Ten Judgements of Hell: The Seventh Court

This hanging scroll is divided into distinct zones representing the bureaucratic and punitive afterlife. In the upper right, a judge sits in a pavilion, flanked by assistants, observing the judgment of semi-nude souls. To the left, figures are led through craggy landscapes, including a dark tunnel entrance. Below, in the lower left, administrative officials in traditional robes review ledgers at a desk, while in the lower right, a group of souls stands in prayer or submission. The bottom portion shows souls transforming into various animals, representing the cycle of transmigration.

This work belongs to the 'Ten Kings' (Shiwang) tradition of Chinese Buddhism, illustrating the soul's journey through ten subterranean courts where their karma is judged; it is heavily influenced by the 'Sutra of the Ten Kings', which blended Buddhist concepts of karma with indigenous Chinese bureaucratic traditions of the afterlife.