Chinese Mythology

The Folk Gods and Spirits of the Middle Kingdom

DIYU

Chinese Underworld legendary place

Also known as Di Yu, Ti Yü

The Realm of the Dead containing all the Chinese Hells

Like so many other concepts in Chinese mythology, the Underworld is a tangled mix of Daoist, Buddhist and traditional folk legend.

Diyu is a vast subterranean maze of gloomy chambers, corridors and courts. The entrance is housed in an enormous mountain on the other side of the astral plane. You may also sneak in via the ghostly town of Fengdu. All legends agree that it’s a dark and sinister place something like a prison complex — with ample torture facilities.

We don’t want to worry you, but Hell is open to everyone and the invitation is not negotiable. When you die, officers place your soul under arrest and march you to the office of Yanluo Wang, the King of Hell. There you are registered, given an identity card, and sucked into the mire of Underworld bureaucracy. No doubt it’s all computerized by now.

Then it’s off to the Court of Qinguang Wang for inspection in his Mirror of Retribution. Particularly virtuous souls may find themselves excused from further judgment and sent on vacation to paradise. But the vast majority will have to be punished for Earthly sins. It’s the rules.

Some of the punishments are very nasty indeed, and to add insult to injury there are — like most government offices — pious slogans wherever you look. It’s all very well being reminded that virtue is a good thing, but when you’re about to be plunged into boiling oil for the hundredth time you really have other things to worry about.

Diyu is divided into several courts or levels, each with its own set of departments and ruling deity. The exact number of courts is variously given as four, five, eight, ten — or even more. We’ve chosen to include ten as it seems reasonably good value.

The Ten Courts of Chinese Hell

Court 1: Mirror of Retribution.
Ruled by Qinguang Wang.

Court 2: The Pool of Filth and the Hell of Ice.
Ruled by Chujiang Wang.

Court 3: Black Rope Hell and the Upside-Down Prison.
Ruled by Songdi Wang.

Court 4: The Lake of Blood and the terrible Bee Torture.
Ruled by Wuguan Wang.

Court 5: Sixteen Departments of Heart Gouging.
Ruled by Yanluo Wang.

Court 6: Screaming Torture and Administrative Errors.
Ruled by Biancheng Wang.

Court 7: Torture by Mincing Machine.
Ruled by Taishan Wang.

Court 8: Hot Suffocation Hell.
Ruled by Dushi Wang.

Court 9: Iron Web, Office of Fair Trading and Better Business Bureau.
Ruled by Pingdeng Wang.

Court 10: The Wheel of Rebirth.
Ruled by Zhuanlun Wang.

When your agony is complete and you’ve repented for all you’re worth, it’s time to be reborn. You’re summoned to the Tenth Court, where Zhuanlun Wang decides the manner of your next existence. (Human being or slug?) Then Lady Meng Po gives you the Tea of Forgetfulness, which erases your memory and ensures that you completely forget all the punishments you’ve just been suffering. There is a very good reason for this, but we don’t know what it is.

Finally you are given a free ride on the Wheel of Life. Round and round you go, faster and faster, until you shoot off into the void and land in the body of a newborn baby. Or, if you haven’t repented enough, the body of a slug.

Diyu Facts and Figures

Name: Diyu
Pronunciation: Fung Doo
Alternative names: Di Yu, Ti Yü

Gender: Sorry, we don't know
Type: legendary place
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role:
In charge of: the Underworld
Area of expertise: Underworld

Good/Evil Rating: NEUTRAL, may not care
Popularity index: 14572

Copy this link to share with anyone:



Share this page on social media:


Link to this page:

HTML: To link to this page, just copy and paste the link below into your blog, web page or email.

BBCODE: To link to this page in a forum post or comment box, just copy and paste the link code below:

Cite this article

Here's the info you need to cite this page. Just copy the text in the box below.


Article last revised on March 01, 2020 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

Permissions page


Oh woe. Javascript is switched off in your browser.
Some bits of this website may not work unless you switch it on.