{"id":5294,"date":"2026-04-27T10:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/yanluo\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:32:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:32:31","slug":"yanluo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/yanluo\/","title":{"rendered":"Yanluo"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"5294\" class=\"elementor elementor-5294 elementor-2005 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10fdade e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"10fdade\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herohlft0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herohlft0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c3ceb64 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c3ceb64\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96ae5e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"96ae5e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo, god of the Chinese tradition<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e45238a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e45238a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>King of hell, ruler of Diyu, judge without pity.<\/strong> Yanluo Wang is the supreme judge of the Chinese underworld *Diyu*, a cacophonous hell with ten levels, each with its own torments.<\/p><p>Unlike the Indian Yama (his original ancestor), Yanluo Wang is not primarily a god of death but a judge-administrator: precise, dispassionate, working through karmic ledgers without mercy.<\/p><p>The name means King Yanluo; Yanluo itself is a Sanskritization of Yama. With dark robes, an imperial mandate and administrative papers, he sits on his throne in the lowest hell and adjudicates every soul that appears before him.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klsbdg01 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"klsbdg01\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klshtm01 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"klshtm01\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ goddess: personified supreme power within the pantheon of a culture, with clear domains: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">God<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/china\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religion of gods, spirits and folk practice: Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian.\">China<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/death-deities\/\" class=\"iwg-tradition-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Gods of the underworld and of death, rulers of the afterlife, judges of the dead, guides of souls.\">Deity of the dead<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f74855 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3f74855\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1c30362 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"1c30362\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herorght0 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herorght0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-heroimg00 iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"heroimg00\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_china_yanluo-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-5295\" alt=\"Yanluo - gods from the Chinese tradition, historical-illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_china_yanluo-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_china_yanluo-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_china_yanluo-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_china_yanluo.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32917199 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"32917199\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26e916cb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"26e916cb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-253a40d4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"253a40d4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1200c304 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1200c304\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-159dcf9a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"159dcf9a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48cee66f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"48cee66f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Overview: Yanluo<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f50d82c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f50d82c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Type:<\/strong> Chinese principal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span>, judge of the dead and highest of the ten kings of hell (Diyu)<br><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">Pantheon<\/span>: <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious-philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span>, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese folk <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span><br>Function: Supreme judge of the dead, head of the hell realm Diyu, administrator of rebirth<br>Principal attributes: judge&#8217;s robe, brush and book of the dead, writing tablet with brush<br>Principal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> sites: Dongyue <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> (Mount Tai), <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> of the dead in every larger Chinese city<br>Buddhist identification: Yamaraja (Sanskrit), Y&#257;ma (Buddhism)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-18613602 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"18613602\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-262b8a9f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"262b8a9f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Context<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46dcb7d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46dcb7d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61d3ab3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"61d3ab3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-117c166 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"117c166\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Period of the texts<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-73997a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"73997a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Yanluo (Chin. <em>Y&aacute;n Lu&oacute; W&aacute;ng<\/em>) is a synthesis of the Indo-Buddhist <em>Yamaraja<\/em> and the Chinese folk concept of the judge of the dead. The syncretization begins with the arrival of Buddhism in China (1st to 2nd cent. CE) and becomes <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the authoritatively recognized body of scriptures of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">canonical<\/span> in the Tang dynasty (7th to 10th cent.).