbia University Asia for Educators account states: this domain was a transitory space and time for the souls of the dead and could not properly be called hell in the Christian sense of a place of perpetual punishment for a permanent, unchanging self.
The Ten Courts of Hell is purgatory — 煉獄 — lian yu.
It is where souls atone — 贖罪 — shu zui — for the wrongs they committed in life.
After atonement is complete, the soul is sent for reincarnation — 輪迴 — lunhui.
The severity of the punishment determines how long the soul remains.
Minor sins: minor punishment, brief stay.
Major sins: severe punishment, long stay.
The gravest sins — 極惡之罪 — ji e zhi zui — including unfilial behavior, rape, and debauchery — result in assignment to Avīci — 阿鼻地獄 — Abi Diyu — the hell of uninterrupted torture — the deepest and most terrible of all hell states.
Avīci has no exit.
For most sinners, however, the exit exists.
The path is suffering.
The destination is rebirth.
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On the structure of the underworld.
There are 12,800 hells located under the earth — 地下一萬兩千八百個地獄 — di xia yi wan liang qian ba bai ge diyu.
Eight are dark hells — 八暗獄 — ba an yu.
Eight are cold hells — 八寒獄 — ba han yu.
84,000 are miscellaneous hells — 八萬四千雜獄 — ba wan si qian za yu — located at the edge of the universe.
The Ten Courts organize and administer these 12,800 hells.
Each court governs a category of sin.
Each court administers appropriate punishment for that category.
The soul passes through the courts in sequence.
It does not skip courts.
It does not bypass punishment it has earned.
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On the arrival.
When a person dies, their soul is collected.
Two guards collect it.
They are Ox-Head — 牛頭 — Niu Tou — and Horse-Face — 馬面 — Ma Mian.
Ox-Head has the head of an ox on a human body.
Horse-Face has the face of a horse on a human body.
They bring the soul to the Gates of Hell — 鬼門關 — Gui Men Guan.
At the gates stands the Ghost City — 鬼城 — Gui Cheng.
The soul enters.
It proceeds to the First Court.
If the soul is pure — having led an exemplary life — it bypasses the courts entirely.
It goes directly to the Western Pure Land — 西方極樂世界 — Xifang Jile Shijie — of the Buddha Amitabha — 阿彌陀佛 — Amituofo.
Or it ascends to the Heaven of the Jade Emperor — 玉皇大帝 — Yu Huang Dadi.
Most souls are not pure.
Most souls go through all ten courts.
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On the First Court. King Qinguang — 秦廣王 — Qin Guang Wang.
The first court is presided over by King Qinguang — 秦廣王 — Qin Guang Wang.
His court is also called the Court of Qin Guang — 秦廣殿 — Qin Guang Dian.
He receives every soul that arrives.
He determines: does this soul require punishment?
He consults the Book of Life and Death — 生死簿 — Shengsi Bu — maintained by the Civil Judge — 文判官 — Wen Pan Guan.
He consults the Mirror Platform — 業鏡台 — Ye Jing Tai — the Karma Mirror.
The Karma Mirror shows a replay of every significant act the soul performed in life.
Good acts and bad acts are weighed against each other on the scales of judgment — 業秤 — ye cheng.
If the soul's good deeds outweigh its bad deeds significantly, the soul is sent directly for reincarnation without punishment.
If the soul's bad deeds are significant, it is sent to one of the courts that address its specific sins.
The soul does not choose which court it goes to.
The first king decides.
This was formerly the position of Yanluo Wang — 閻羅王.
He was demoted.
This is recorded.
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On the demotion of Yanluo Wang.
Yanluo Wang — 閻羅王 — was originally the ruler of the First Court.
He was the first judge every soul faced.
He let too many souls through without punishment.
His compassion exceeded the requirements of the position.
Heaven demoted him to the Fifth Court.
The Britannica account of Shiwang records: formerly the position of first judge was held by Yanluo Wang, a Chinese form of the Indian lord of death Yama, but he was demoted to the fifth court because of his leniency.
