Ten Judgements of Hell, Scroll 04

This vertical hanging scroll is divided into an upper architectural realm and a lower, chaotic landscape. In the upper register, a robed judge or deity sits at a desk in a courtyard, flanked by officials and attendants holding documents and scrolls. Below them, a path leads to a rugged, dark terrain where an anthropomorphic demon—part beast, part man—forces a human figure to the ground. The background is muted with earthy tones, while the figures are highlighted in brighter reds, blues, and greens.

This painting belongs to the 'Ten Kings' (Shiwang) tradition in Chinese Buddhism, depicting the bureaucratic trial process souls undergo in the underworld before rebirth. The iconography specifically relates to the popular 'Sutra of the Ten Kings' and the syncretic integration of Buddhist, Taoist, and folk cosmological beliefs regarding the afterlife.