<\/p><p>In the Chinese system Yanluo is not the only king of the dead but the first of the <em>Ten Kings of Hell<\/em> (<em>Sh&iacute; Di&agrave;n Y&aacute;nlu&oacute;<\/em>), each of whom presides over one of the ten chambers of hell.<\/p><p>The main flourishing of Yanluo <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The scholarly study of God and of the faith of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span> runs from the Tang to the Ming dynasty. It remains central today in every Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> for the dead.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d47b156 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d47b156\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff38c2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ff38c2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Area of distribution<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e49fcc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4e49fcc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Principal cult sites: <strong>Dongyue <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span><\/strong> on Mount Tai in Shandong (one of the most important Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuaries<\/span> of the dead), Yanluo <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> in many Chinese cities (typically connected with the local city-god <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span>).<\/p><p>Present in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan in every larger Chinese diaspora <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span> complex. In Taiwanese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Religious ideas and customs that are widespread in everyday life.\" tabindex=\"0\">folk belief<\/span> he is centrally <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> above all during the Yulan Pen festival (<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An incorporeal being to which effects in the world are attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Ghost<\/span> Month).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db03c39 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"db03c39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-229a87b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"229a87b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f471fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1f471fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Source situation<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36b1201 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"36b1201\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Central sources: <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, a teaching text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> of the Ten Kings<\/em> (Chinese Buddhist text, 9th\/10th cent.), <em>Yulan Pen <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, a teaching text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span><\/em>, Daoist and Buddhist liturgies for the dead. Secondary literature: Teiser, <em>The Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism<\/em>; Werner, <em>Myths and Legends of China<\/em>; Kohn, <em>Daoism Handbook<\/em>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ae0637c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3ae0637c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31d07739 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"31d07739\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Designation and spellings<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7642947 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b7642947\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a086266 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a086266\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Yanluo Wang is depicted as a somber, imposing male figure in imperial, dark robes, often green or black. His features are stern, not evil but inflexible.<\/p><p>He wears the crown and insignia of power, not gold but the authority of judgment. His table is covered with ledgers and papers that document the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the law of cause and effect of action: every deed acts back upon subsequent existences.\" tabindex=\"0\">karma<\/span> of every soul.<\/p><p>Subordinate kings or magistrates sit beside or below him. His symbols are the ten chambers of hell, each with its typical torments (lakes of blood, sawing saws, boiling cauldrons, forests of thorns). The river Sanzu (or <em>Naihe<\/em>, the river of repudiation) separates life and death.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-709a44a8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"709a44a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f585873 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2f585873\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Characteristics<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70621c12 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"70621c12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4296eb49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4296eb49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Yanluo Wang belongs to a purely functional <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>: there is no individual <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A brief, personal or communal religious contemplation.\" tabindex=\"0\">devotion<\/span> to him but rather respect born of fear. The folk <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span> emphasizes that he has no discretion. Every life&#8217;s work is assessed, and the punishment follows automatically. In <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Chinese religious-philosophical tradition oriented toward the Dao, the Way.\" tabindex=\"0\">Daoism<\/span> meditation practitioners may confront him in order to ascend.<\/p><p>In Buddhism his judgment is the enactment of karma: not morally absolute but descriptive. Direct altars to Yanluo Wang are rare; instead he is mentioned in temples, shown in artworks depicting hell, and invoked in folk-belief rituals for protection against damnation.