This demotion is the reason Hell Difficulty begins.
This demotion is why Yanluo Wang went to Ksitigarbha — 地藏菩薩 — for guidance.
This demotion is why he reincarnated as Zheng Wen De — 正問德 — Suwandi — Ah Wen — a Chinese Indonesian man in a Muslim majority country making congee for his mother.
The demotion is where everything begins.
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On the Second Court. King Chujiang — 楚江王 — Chu Jiang Wang.
The second court is presided over by King Chujiang — 楚江王 — Chu Jiang Wang.
His court is the largest of the ten.
It contains within it volcanoes, icy caverns, and an immense pool of blood.
He punishes: dishonest go-betweens — 不誠實的中間人 — bu chengshi de zhongjiaren.
He punishes: fraudulent trustees — 欺詐性受託人 — qizha xing shoutuo ren.
He punishes: ignorant doctors — 無知的醫生 — wuzhi de yisheng — those who prescribed incorrect remedies and caused harm.
The punishments include: being thrown into the pool of blood — 血池 — xue chi.
Being cast into icy caverns — 冰窟 — bing ku.
Being thrown into volcanoes — 火山口 — huo shan kou.
The pool of blood is particularly associated with women who allowed menstrual blood or afterbirth to contaminate sacred water sources.
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On the Third Court. King Songdi — 宋帝王 — Song Di Wang.
The third court is presided over by King Songdi — 宋帝王 — Song Di Wang.
He punishes: ungrateful people — 忘恩負義者 — wang'en fuyi zhe.
He punishes: disrespectful subordinates — 不敬的下屬 — bujing de xia shu.
He punishes: those who escaped from prison — 越獄者 — yue yu zhe — in life.
He punishes: drug addicts — 毒品成癮者 — dupin chengyin zhe.
He punishes: drug traffickers — 毒品販子 — dupin fanzi.
He punishes: tomb robbers — 盜墓者 — dao mu zhe.
He punishes: those who incited social unrest — 煽動社會動亂者 — shendong shehui dongluan zhe.
Those who caused trouble for their parents and families, or who cheated during examinations, are likewise punished with abdomen splitting — 剖腹 — po fu.
The punishments include: having the heart ripped out — 挖心 — wa xin — by imps — 小鬼 — xiao gui.
Being chained to red-hot copper pillars — 炮烙 — paoluo — to be grilled alive.
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On the Fourth Court. King Wuguan — 五官王 — Wu Guan Wang.
The fourth court is presided over by King Wuguan — 五官王 — Wu Guan Wang.
Wuguan — 五官 — means Five Senses.
He governs dishonesty and the misuse of the senses.
He punishes: the miserly rich — 吝嗇的富人 — linse de furen.
He punishes: dishonest tradesmen — 不誠實的商人 — bu chengshi de shangren.
He punishes: tax evaders — 逃稅者 — tao shui zhe.
He punishes: those who know cures but do not share them — 知藥不授者 — zhi yao bu shou zhe.
The punishments in his court include: abdomen splitting — 剖腹 — po fu.
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On the Fifth Court. King Yanluo — 閻羅王 — Yan Luo Wang.
The fifth court is presided over by King Yanluo — 閻羅王 — Yan Luo Wang.
This is Yanluo Wang.
This is the protagonist of Hell Difficulty — 地獄難度.
This is the King of Hell who was demoted from the First Court.
He now sits in the Fifth Court.
He punishes: religious sinners — 宗教罪人 — zongjiao zuiren.
He punishes: murderers — 殺人犯 — sharen fan.
He punishes: hunters who killed for sport — 為娛樂而獵殺者 — wei yule er lie sha zhe.
He punishes: fishermen who destroyed fish populations — 破壞魚群的漁民 — pohuai yu qun de yü min.
He punishes: the lustful — 色欲旺盛者 — seyu wangsheng zhe.
The Mirror Platform — 業鏡台 — Ye Jing Tai — of Yanluo Wang's court is particularly associated with him in popular belief.
