The general led the way with a banner that draws the spirit, Magistrate Cui followed behind to guard the ghost of Taizong, and they traveled out of the Peaceful Realms. Taizong saw that it wasn’t the path from which he had come, and asked, “Have we gone the wrong way?”
The magistrate replied, “No, this is the way of Hell. There is a path for coming but no path for going. We are bringing your Majesty to the wheel of reincarnation so that you may return. One path brought your Majesty to the Peaceful Realms, the other path takes your Majesty to reincarnate back to life.”
Taizong had no choice but to follow his two guides. They had traveled countless miles when they came to a high mountain obscured by dark clouds that hung down from the sky. Taizong asked, “Master Cui, what mountain is that?”
The magistrate replied, “That is the Dark Mountain that sits at the back of the Peaceful Realms.”
Taizong was frightened and said, “How can I possibly go there?”
The magistrate said, “Don’t worry. We will guide you.”
Shaking and trembling, Taizong followed his two guides up the mountain. Above him, the shape of the cliff was full of protrusions and indentations and the rocks were craggy. As sheer as the Shu mountains and as high as the Lu peaks. No mountain range in the living world compared to the danger of these in the underworld. Bramble bushes hid demons; cliffs concealed spirits.
He heard no sound of bird or beast; the only sight was of passing ghosts. An evil wind rose, the whistling of spectral soldiers. A black fog fell, the breathing of demons in the darkness. There was no beauty in any direction; death pressed in from every side. There were mountains, there were peaks, there were ridges, there were caves, there were streams, but: grass did not grow on the mountains, the sky was not pierced by the peaks, merchants did not traverse the ranges, clouds did not seep into the caves, water did not flow through the streams. Devils and demons roamed every shore; the foothills were full of monsters. The caves were full of restless ghosts, the riverbeds concealed evil souls. All around the mountain, Oxheads and Horsefaces screeched. Hidden from view, hungry ghosts and poor souls sobbed. A magistrate hurried past seeking the souls being summoned. A guard shouted orders. The magistrate’s footsteps raised a rolling wind; the guard’s breath spread black fog.
Taizong relied entirely on the magistrate to protect him as they crossed the Dark Mountain. After that, they passed through many bureaucratic offices. Everywhere he heard the thunderous sound of weeping and was frightened by demons.
“Where are we now?” Taizong asked.
“This is the eighteenth layer of Hell beyond the Dark Mountain,” the magistrate said.
“What are the eighteen layers?” Taizong asked.
“Listen to me,” the magistrate said. “The Hell of Hanging by Sinews, the Hell of Dishonest Dead, and the Hell of the Pit of Fire are desolate and miserable. The dead here committed the thousand lower sins in life, and were sent here for punishment in death.1
The Hell of Fengdu, the Hell of Tongue Extraction, and the Hell of Skinning are dismal and filled with weeping. The disloyal, the unfilial, those who violate the order of Heaven, those who speak the mercy of Buddha but are snakes at heart2 – they end up here.
The Hell of Grinding, the Hell of Pounding3 and the Hell of Death by Vehicles4 split the skin and cut the flesh, grind the mouth to reveal the teeth. Those sent here cheat and mock others in secret while presenting a righteous face.
Those in the Hell of Ice, the Hell of Molting, and the Hell of Disembowelment have dirty faces and matted hair, furrowed brows and haggard eyes. With false measures and dishonest weights they cheated fools, ruined villages, and destroyed themselves.
The Hell of Boiling Oil, the Hell of Darkness, and the Hell of Knife Mountain are filled with trembling and mourning. These souls committed violence against good men and now hide their faces and cower in their suffering.
The Hell of the Pool of Blood, the Hell of Eternal Pain, and the Hell of the Balancing Scale are places of torture for those who murder in the name of greed. For a thousand years they will have no reprieve; from these depths they will never escape. Each one is tightly bound and beaten by red-haired demons and black-faced demons with spears and swords, and Oxheads and Horsefaces with truncheons and maces. Their faces full of anguish and bloody, they can pray to Heaven and Earth to no avail. It does no good to deceive your conscience in life; the gods and demons will know, and they forgive no one. Good and evil will always be repaid in the end, it is only a matter of sooner or later.”