<\/p><p>Priests can negotiate with Yanluo Wang through rituals in order to save living or deceased relatives, but his decision remains functional: karma is not negotiable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44e71476 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"44e71476\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c1fc3f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3c1fc3f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Profile: Yanluo<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84f33b8e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"84f33b8e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-hqkdc67p elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"hqkdc67p\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most important aspects of Yanluo at a glance. The following fields summarize origin, function, appearance, veneration, symbols and cultural parallels.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-qh9oavvu iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"qh9oavvu\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-awzx8k2k elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"awzx8k2k\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo's origin<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x6rowhv0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"x6rowhv0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Yanluo develops from the Indian Yamaraja, who comes to China with Buddhism. In the Chinese system he is merged with the folk concept of the judge of the dead.<\/p><p>In later folk tales he is often identified with a historical person (various candidates depending on the region: a just Sui official, a Tang minister). As the first of the Ten Kings of Hell, the other nine are subordinate to him, each administering a specific chamber of hell (one for each category of sin).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8e3o4kxs iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8e3o4kxs\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08rkdgov elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"08rkdgov\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sphere of action<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-uwjelx8s elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"uwjelx8s\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Supreme judge of the dead. When a person dies, their soul first comes before Yanluo.<\/p><p>He reads from the <em>book of the dead<\/em>, in which all deeds are recorded, and decides upon: (1) immediate good rebirth (rare), (2) a term of punishment in one of the ten hells before rebirth, (3) eternal punishment (very rare).<\/p><p>The ten hells are organized by categories of sin (a hell of ice for the loveless, a hell of fire for the wrathful, and so on). In personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> Yanluo is not invoked but feared; yet in rituals for the deceased he is asked for lenient treatment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-jm2n74ec iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"jm2n74ec\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8vufse4c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8vufse4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Depiction<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-mwb9u015 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"mwb9u015\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A stern male official in a Chinese judge&#8217;s robe (imperial blue or black, with dragon embroidery), a black beard, a high official&#8217;s cap (the Mian or &#8220;Seven Stars&#8221; hat), brush and writing tablet in hand, the book of the dead on his desk.<\/p><p>He is enthroned on a high judge&#8217;s seat in the first hall of hell. He is accompanied by two guardian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A spiritual being to which harmful or ambivalent effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">demons<\/span>: <em>Niu Tou<\/em> (Ox Head) and <em>Ma Mian<\/em> (Horse Face), who drag the dead to judgment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37ss2yr6 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"37ss2yr6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3v0wp3wx elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3v0wp3wx\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo's effect<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-w3247g2m elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"w3247g2m\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Sphere of effect:<\/strong> Yanluo is invoked in every Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> for the dead, with petitions for a lenient judgment. In personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> he is hardly venerated directly: he is feared, not loved.<\/p><p>During the Yulan Pen festival (Ghost Month, July\/August of the Chinese lunar calendar), food and paper-money <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An offering to a deity to express gratitude, petition, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">offerings<\/span> for the deceased are brought before Yanluo&#8217;s court. In folk theater (Peking opera) the scene of Yanluo&#8217;s court is a classic subject.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0qpjal9w iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0qpjal9w\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ndoih0o elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6ndoih0o\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo's defense<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6684tyh9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6684tyh9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Judge&#8217;s robe, brush, writing tablet, book of the dead, Mian crown or official&#8217;s hat, black beard, judge&#8217;s seat, the seal of divine authority. Companions: Niu Tou (Ox Head <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A spiritual being to which harmful or ambivalent effects are attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">demon<\/span>) and Ma Mian (Horse Face demon). <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sacred<\/span> plants: none specific.