The soul stands before the mirror.
The mirror reflects every act the soul performed in life.
The soul cannot lie.
The mirror sees everything.
Yanluo Wang already knows.
He saw it in the First Court.
He sees it again here.
He is thorough.
He was always thorough.
His compassion was not blindness.
It was mercy.
Heaven had no patience for mercy without justice.
He was demoted.
He sits in the Fifth Court.
He still judges.
He judges more mercifully than his superiors require.
He cannot help it.
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On the Sixth Court. King Biancheng — 卞城王 — Bian Cheng Wang.
The sixth court is presided over by King Biancheng — 卞城王 — Bian Cheng Wang.
He punishes: those guilty of sacrilege — 褻瀆神靈者 — xiedu shenling zhe.
He punishes: those who wasted food — 浪費食物者 — langfei shiwu zhe.
He punishes: those who abused sacred objects and scripture — 濫用聖物和經典者 — lanyong shengwu he jingdian zhe.
He punishes: those who killed or mistreated birds and animals wantonly — 任意殺害或虐待鳥類和動物者 — renyi shaha huo nüedai niaolei he dongwu zhe.
The punishments in his court include: being ground up in a stone mill — 磨碎 — mo sui.
Being pecked apart by birds — 鳥啄 — niao zhuo.
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On the Seventh Court. King Taishan — 泰山王 — Tai Shan Wang.
The seventh court is presided over by King Taishan — 泰山王 — Tai Shan Wang.
Taishan — 泰山 — is Mount Tai — the most famous and holiest of the Five Taoist Mountains.
Mount Tai was associated with the afterlife long before the Buddhist hell concept arrived in China.
The oldest Chinese belief about the afterlife held that the dead went to Mount Tai — 泰山 — Taishan.
This association was absorbed into the Buddhist hell structure.
The Taishan king became the seventh judge.
He punishes: those who violated graves — 盜竊墳墓者 — daozhu fenmu zhe.
He punishes: those who sold human flesh — 販賣人肉者 — fanmai ren rou zhe.
He punishes: those who consumed human flesh — 食用人肉者 — shiyong ren rou zhe.
The punishments in his court include: being cut up with a knife — 刀割 — dao ge.
Having the tongue pulled out — 拔舌 — ba she.
Being dismembered — 肢解 — zhi jie.
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On the Eighth Court. King Dushi — 都市王 — Du Shi Wang.
The eighth court is presided over by King Dushi — 都市王 — Du Shi Wang.
Dushi — 都市 — means city. Metropolis.
He punishes: those lacking in filial piety — 不孝者 — bu xiao zhe. Those who mistreated their parents. Those who disrespected their elders.
He also punishes: those who neglected the old and weak — 忽視老弱者 — huishi lao ruo zhe.
The punishments in his court include: being crushed slowly under massive boulders — 被巨石壓碎 — bei jushi ya sui.
Having the head and arms chopped off — 頭和手臂被砍掉 — tou he shubi bei kan diao.
Filial piety — 孝道 — xiaodao — is the most fundamental virtue in Chinese ethics.
The violation of filial piety earns one of the harshest courts.
This is recorded without further comment.
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On the Ninth Court. King Pingdeng — 平等王 — Ping Deng Wang.
The ninth court is presided over by King Pingdeng — 平等王 — Ping Deng Wang.
Pingdeng — 平等 — means equality. Impartiality.
His title reflects the principle that the punishment should equal the crime.
He punishes: arsonists — 縱火犯 — zonghuofan.
He punishes: abortionists — 墮胎者 — duotai zhe — those who performed or procured abortions.
He punishes: obscene painters and writers — 淫穢畫家和作家 — yinhui huajia he zuojia.
He punishes: their clients — 委託他們的人 — weituo tamen de ren.
He punishes: robbers — 強盜 — qiangdao.
He punishes: murderers — 殺人犯 — sharen fan — who have already served sentences under mortal law.
