Diyu (Traditional Chinese: 地獄; Simplified Chinese: 地狱; Hanyu Pinyin: Dìyù; Wade-Giles: Ti-yü; Japanese: 地獄, jigoku, literally "earth prison") is the realm of the dead or "hell" in Chinese mythology. It is very loosely based upon the Buddhist concept of Naraka combined with traditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popular expansions and re-interpretations of these two traditions. Fire and brimstone is a motif in Christian preaching that uses vivid descriptions of hell and damnation to encourage the listeners to fear divine wrath and punishment. ... The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles Creed, which states that Jesus descended into hell. It has been termed the most controversial in the Apostles Creed[1]. This phrase was probably the last to be added to the creed[2]. // Christs... The problem of Hell is a variant of the problem of evil, applying specifically to religions which hold both that: An omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnibenevolent (all-loving) God exists. ... The Devil is a title given to the supernatural entity, who, in Christianity, Islam, and other religions, is a powerful, evil entity and the tempter of humankind. ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin (拼音, Pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) A hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. ... Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written form. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology. ... Naraka (Sanskrit) or Niraya (Pāli) (Ch: 地獄 Dì Yù, Jp: Jigoku, Tib: ) is the name given to one of the worlds of greatest suffering in Buddhist cosmology. ...

Ruled by Yanluo Wang, the King of Hell, Diyu is a maze of underground levels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthly sins. Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois Yama is the name of the Buddhist god and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas (Pāli: Nirayas), Hells or Purgatories. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed...

Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation. There are many deities associated with the place, whose names and purposes are the subject of much conflicting information. Taoism (pronounced and often written as Daoism (dow-ism) is the English name for a cluster of Chinese religious and philosophical traditions. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology. ...

The exact number of levels in Chinese Hell - and their associated deities - differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception. Some speak of three to four 'Courts', other as many as ten. The ten judges are also known as the 10 Kings of Yama. Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement. For example, murder is punished in one Court, adultery in another. According to some Chinese legends, there are eighteen levels in Hell. Punishment also varies according to belief, but most legends speak of highly imaginative chambers where wrong-doers are sawn in half, beheaded, thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades. Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois Yama is the name of the Buddhist god and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas (Pāli: Nirayas), Hells or Purgatories. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed...

However, most legends agree that once a soul (usually referred to as a 'ghost') has atoned for their deeds and repented, he or she is given the Drink of Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn. Meng Po 孟婆 is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese mythology. ...

Eighteen levels of Hell

Glazed earthenware figurines representing three of the ten Yama Kings

In Taoist and Buddhist mythology, hell is made up of ten courts, each ruled by one of the 10 Yama Kings and 18 levels in which wrongdoers are punished. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1767x1119, 363 KB) Figurines representing three of the ten judges of Di Yu. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1767x1119, 363 KB) Figurines representing three of the ten judges of Di Yu. ... For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) A hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. ... Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois Yama is the name of the Buddhist god and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas (Pāli: Nirayas), Hells or Purgatories. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed...

In some literatures, there are references to 18 types or subtypes of hells, or 18 hells for each type of punishment, rather than just 18 levels of hell. In some literatures, there are different types of punishment on each level.

The concept of '18 levels of hell' started in the Tang Dynasty. The Buddhist text ?(間地獄經) mentioned 134 worlds of hell, but was simplified to 18 levels of hell for convenience. The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (18 June 618 – 4 June 907), lasting about three centuries, preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

See the Chinese version of the article for more information.

1. Chamber of Wind and Thunder – People who kill and commit heinous crimes out of greed are sent here for punishment.
2. Chamber of Grinding – Wealthy men who do no good and waste food are ground into powder in this chamber.
3. Chamber of Flames – People who steal, plunder, rob and cheat are sent here to be burnt.
4. Chamber of Ice – Children who ill-treat their parents and elders are sent here to be frozen in ice.
5. Chamber of Oil Cauldrons – Sex offenders such as rapists, lechers, adulterers are fried in oil in this chamber.
6. Chamber of Dismemberment by Sawing – Kidnappers and people who force good women into prostitution suffer the fate of being sawn in this chamber.
7. Chamber of Dismemberment by Chariot – Corrupt officials and landlords who oppress and exploit the people are dismembered by a chariot in this chamber.
8. Chamber of Mountain of Knives – People who cheat customers by earning more than they should, profiteers who jack up prices and cheat on the quality of goods are made to shed blood by climbing the mountain of knives.
9. Chamber of Tongue Ripping – Gossips who stir trouble and liars suffer the fate of having their tongues ripped out in this chamber.
10. Chamber of Pounding – Cold-blooded murderers are pounded in this chamber.
11. Chamber of Torso-severing – Scheming and ungrateful men have their torsos severed in this chamber.
12. Chamber of Scales – Crooks who oppress the innocent, people who cheat on the quality of goods and daughters-in-law who ill-treat their in-laws have hooks pierced into their body and hung upside down.
13. Chamber of Eye-gouging – Peeping toms who go around peeking and leering have their eyeballs gouged out in this chamber.
14. Chamber of Heart-digging – People with evil hearts have theirs dug out in this chamber.
15. Chamber of Disembowelment – Instigators, hypocrites and tomb-robbers have their bowels dug out in this chamber.
16. Chamber of Blood – Blasphemous crooks who show no respect to the gods suffer the fate of being skinned in this chamber.
17. Chamber of Maggots – Crooks who use loopholes in the law to cheat and engage in malpractice are being eaten alive by maggots in this chamber.
18. Chamber of Avici – Crooks who have committed heinous crimes, brought misery to the people and betrayed the ruler are placed on a platform above an inferno. The unlucky ones fall off the platform into the inferno and burn while the lucky ones remain on the platform. These spirits are never to be reincarnated.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Alternate names in Chinese language

