Ten Kings of the Earth Prisons

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The paintings are divided into two parts compositionally. In the upper part, the King is seated at his desk on a terrace and in the background, we see a balustrade bordering it. He is surrounded by officials, servants and guards. In front of the table, we see deceased persons who are examined by the King: he checks out the documents relating to their life stories. The documents are stored on shelves at the edge of the image. The information in these is the basis of the verdict: sinner or virtuous. The lower part displays mostly sinners and the punishments which are meted out, though in some of the pictures we see also those who are virtuous.

The upper edge of the paintings is decorated by cloud formations and clouds meander also elsewhere in the pictorial space. Could formations have been used in Chinese visual representations to emphasise dreamlike events. The use of clouds in depictions of this theme is intriguing if we consider that literature abounds with stories where the protagonists visit the Netherworld in a dream and return to the world of living to tell their experiences. The world of dream was felt to be an unknown world – a liminal space – just like what happens to us after we die. Cloud formations have another function as well: they are used to create space cells in the pictorial space to separate events from each other.

This painting is most likely the first one of this series: in the lower right-hand corner, there is an entrance gate (compare with VK5132:6 where figures are exiting through a similar looking gate). Those entering are met with a figure dressed in a monk’s robe. An old haggard woman wearing a long cangue has just come forward. Flames are issuing from her mouth. The monk figure could be bodhisattva Dizang (sanskrit: Ksitigarbha), whose task was to help the deceased on their journey through earth prisons. However, it is more likely the monk Mulian (sanskrit: Maudgalyāyana) who has come to save his mother from the Netherworld.

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Kings and the personnel of the court – officials, scrobes, guards and servants – have been dressed in garments of the Ming period (1368–1644). Ming dress was used in visual representations and in theatre during the Qing period (1644–1911) and later and therefore paintings cannot be dated based on the dress the figures are wearing. King’s robe is very much like the unofficial robe of the Ming (changpao) which fasten on one side in such a way that the neckline forms V-shape. The fabric seems to represent brocade with gold thread decorations and in this image the decorative motifs are dragons. Several other members of the court personnel are wearing similarly decorated brocade robes, including the servants, and gold thread is seen even in the costumes of devils and demons.

The Kings are wearing around their neck a so-called “square-heart” collar which is usually white but here green. In this painting it is partly covered by the beard but is more visible in VK5132:7. The headgear forms a complex structure: it was the standard headpiece (liangguan 梁冠) of civil servants, with ridges on the top denoting rank, in red, green, blue, and white. The paintings VK5132:5 ja VK5132:6 feature different kinds of headgear. In the former, the King wears a mortar-board crown (mian 冕) which has a rectangular board on top and a row of string of pearls hanging from the board both front and back. Similar crowns can be seen already in paintings dating to the Tang dynasty (618–907).

The lower part of this painting is dominated by a Blade Mountain, which is sometimes called either Knife or Sword Mountain in literature. Sharp blades rise among the folds of the mountain. The devils and demons residing here are chasing the sinners towards the mountain – even throwing them there – so that while trying to climb up they are pierced by the blades and held there to bleed and die. Among the blades, there are scattered fragments of skeletons and skulls.

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In front of the King’s desk, there is space where various events and encounters take place. In this one, there is a scale called the Karma Scale which weighs the good and bad deeds of the deceased. At the left end of the horizontal beam of the scale, there is a basin which holds a stack of books. They are copies of scriptures which the red-robed figure kneeling on the ground has brought with him as proof of his virtue. However, it is somewhat unclear what role the grey demon at the opposite side of the beam plays: is the demon trying to balance the scale or even tip the balance on the adverse side?

The lower part feature various event and details which have been embedded inside space cells formed by clouds. These refer to different events taking place in the Netherworld: the bridge over River Nai; the tree for hanging clothes; the terrace of the last glimpse. More information on these can be found in sections ‘Punishments and their executors’ and ‘More stories and details’.

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This is the last and the tenth painting of the series. The dead are sent to their new Path of Rebirth, and they start their journey through a similar-looking gate we saw in painting VK5132:3. The dead meet this King on the third anniversary of their death, and he decides the Path of Rebirth for everyone. The final decision is confirmed by the official seal. In front of the desk, two half-naked figures are gesturing as if arguing about the decision they have been given. A demon is offering the skin of an elephant to one of them.