Under mortal laws, criminals who have served their sentences are considered redeemed. Not so in the Chinese Ten Courts of Hell. Robbers, murderers, rapists, continued to be punished by being stripped and dismembered in the ninth court.
He also governs the City of the Dead — 死城 — si cheng — a special jurisdiction for those who died by accident — 意外死亡 — yiwai siwang — including suicides — 自殺者 — zisha zhe.
Those in the City of the Dead cannot be reborn — 不能轉世 — bu neng zhuanshi — unless another accident victim can be found to take their place.
This creates a cycle of substitution — 替身循環 — ti shen xunhuan.
A ghost who died by drowning must find another drowning victim to take its place before it can leave.
This is the origin of the concept of the water ghost — 水鬼 — shui gui — in Chinese folk belief.
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On the Tenth Court. King Zhuanlun — 轉輪王 — Zhuan Lun Wang.
The tenth court is presided over by King Zhuanlun — 轉輪王 — Zhuan Lun Wang.
Zhuanlun — 轉輪 — means turning wheel. Wheel of transmigration.
He governs the Wheel of Reincarnation — 輪迴 — Lunhui — also called the Samsara Wheel — 六道輪迴 — Liu Dao Lunhui — the Wheel of the Six Paths.
The Britannica Shiwang account records: the tenth king turns the wheel of transmigration that carries the dead to their new existences as either gods, human beings on earth or in hell, good or bad demons, or animals.
Before the soul enters the wheel, it must first visit two places.
The first place: the Pavilion of Viewing Home — 望鄉台 — Wang Xiang Tai.
The soul stands on the platform.
It looks back at the mortal world one last time.
It sees its home.
It sees its family.
It sees everything it is leaving behind.
Then it turns away.
The second place: the Bridge Over Nothing — 奈何橋 — Naihe Qiao.
The bridge is red on one side — 紅色 — hong se.
The bridge is black and gold on the other — 黑金色 — hei jin se.
Good souls cross the red side.
Evil souls cross the black and gold side.
Below the bridge is the Blood River — 血河 — xue he.
Below the bridge wait hungry demons — 餓鬼 — e gui.
At the end of the bridge stands Meng Po — 孟婆.
She is the Old Woman of Forgetfulness.
She gives every soul a bowl of her soup — 孟婆湯 — Meng Po Tang.
The soup erases all memory of past lives.
The soul drinks.
It forgets everything.
It passes through the Wheel of Reincarnation.
It is reborn.
It begins again.
Yanluo Wang drank this soup.
He forgot everything.
He is in Indonesia.
He is making congee.
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On Meng Po — 孟婆 — the Old Woman of Forgetfulness.
Her name is Meng Po — 孟婆.
Meng — 孟 — is a family name. Also means the eldest.
Po — 婆 — means old woman. Grandmother.
She is also called the Lady of Forgetfulness — 忘憂女 — Wang You Nü.
She brews her soup — 孟婆湯 — Meng Po Tang — from water drawn from the six rivers of the underworld.
She adds herbs — 草藥 — cao yao — that she has cultivated for thousands of years.
The soup produces total amnesia — 完全失憶 — wanquan shi yi.
It erases the memory of every life the soul has ever lived.
It erases the memory of hell.
It erases the memory of everything that happened since death.
The soul crosses the bridge.
It enters the wheel.
It is reborn knowing nothing of what it was.
This is mercy — 慈悲 — ciber — or cruelty — 殘忍 — canren — depending on who is asked.
The texts do not say which.
This record does not say which either.
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On the Six Paths of Reincarnation — 六道 — Liu Dao.
The Wheel of Reincarnation leads to six possible existences.
The first path: Devas — 天道 — Tian Dao — rebirth in the heavenly realm. For those of great virtue.
The second path: Asuras — 阿修羅道 — A Xiu Luo Dao — rebirth as powerful spirits prone to jealousy and conflict. For those of mixed virtue and aggression.
The third path: Humans — 人道 — Ren Dao — rebirth as human beings. For those of ordinary karma.