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3lfi7x32 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3lfi7x32\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0kg99ga1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0kg99ga1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Comparable figures<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-n0fum6kp elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"n0fum6kp\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Yamaraja \/ Yama-Dharmaraja<\/em> (Hinduism \/ Tibet, direct predecessor), <em>Yama<\/em> (Buddhism, shared Indian root), <em>Enma-O<\/em> (Japan, an adaptation shaped by China), <em>Yeomra<\/em> (Korea, shaped by China), <em>Hades<\/em> (Greece, lord of the underworld), <em>Pluto<\/em> (Rome), <em>Anubis\/Osiris<\/em> (Egypt, guide of the dead and judge of the dead), <em>Hel<\/em> (Germanic), <em>Mictlantecuhtli<\/em> (Aztec).<\/p><p>Yanluo is the East Asian, Chinese-shaped version of the Indian Yamaraja, with the characteristic official hierarchy of the ten kings of hell.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7533bc7a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7533bc7a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2447d18d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2447d18d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Protective practice<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5d0260c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d5d0260c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-341be2ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"341be2ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Apotropaic rituals<\/strong><\/p><p>Yanluo Wang (Chin. \u95bb\u7f85\u738b) is the king of the ten hells (<em>Shidian Yanjun<\/em>) in Chinese folk belief, a synthesis of the Indian Yama with Confucian conceptions of official bureaucracy. Established since the Tang period (7th-9th cent.).<\/p><p>Veneration takes place above all within the framework of the Zhongyuan festival (15th day of the 7th lunar month, the &#8220;Ghost Festival&#8221;), when <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An incorporeal being to which effects in the world are attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">spirit<\/span> money (<em>j\u012bnzh\u01d0<\/em>) and food are presented for the dead.<\/p><p>Temple images show Yanluo at the tribunal with the scribe Cui Jue and the messengers (<em>Niu-Tou<\/em>, <em>Ma-Mian<\/em>), cf. Teiser, <em>The Ghost Festival in Medieval China<\/em>.<\/p><p><strong>Invocations<\/strong><\/p><p>The <em>Yulan-pen-jing<\/em> (Ullambana <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, a teaching text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span>, ca. 6th cent.) is the central liturgical text for the deliverance of the dead from Yanluo&#8217;s ten hells. Mulian tales (Mulian rescues his mother) are performed during the Ghost Festival. Daoist liturgies such as the <em>Yujing<\/em> <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> integrate Yanluo into the Daoist <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span>.<\/p><p><strong><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A worn object to which a protective, misfortune-averting effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Amulets<\/span> and protective symbols<\/strong><\/p><p>Gate-guardian images (<em>Mengshen<\/em>) at Chinese house entrances, Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, generals of the Tang period who were deified, are meant to protect against Yanluo&#8217;s messengers.<\/p><p>Black ink <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An object to which a fortune- or success-bringing effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">talismans<\/span> bearing the Yanluo seal are carried during visits to graveyards. The hell inscriptions at the entrance of Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> list Yanluo&#8217;s ten hells in an <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off evil: of signs and objects intended to keep harmful influences away.\" tabindex=\"0\">apotropaic<\/span> manner.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a584676 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5a584676\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d0757bf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6d0757bf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Yanluo, parallels in other cultures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60563f68 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"60563f68\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a93fdd6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a93fdd6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\"><p>Yanluo Wang goes back to the Indian god of the dead, Yama, whose name entered Chinese through Buddhist scriptures as Yanmo luoshe and was shortened there to Yanluo. He thus stands in line with the Japanese Enma-o and the Korean Yeomra, who share the same origin. Related, too, is the role of Egyptian and Greek judges of the afterlife such as Osiris at the judgment of the dead or Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus in Hades, who, like Yanluo, rule on the deeds of the deceased.<\/p><div data-nosnippet=\"true\" class=\"iwg-litliste\"><\/div><\/footer>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp44940a8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp44940a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp97eca96 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp97eca96\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The ten kings of hell and Yanluo's place among them<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpa07e941 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpa07e941\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp6a98b39 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp6a98b39\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In Chinese folk belief Yanluo, in full often <em>Yanluo Wang<\/em>, is not a sole ruler over the realm of the dead but part of a bureaucratic body.<\/p><p>The fully developed conception knows ten kings of hell, the <em>Shi Dian Yanluo<\/em> or ten kings of the underworld, each of whom presides over one of ten courts of hell. In the common ordering Yanluo is regarded as the fifth of these kings.<\/p><p>This order is tangible in a concrete text, the <em>Shiwang jing<\/em>, the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, a teaching text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> of the Ten Kings, which arose in the Tang period and is well attested by finds in the caves of Dunhuang.<\/p><p>The text describes the journey of the soul through the ten courts, which are passed through in a fixed temporal rhythm, on particular days after death and on anniversaries. At each court a part of the life&#8217;s balance is examined.