Cleveland Museum of Art

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 27

Date: 1200s
Medium: Album, ink on paper
Culture: China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Department: Chinese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

This leaf is part of a set depicting the Ten Kings of Hell. The theme transforms the Indian Buddhist view of judgment after death into a typical Chinese bureaucratic process. Before being permitted to transmigrate into the next life, a soul is tried by 10 different kings in a process that lasts three years. Each king is assisted by scribes and officials who report on the good and bad deeds upon which a verdict is given. In the foreground, demons conduct punishments. The inscription here refers to the 12 functionaries assisting the king.

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