Further below, a group of people are putting on animal skins which demons are dealing to them before they enter the gate. Behind the gate, we get a glimpse of the Wheel of Rebirth. The paths emanating from the wheel contain animals, humans and gods; therefore, some of the six Buddhist paths are missing here.

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An intriguing detail in these paintings are the standing one-panel screens behind the Kings. Screens were used in Chinese interiors as space dividers but also behind imperial thrones or seats of important personages as a visual background to emphasise the high status of that person. Most of the time the screens in Ten Kings painting have representations of landscapes, plants and dragons.

The representations on the screens in this series are, however, unusual because the pictures are drawings in black outline depicting scenes which could derive from novels or plays. The frames of the screens are painted with decorative motifs and yin-yang symbols often associated with Daoism though yin-yang has a more broadly central meaning in Chinese thinking and culture as well.

The identification of the scenes, however, is not straightforward. In this one, we see a big snake approaching a man waving a sword in one hand with horse standing by. Snakes are a common feature of many Chinese stories and plays, the most famous perhaps being the play about the White Snake: a white snake spirit who has taken the form of a young woman. This screen image though is not from that story. Nevertheless, it is curious that this scene is in the same painting together with the Snake Pool, used as a punishment. More information on snakes is found in section ‘Punishments and their executors’.

Horseface

The most intriguing figures in the court room are perhaps Horseface (pictured here) and his close companion Oxhead. In paintings, they appear both in the upper part in the court room and in the lower part overseeing the execution of punishments. They are usually dressed in martial style and carry various kinds of weapons.

Documents

On one of the upper sides of the paintings, there is a shelf filled with scrolls. The good and bad deeds of every person were documented during their lifetime. It was thought that two young boys followed a person’s life, and one wrote down the good deeds and the other the bad. These documents are the basis for the decisions the Kings make in court. The Kings were impartial and righteous and even though some of them may look ferocious and angry, they were not fiendish. However, just like in the world of the living, it was possible at least to try to bribe the Kings and their staff.

Official

The King is attended by officials as well. They fetch and examine the appropriate documents. As with the Kings, their costumes follow Ming period (1368–1644) fashions and the robe is the Ming court robe (bufu) which has a round neckline. Most of the officials wear headgear which had been used since the Song period (960–1279). These had stiff protruding flaps at the sides, and the front of the hat was lower than the back. The front could be rounded following the curve of the head and the back would be taller but similarly shaped. The headpiece of this official is an angular version of that and it is missing the flaps at the sides.

Writing utensils

On top of the desk there are the required writing utensils. The ink stone has two sections: one is for black and the other for red ink. The King used the red to add his additional comments and corrections on the documents. Brushes with red stems are leaning on a brush holder in the shape of a three-peaked mountain.

Guards

The King is surrounded by one or more guards who make sure that order prevails in the court room. Their outfits are orange-green suits of armour, their helmets are topped with wings, and they carry long staffs, in this case it is a battle axe.

Servants

Some paintings feature also servants occupied in everyday tasks. This one is carrying a tray holding tea bowls offered for the refreshment of the staff in the court room. He may be easy to overlook but intriguingly he is staring straight out of the paintings – at us. Many paintings contain figures who are making eye contact beyond the image. Sometimes the Kings themselves do this, for example, in paintings VK5132_5 and VK5132_6. The idea behind this convention might be to convince the viewer of the truthfulness of the events shown in the paintings. However, this interpretation is somewhat contrary to the dreamlike character created by the cloud formations.

Fiendish official

Some of the officials look frightening and fiendish. They have dark complexion, large nose, bushy beard and large tufts of hair grow behind the ears. Like other officials, they also wear the Ming court robe (bufu). The side flaps of their headpieces twist and turn in all directions instead of protruding straight out. These fiendish officials have an appearance similar to the figure of Zhong Kui, known as ‘the demon queller’. The story related to him tells that he was a scholar who had taken up the task of ridding the world of roguish demons.

King’s desk and chair

The top panel of the King’s desk looks like marble, but the motifs could also be interpreted as Daoist mystical diagrams. The desk is covered with fabric on its sides and therefore we do not see King’s legs. His chair is largely covered by fabric as well and therefore we only get a general idea that it has a round backrest. Its arm is just about visible on the right, and it ends in a cloud motif. The red colour refers to lacquer furniture.