<\/p><p>That Yanluo, despite this integration, often stands in common usage for the entire underworld has historical reasons. He is the oldest and best known of the kings, having emerged from the Indian Yama, and his name was in circulation before the system of the ten kings became fixed.<\/p><p><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">Religious studies<\/span>, for instance in the works of Stephen Teiser on the <em>Shiwang jing<\/em>, sees in the tenfold structure a specifically Chinese achievement: it transfers the model of the earthly hierarchy of officials onto the afterlife.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp76453a1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp76453a1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp5dd5d73 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp5dd5d73\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">From the Indian Yama to the Chinese official<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp9961e9d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp9961e9d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpee91746 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpee91746\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Yanluo is the result of a long process of translation and adaptation. The name itself is a Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit <em>Yama<\/em>, transcribed in the early Buddhist translations mostly as <em>Yanmoluo<\/em> or, in shortened form, <em>Yanluo<\/em>.<\/p><p>With Buddhism, the conception of a judge of the dead and of differentiated hells reached China from the first centuries after the turn of the era (see <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/yama\/\">Yama<\/a>).<\/p><p>The Indian Yama was thereby profoundly reshaped. From the lord of the ancestors and administrator of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In the Indian religions, the teaching and the right order of action.\" tabindex=\"0\">Dharma<\/span> he became an official within an administrative hierarchy, who is himself subordinate to a higher heaven and can even be dismissed or transferred.<\/p><p>A story widespread in folk tales reports that Yanluo was demoted by a higher court for excessive leniency. These tales show how completely the figure was transferred into the Chinese thinking about office, promotion and discipline.<\/p><p>At the same time Yanluo became connected with native Daoist and folk conceptions of the realm of the dead, such as Mount <em>Taishan<\/em> as the gathering place of souls and the subterranean realm <em>Diyu<\/em>.<\/p><p>The result is a hybrid form in which Buddhist karmic teaching, Daoist geography of the afterlife and Confucian-shaped administrative ethics flow together. Yanluo is thus a model example of how a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> in the transition between cultures is not simply taken over but reassembled anew.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp1409509 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp1409509\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2fbb877 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2fbb877\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Bao Zheng: the just judge as king of hell<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpaaf2f4e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpaaf2f4e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpff9b133 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpff9b133\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A peculiarity of the Chinese Yanluo belief is that the office was not thought to be permanently bound to a single mythical person. In the popular tradition, outstandingly just people could become Yanluo after their death.<\/p><p>The most famous such identification concerns <em>Bao Zheng<\/em>, a historical official of the Song period in the eleventh century, who entered folk memory as the epitome of the incorruptible judge.<\/p><p>In countless tales, plays and later novels, Bao Zheng appears by day as an earthly judge and by night judges in the underworld as Yanluo. This conception joins this world and the afterlife into a single, continuous legal system.<\/p><p>Whoever escapes punishment on earth is called to account among the dead by the same incorruptible judge. The message is clearly moral: no one can escape justice in the long run.<\/p><p>From the perspective of religious studies, several things about this are interesting. First, it shows the close interweaving of religion and judicial culture in traditional China. Second, it makes Yanluo a function, an office that can have various holders, much like an earthly official post.<\/p><p>Third, the Bao Zheng tradition served as a popular corrective against corruption and arbitrariness, a kind of otherworldly guarantee for the validity of the law. The king of hell is here not primarily a figure of terror but the embodiment of a hope for compensating justice.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2a38b9c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp2a38b9c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp9a45e2e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp9a45e2e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Diyu in temple and popular piety<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpeb218c4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpeb218c4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpc4275cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpc4275cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The conception of Yanluo and the ten kings of hell is materially present in China and in the Chinese diaspora to this day. Numerous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure that serves the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> contain their own halls or side chapels in which the ten courts of the underworld are depicted as sculptural scenes.<\/p><p>Such depictions of hell are especially well known in temple complexes in Singapore, Taiwan and southern China, where the individual punishments for particular offenses are rendered vividly and drastically.<\/p><p>These depictions had and have an educational function. They show the visitor what consequences lying, deceit, murder or a lack of filial <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The lived religious attitude and practice of a person.\" tabindex=\"0\">piety<\/span> toward one&#8217;s parents entail. They are often accompanied by texts and pictorial scrolls that explain the journey of the soul through the ten courts.