Hearing this, Taizong shuddered with fear.5
They continued walking and before long, they saw a group of ghostly servants, each brandishing a banner, kneel at the side of the road and say, “The Keepers of the Bridge welcome you.”
The magistrate ordered them to rise, and they came forward to lead Taizong across the Golden Bridge.
To one side, Taizong saw a silver bridge, upon which walked several faithful, virtuous, and just people, who were also being welcomed with banners. On the other side was another bridge. A freezing wind howled above it and waves of blood roiled below it. The air was filled with the sound of sobbing.
“What is that bridge called?” Taizong asked.
“Your Majesty,” the magistrate said. “That is the Bridge of the Nai River6 If you go back to the living world, you must write about it. Below that bridge is a raging current and a narrow, precipitous path. It is like a bolt of silk crossing the Yangtze, but rather a pit of fire rising up to Heaven. The air of death is oppressive and chills to the bone, the foul wind assaults the nose and pierces the heart. The waters froth but no boat ferries men across.
Barefoot with disheveled hair, there were many ghosts going back and forth. The bridge was many li long, but was only three fingers wide. It was a hundred feet high over a river infinitely deep. There were no rails to hold on to, below evil creatures awaited. Bound to stocks they were made to cross this bridge. The gods that guard the bridge are fierce and stubborn, the ghosts in the water are evil and distressing. Hanging in the branches of a tree are clothes of red, yellow, and purple silk. Below the sheer cliffs crouch the wicked women who slander and abuse their in-laws. Copper snakes and iron dogs await and prey on those who fall into the Nai River – there’s no escape. As the poem says: The constant sound of weeping ghosts and wailing spirits, bloodied waves ten thousand yards tall, countless ox heads and horse faces, fiercely guarding Nai River Bridge.
They crossed the bridge as they spoke. Taizong’s heart trembled with fear, his head bobbed and sighed. In silent grief he walked alongside the magistrate and general and crossed over the evil waters of the Nai River, the world of bitterness and blood.
They came to the City of Tragic Deaths. From inside the city came the clear sound of voices ringing out, saying: “Li Shimin is here! Li Shimin is here!” Taizong shook with fright. He saw a spirit approach – its torso dragging, its arms broken, and its head missing. It blocked their path, saying, “Give me back my life! Give me back my life!”
Taizong cowered and hid, yelling, “Save me Master Cui! Save me!”
Cui Gui said, “Your Majesty, those are ghosts of bandits, princes, and leaders of desolate places. There is no one to care for them, and so they are cut off from reincarnation. They have no money for the journey,7 and are the lonely, poor, and hungry souls. If you have some money to give them, then I can save you.
Taizong said, “We came here empty handed, how could I have money?”
The magistrate said, “Your Majesty, there is a person in the living world who has stored money here in the world of the dead. If you could borrow that money in your name, with me as guarantor, and give that money to these ghosts, then we can get past them.”
Taizong said, “Who is this person?”
The magistrate said, “He is a resident of Kaifeng City in Henan, and is called Xiang Liang. He has thirteen storehouses of gold and silver here. If you borrow them, you can repay him in the world of the living.”
Taizong gladly agreed to borrow the money under his name, and wrote a contract with the magistrate to borrow one storehouse of money. The general distributed the money. The magistrate instructed the ghosts, “Split this money evenly amongst yourselves and allow his Majesty of Tang to pass. His days in the sun are yet to pass. By the order of the Ten Kings, I am bringing him to resurrection. I will instruct him to organize a Grand Mass of Land and Water8 when he has returned, so that you all can reincarnate into the next life. So cease your troublemaking.”
The spirits heard his pronouncement, received the gold and silver, and backed away. The magistrate ordered the general to wave the banner that draws the spirit and lead Taizong out of the city and onto a broad path. Will this path take him back to the world of the living? Find out in the next chapter.
1 Based on the Jenner translation. ↩
2 literally Buddha mouth snake heart ↩
3 based on Anthony Yu’s translation ↩
4 can you imagine what this would look like today? ↩
5 Dude is having a come-to-Jesus moment lol ↩
6 I think this is a pun 😡 . Nai River sounds the same as the phrase 奈何, which means ‘How can I endure this?’ ↩
7 back to life ↩
8 borrowing translation from Anthony Yu ↩
Etymology Adventures 