Ten Judgements of Hell: The Sixth Court

The vertical composition is divided into an upper architectural zone and a lower rocky, hellish landscape. In the upper left, a judge sits behind a table, attended by scribes who consult records, while a figure in ornate robes stands nearby. Below them, in the foreground, demonic figures and attendants in red and green costumes guide or detain groups of sinners. The brushwork is detailed, utilizing mineral pigments of red, green, blue, and brown on a darkened, aged ground. The scene is framed by stylized clouds and foliage typical of late imperial Chinese religious painting.

This painting belongs to the 'Ten Kings of Hell' (Shiwang) tradition, which emerged from the apocryphal 'Sutra of the Ten Kings' to illustrate the bureaucratic process of post-mortem judgment in Chinese Buddhism.