<\/p><p>In the ritual for the dead, paper money, paper documents and so-called hell banknotes are burned so that the deceased has means at their disposal on the way through Diyu, which also reflects the bureaucratic logic of the afterlife in practical terms.<\/p><p>Important is the temporal limitation of these hells. Unlike in some Western conceptions, the punishments in Diyu are not eternal. They are stations, at the end of which stands rebirth.<\/p><p>At the tenth court a decision is made about the nature of the next existence, and there is the conception of a draught of forgetting from the old woman <em>Meng Po<\/em>, which erases the memory of the former life.<\/p><p>Yanluo and his fellow kings are thus part of a cycle, not guardians of a final end state.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36dd7469 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"36dd7469\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13760ab4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"13760ab4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Further links<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28c87796 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"28c87796\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d6538df elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d6538df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/yama\/\">Yama, the Indian root<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/yamaraja\/\">Yamaraja, the Buddhist form<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/enma-o\/\">Enma-O, the Japanese form<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/yeomra\/\">Yeomra, the Korean form<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/zhong-kui\/\">Zhong Kui, a related Chinese demon hunter<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/jade-emperor\/\">Yuhuang, the celestial ruler set above him<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/china\/\">China, pantheon overview<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/death-deities\/\">Deities of the dead, sub-category<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-grl4kl40 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"grl4kl40\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bzsbfrmh elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bzsbfrmh\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Literature (selection)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c13224a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2c13224a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0eymh9ub elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0eymh9ub\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\" data-nosnippet=\"true\"><ul><li><span data-nosnippet>Teiser, Stephen F.: <em>The Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism<\/em>. Honolulu 1994.<\/span><\/li><li><span data-nosnippet>Kohn, Livia (ed.): <em>Daoism Handbook<\/em>. Leiden 2000.<\/span><\/li><li>Yulan Pen <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"In Hinduism and Buddhism, a teaching text in concise form.\" tabindex=\"0\">Sutra<\/span> (numerous translations).<\/li><li>Walde, Christine (ed.): <em>Der Neue Pauly<\/em> (entry &#8220;Yanluo&#8221;).<\/li><\/ul><\/footer>\n<p class=\"iwg-bib-more\"><span data-nosnippet>Further standard works in the <a href=\"\/en\/literature\/\">literature index<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-30a83a8 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"30a83a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aed0907 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"aed0907\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Frequently asked questions about Yanluo<\/h2><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>Who is Yanluo in Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted tales of the gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?<\/h3><p>Yanluo (also Yanluo Wang, King Yanluo) is, in Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted tales of the gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>, the ruler and supreme judge of the underworld Diyu. His name goes back to the Indian god of death Yama, whose conception reached China with Buddhism and there merged with native conceptions of the afterlife.<\/p><p>Yanluo decides the fate of the deceased: he examines the good and bad deeds they committed in life and determines into what form they are reborn.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>How is the Chinese underworld under Yanluo structured?<\/h3><p>In the Chinese conception the underworld Diyu is organized like a celestial administration, a mirror image of the earthly bureaucracy. Yanluo traditionally presides over the ten courts or tribunals of the underworld, through which each soul is led one after another.<\/p><p>Each court examines particular offenses and imposes corresponding punishments. This conception combines Buddhist teachings of karma and rebirth with Confucian thinking about order and justice. Yanluo is here not an arbitrary ruler but an incorruptible judge.<\/p><\/div><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who is Yanluo in Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted tales of the gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yanluo (also Yanluo Wang, King Yanluo) is, in Chinese <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted tales of the gods of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>, the ruler and supreme judge of the underworld Diyu. His name goes back to the Indian god of death Yama, whose conception reached China with Buddhism and there merged with native conceptions of the afterlife. 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Unlike the Indian Yama (his original ancestor), Yanluo Wang is not primarily a god of death but a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5295,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Yanluo Wang","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Yanluo Wang: King of the Underworld Diyu","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Judge of the ten levels of hell, imperial administration and the enforcement of karma in the folk tradition of China.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[112,79,86],"class_list":["post-5294","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china","category-cultures","category-gods"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - 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