Yellow parcel

Several paintings show a servant near the King carrying a parcel covered with yellow cloth – sometimes it has been placed on a desk. This parcel contains the official seal, and the yellow colour of the cloth refers to the fact that it has been bestowed by the emperor. The seal was used to officially certify the documents. The servant may be male of female, and the latter usually have elaborate hairdos.

Side table

The furnishings of the court room are usually austere. Though in this case, the painter has added a side table which has a top imitating marble like the Kings’ desks. Its sides are also covered with fabric. On top of it, there is an incense burner accompanied by an incense box and a vase holding incense utensils. There is also a tall blue-and-white porcelain vase with two peacock feathers inserted into it – these feathers were attached to officials’ headgear and marked their high status. In addition, two blue cups are on a small tray.

Blue devil

Devils act as executors of punishments, and they are assisted by demons. Devils are large and muscular. The colour of their skins varies from the blue seen in this image usually to green, grey and different shades of brown. The pink colour denotes areas where skin is missing and the muscles, sinews and blood vessels are thus visible. The devil in this image has bright red hair and eyebrows, also horns on his head. The facial expression is fierce, and he is staring directly at the viewer. Around his hips he wears brocaded fabric and tiger skin, on the shoulders a patterned scarf and red bangles around his wrists and ankles. He sits on one sinner and pierces the eyes of another one.

Waiting to be butchered

These two sinners are hung down from a pole like animals in a butcher’s shop. A snake is twisted around one of the pillars and is reaching out to lick blood streaming from one of them.

Blade Mountain

A mountain with sharp blades arising among its folds is in texts called either Sword Mountain or Knife Mountain. The blades are so close together that one cannot crawl forward among them but instead becomes stuck and remains there bleeding and dying. On the slopes, there are scattered parts of skeletons and skulls.

Green demon

Demons are like the devils but smaller and more lightweight. Similarly to the devils, their colour varies, and muscles and blood veins are visible in places. They also wear a tiger skin on their hips and bangles on wrists and ankles. They are busily moving about and occasionally seem to be mischievous.

A wheel for cutting

A variety of strange machine-like contraptions are used to treat the sinners. Here we have a wheel which has sharp metal teeth as a cutter. The base is a long red rectangular box – like a conveyor belt – and the wheel above it in the middle is being turned by a demon. On the right end of the box is a winch which is turned by another demon and at the left end a third demon has just finished fastening the ankles of a man lying on his back to the rope attached to the winch. As the demon operating the winch at the other end pulls the rope, the man will slowly pass the sharp teeth of the wheel, which will cut him lengthwise in half.

Pool of Snakes

Pool of Snakes is full of snakes, and its water has turned reddish colour from all the blood streaming from the wounds of the sinners. In Chinese culture, many different meanings are related to snakes. They are not all negative, snake is after all one of the twelve animal symbols in Chinese horoscope. In Buddhist tradition, snake appears together with pig and cockerel forming the triad of the three poisons of life: pig as the symbol of ignorance, cockerel of lust and snake of anger.

Meat grinder

These demons oversee a meat grinder. It is constructed of a pair of millstones placed on top of each other with a hole in the middle. An angular vessel is on top and through it the pieces of sinners are dropped in. Two demons are turning the top stone, and the pieces are then ground into mince. Blood is oozing from between the stones and a dog hovers nearby licking it.

Nai River

There is a bridge over the Nai River and the virtuous are allowed to cross the river over it. However, those who have sinned are pushed into the rapidly streaming river. They are forced to swim to the other side, but the swim is hindered by snakes in some paintings, like in this one.

Mulian saves his mother

As mentioned earlier, the figure wearing a monk’s robe could be either bodhisattva Dizang or monk Mulian. The iconography related to Mulian is often indeterminate, though the ringed staff he is carrying is one of the most important attributes. In addition, the presence of an old woman supports that this is a reference to the story of Mulian rescuing his mother. During her lifetime she had eaten meat and had among other things refused to give alms to monks. After she died, she ended in the deepest recesses of the Earth Prisons, turned into a hungry ghost and the painting shows flames issuing from her mouth. Hungry ghosts suffered from eternal hunger: they had round bellies, throats as thin as needles (therefore they could not swallow food) and when they opened their mouths to drink the liquid evaporated as the flames came out of the mouth. Mulian succeeded in the end to save his mother once she became repentant.