The fourth path: Animals — 畜生道 — Chu Sheng Dao — rebirth as animals. For those who lived bestially.
The fifth path: Hungry Ghosts — 餓鬼道 — E Gui Dao — rebirth as eternally unsatisfied spirits. For those consumed by greed.
The sixth path: Hell Beings — 地獄道 — Di Yu Dao — rebirth directly back into hell. For those of the gravest sins.
The soul's actions in life determine which path it takes.
The soul does not choose.
The tenth king chooses based on the record accumulated across all ten courts.
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On the Mirror of Karma — 業鏡台 — Ye Jing Tai.
Every major court has a mirror.
The mirror shows the soul its own life.
It cannot be deceived.
It shows what the soul actually did.
Not what the soul believed it did.
Not what the soul told others it did.
What it actually did.
This is the most feared object in the underworld.
Not the punishments.
Not the demons.
Not the hungry ghosts beneath the bridge.
The mirror.
Because the mirror shows the truth.
And most souls, standing before it, discover that the truth about themselves is not what they believed.
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On the paper offerings — 紙錢 — Zhi Qian.
The Columbia University account records: the underworld was thought to be a vast duplicate of the earthly realm, complete with houses and furniture, streets and gardens, teeming with souls passing through on their way to being reincarnated.
Living descendants burned paper offerings — 紙錢 — zhi qian — to send material goods to the dead.
Paper houses — 紙房子 — zhi fangzi.
Paper money — 紙錢 — zhi qian.
Paper servants — 紙僕人 — zhi puren.
Paper food — 紙食物 — zhi shiwu.
The burning of paper — 燒紙 — shao zhi — is the act of transmitting the object from the living world to the dead world.
The smoke carries it across.
The soul receives what the family sends.
The soul has a more comfortable stay in the underworld because of what the family burns.
This is the practical function of ancestor worship — 祖先崇拜 — zuxian chongbai.
The living care for the dead.
The dead are made more comfortable.
The dead reach reincarnation faster.
The family is protected by grateful ancestors.
The cycle continues.
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On the Jade Record — 玉曆寶鈔 — Yuli Baochao.
The Jade Record — 玉曆寶鈔 — Yuli Baochao — is the most comprehensive popular text about the Ten Courts.
It was compiled during the Song dynasty — 宋朝 — attributed to the Taoist priest Danchi — 淡痴.
It contains detailed descriptions of every sin and every punishment across all ten courts.
It was used as a moral instruction text.
Temple priests read from it to educate the public.
Paintings based on it were displayed in every City God temple — 城隍廟 — Chenghuang Miao — in China.
The Columbia University account records: every City God temple had depictions of the Courts of Hell that included graphic representations of the harshest, most gruesome punishments allotted to sinners.
Visitors to the temple would see a depiction of, for example, a grain merchant cheating on his weights, next to a depiction of the same merchant's soul in one of the courts of hell being crushed by the very weight measures that he had distorted in his life.
The punishment mirrors the crime.
This is the principle of retributive justice — 報應 — baoying — that governs all ten courts.
What was done is done again.
To the one who did it.
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On the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha — 地藏菩薩 — Dizang Pusa.
Above the Ten Courts stands one being who oversees all.
He is Ksitigarbha — 地藏菩薩 — Dizang Pusa.
The Britannica Dizang account states: Dizang seeks to deliver the souls of the dead from the punishments inflicted by the ten judges, or kings, of hell.
The judges are always represented standing when in the presence of Dizang, as a mark of their deference to him.
Even the ten kings of hell stand for Ksitigarbha.
Even Yanluo Wang stands.
This is why Yanluo Wang went to Ksitigarbha for guidance after his demotion.
Ksitigarbha outranks him.
Ksitigarbha outranks all ten of them.
He chose to stay.
He chose the worst place in all of existence.
He stays until the last soul is free.
He is still here.
He will be here for a very long time.
He smiles to himself sometimes.
Hell difficulty.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX