The Ten Courts of Hell

I have briefly mentioned the Ten Courts of Hell on page 36 of the Celestial Empire. This is the place in the netherworld where evil whitesouls stay awaiting their judgement, and where they undergo the judgement itself after having spent some time in this purgatory.

There is a fundamental text of Chinese Folk Religion from the 18th century AD, the Yùlì Bǎochāo 玉歷寶鈔 (the Jade Guidebook), that describes the ten infernal tribunals in detail; you may read it here.

In a nutshell, the whitesoul of the deceased arrives at the gate of Fēngdū (see illustration) where their name is registered, then proceeds to the first court of Hell. This is the most lenient place in Purgatory, for those who committed suicide and who must stay there until the equivalent of what the duration of their life would have been had they not committed suicide has elapsed. Everybody else is ushered into the second court of Hell.

The whitesouls of those who kidnapped or robbed people during their lifetime remain in the second court of Hell to undergo several series of terrible torments. Everybody else is ushered into the third court of Hell.

The whitesouls of those who accepted bribes during their lifetime remain in the third court of Hell to undergo even worse terrible torments.

Etc. etc. with ever more atrocious depictions of torments until the ninth court for arsonists, assassins, rapists, and the like.

The tenth court is not a place of punishment but the place where those whose time of suffering has expired go in order to await the details of their rebirth through the wheel of karma.