Bridge over the Nai River

If the sinners were thrown in the Nai River to swim across, the virtuous were allowed to cross the river on a bridge. They are led by attendants carrying streamer-banners. As a sign of their virtuousness, they are bearing their copies of scriptures and their donations of sculptures to the temples.

Grieving descendants

In this detail, there are two grieving persons, a woman and a man. Possibly the parent of either of them has passed away. White was the colour of mourning in China and mourners might also wear brownish robes made of coarse hemp cloth.

The victims and the accused

In the Netherworld, it was possible to ask for justice to correct the wrongs one had experienced in life, particularly if it had gone unpunished. On the left, two bleeding victims stand, perhaps having been murdered by the knife one of them is carrying, and on the ground the accused is kneeling while signing his confession.

Tree of clothes

The tree holding robes and hats on its branches functioned as a scale. It was assumed that the clothes of sinners were heavy. This detail was better known in Japan than in China. Under the tree, a woman takes off her robe. A green demon is watching over and making sure with his sword, that his orders are being followed. Judging from the hats which hang on the tree, the clothes seem to belong to scholars, monastics or clergy.

Drink of Oblivion

Before moving onwards to their next incarnation on the Paths of Rebirth, everybody was given a bowlful of drink from a large vat. This drink was called the Drink of Oblivion, and it erased all memory of the experiences of the three-year journey through the Earth Prisons. In this scene, the men on the foreground seem to be discussing their ordeals in the Netherworld before emptying their bowls.

The last view

It was possible for the descendants to help the deceased, particularly their parents, in their journey by copying scriptures, giving donations to temples or with other virtuous deeds. Some Netherworld related texts bring forth an idea that at some point on their journey the deceased was led to a terrace where they could gaze to the world of the living. In this detail, the expression of the person standing at the edge of the terrace is sad: she sees that her family and relatives are not the least interested in virtuous behaviour and have thus forgotten to support her during her journey through the Netherworld towards a more favourable Path of Rebirth.

East Asian painting scrolls, condition and materials

Traditionally, such paintings have been painted with drawing ink, mineral pigments or vegetable dyes with animal glue as the binding agent. The canvas is a piece of thin silk or paper that is prepared for painting with paper. The work is assembled into a vertical scroll by framing it with fabric or ornamental paper. For storage, a wooden round rod is attached to the bottom edge and the work is wrapped around it. The materials wear out in use and are traditionally replaced every 100 years or so.

These five works differ from the traditional Chinese painting scrolls: the border fabrics protecting the painting, the wooden rod at the bottom and the hanging rod and string are missing. Despite this, the works have been rolled and opened repeatedly, which is visible in the side light as horizontally running damage. Presumably the works have ended up in their current form when being given new backgrounds, possibly for the Western market.

Painting surface

According to the cataloguing information, the works are painted on paper. On closer inspection, it can be seen that the painting surface is a canvas prepared for painting with paper. The painting is done on a flimsy plain weave canvas according to the outline sketch painted on the paper underneath. The gauze-like fabric has let the paint through to stain the paper underneath as well, except for the areas covered by the threads.

The fabric woven from long bundles of fibres is thinner and weaker than the underlying paper, which consists of a number of shorter irregularly interlaced paper fibres. A light-coloured grid is visible on the paper in spots where the fibre bundles are missing. In the future, fibre studies could be used to determine whether the fabric is animal-based silk, plant-based hemp, cotton or a mixture of fibres, and the origin of the paper fibres could be investigated.

Microscope image: Tuija Toivanen

Pigments

In the gaps left by the missing threads and under the paint, a black colour is visible on the surface of the paper. This is presumably a Chinese ink used for the outline sketch. Further research is needed to identify it, as well as the mineral-based and synthetically produced pigments and plant-based dyes.

The works were measured using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), which can be used to identify elements. Toxic substances such as arsenic and mercury were also found in the pigments. Therefore, occupational safety must be taken into account when handling the works.

Microscope image: Tuija Toivanen