Among the more common names for the Underworld are (the most common ones near the top):

• 地獄 - dìyù the underworld prison
• 地府 - dìfŭ the underworld mansion
• 黃泉 - huángquán the yellow spring (meaning the origin/source of life and death, possibly a reference to the Yellow River)
• 陰間 - yīnjiān the shady space
• 陰府 - yīnfŭ the shady mansion
• 陰司 - yīnsī the shady office
• 森羅殿 - shēnluó diàn the court of Sinluo
• 閻羅殿 - yánluó diàn the court of Yanluo
• 九泉 - jiŭquán the nine springs (origin/source)
• 重泉 - chóngquán the repeating spring (origin/source)
• 泉路 - quánlù the spring road
• 幽冥 - yūmíng the serene darkness
• 幽壤 - yūrăng the serene land
• 火炕 - huŏkàng the fire pit
• 九幽 - jiŭyū the nine serenities
• 九原 - jiŭyuán the nine origins
• 冥府 – míngfŭ the dark mansion
• 阿鼻 - ābí (pinyin), a Buddhist term, from Sanskrit Avīci, the hell of uninterrupted torture, last and deepest of eight hot hells
• 足跟 - zúgēn the heel of the foot, also means hells
• 酆都城 - Fēngdū Chéng, name of a city imagined to contain an entrance to Diyu

And terminologies related to hell: The Yellow River or Golden River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin:  ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the seventh longest in the world. ... Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois Yama is the name of the Buddhist god and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas (Pāli: Nirayas), Hells or Purgatories. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed... It has been suggested that Pinyin method be merged into this article or section. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Fengdu (Simplified Chinese:丰都县; Traditional Chinese: 酆都縣) is a county in the Chongqing municipality of China. ...

• 奈何橋 - the bridge of helplessness
• 望鄉臺 - the home viewing pavilion
• 油鍋 - the deep frying wok, one of the tortures in hell.
• 三塗 - the three tortures, burn by fire (Budd. 火塗), chop by knife (Budd. 刀塗), torn apart by beasts (Budd. 血塗, spill of blood).

Cooking in a wok The wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. ...

Diyu in popular culture

Although not found in religious texts, Chinese pop culture use deeper levels of hell, typically 19, to refer the type of punishment should be offered to some criminals. Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ...

There is a novel by Cai Jun (蔡骏) named '19th level of hell' (地狱的第十九层)[1]. Contents of the book is offered online.

There is also an online game named '100 levels of hell'[2].

Barry Hughart's novel The Story of the Stone features a mind-trip to Hell, with several of the levels described. Barry Hughart (born March 13, 1934) is classified as a fantasy author. ... Categories: Literature stubs | 1988 books ...

Some of these hells - particularly the Chambers of Oil Cauldrons, Scales and Blood - are mentioned or - in earthly form - featured in John Carpenter's motion picture Big Trouble In Little China. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... Big Trouble in Little China (also known as John Carpenters Big Trouble in Little China) is a 1986 comedy/action film, directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall, set in San Franciscos Chinatown. ...

See also

• Avīci Niraya (in Chinese)
• Bon Festival
• Ghost Festival
• Hell Bank Notes
• Ksitigarbha
• Maudgalyayana
• Meng Po
• Ox-Head and Horse-Face
• Naraka (Buddhism)
• Yama (Buddhism and Chinese mythology)

Illuminated by the Albuquerque Bridge, Japanese volunteers place candle lit lanterns into the Sasebo River during the Obon festival. ... The Ghost Festival (Traditional Chinese: 中元節 or 盂蘭節; pinyin: zhōng yuán jié, and sometimes called 盂蘭盆; pinyin: yulanpen) is a traditional Chinese festival/holiday, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries. ... The widely used $10,000 Hell note. ... Bodhisattva (地藏菩薩), often known by the Japanese name Jizō (地蔵) or the Chinese name Dizang (地藏 Dìzàng), is a popular Mahayana Buddhist Bodhisattva, usually depicted as a monk. ... Maudgalyayana (Pali: Mahamoggallana; Jp: Mokuren; Ch: 摩訶目犍連 Mohemujianlian), also known as Mahamaudgalyayana, was one of the Buddha Shakyamunis closest disciples. ... Meng Po 孟婆 is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese mythology. ... Ox-Head (牛頭) and Horse-Face (馬面) are two fearsome guardians of the Underworld in Chinese mythology, where the dead face judgement (and punishment) prior to reincarnation. ... Naraka (Sanskrit) or Niraya (Pāli) (Ch: 地獄 Dì Yù, Jp: Jigoku, Tib: ) is the name given to one of the worlds of greatest suffering in Buddhist cosmology. ... Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois Yama is the name of the Buddhist god and judge of the dead, who presides over the Buddhist Narakas (Pāli: Nirayas), Hells or Purgatories. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed...

External links

• (Chinese) Xinhuanet 18 levels of hell article
• (Chinese) Depictions of 18 types of hell (part 1) (part 2)
• (Chinese) CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripitaka Buddhist version of 18 levels of hell (佛說十八泥犁經)
• (Chinese) History of buddhist hell: (part 1) (part 2)