Additional Scrolls

In addition to the annotated "A series" of ten scrolls, Taizong's Hell includes more than fifty other scrolls, some in complete sets and some now orphaned and circulating independently. Complete sets distribute their courts over ten, six, two or even just a single scroll, and throughout this website they are identified as the "B series," "C series" and so forth. (The letters are arbitrary and simply in the order of my acquisition.) Below the serial scrolls presented here, the orphaned or single scrolls are dubbed "S1," "S2" and so forth. (Again the numbers are arbitrary and in order of my acquisition.)

The age and quality of the scrolls varies greatly. One series of scrolls was commissioned by Kagle in the 70s and hence never used, and its colors are fresh and vivid. In contrast, many of the single scrolls are faded, dirty and torn from many generations of use. They are all preserved here on this database for research and enjoyment. The images are constantly being improved, and I of course hope to add more scrolls to the collection in the future.

	B Series	Hell scrolls are not individualistic works of art. Workshops painted hell scrolls en masse and relied upon guidebooks, pounces or stencils on one hand and a sheer repetition that resulted in producing near replicas on the other. The only mechanically reproduced set of hells scrolls on this website, B Series may appear garish and cheap compared to all its hand-painted counterparts here, but printed hell scrolls were simply a further step in mass production. While the B Series scrolls consist of pre-printed pages glued together like a billboard, they still include the popular stories found in their hand-painted cousins, including Mulian's search for his mother and Taizong's tour through hell.
	C Series	The C series condences ten courts onto six scrolls with Yama and the Wheel-turning King in the fifth and tenth courts respectively still privileged to preside over their own scrolls. With the exception of the first and tenth courts, the actual contents of particular scrolls are not fixed. Like Legos, the tortures, heroes and villains can be snapped together in any combination that fits the spatial dimensions. Thus there is little problem of multiple judges overseeing a common court.
	D Series	With the D Series, the condensation is complete, and all ten magistrates appear on a common scroll. Similar to the H series which also groups all ten courts together (below), this scroll boasts a very different style and is the most cartoonish in its simplicity. While its provenance is unknown, it is indicative of southern China and is similar to others from that region that now hang in museums such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
	E Series	Commissioned in 1972 by Joe Kagle in I-Lan, Taiwan, the E Series has never been used, its colors extremely vibrant and the scrolls in general as yet unblemished. In fact, this set might be considered not quite finished because its texts are limited to identifying the magistrates and a couple architectual structures even though there is empty space for cartouches and advisory statements. Regardless, this set is definitely in the best condition relative to the rest of the Taizong's Hell collection.
	F Series	The F Series is distributed between only two scrolls with five courts on each, and while Yama and the Wheel-turning king do not preside over their own scrolls here, they still sit atop each of these scrolls. Here there is little room for gruesome tortures, and the emphasis is on the magistrates and their bureaucracy.
	G Series	The G series is actually not a complete series and is missing its third or third and fourth scrolls. The first three courts are depicted on the first scroll, and the second three on the second. Vapor trails cover the backgrounds of these remaining scrolls, apparently transforming hell into an ethereal realm.
	H Series	Like the D series above, the H series seems to be in the southern style and gathers all courts onto a single scroll. Yet what is unique about this series is the two flanking scrolls of guardian images, thereby making this a three-scroll set. While they are physically among the smallest scrolls, these guardian images are among the largest within the hellish population of this collection. On their backs, these scrolls bear the "trademark" (jihao) of a certain Deng Falin. As these scrolls are usually produced from artisan workshops and not artists, they are rarely signed.
	Single Scroll 1 (S1)	The first three orphan or "single scrolls" (S1, S2 and S3) are similar in construction, and unlike the other scrolls which are painted on paper and mounted, these three are painted directly onto canvas. Their poor condition and terse detail sadly makes them less informative than their counterparts in the collection, but they still offer some insights into their production. Specifically, scrolls S1 and S2 are identical in composition even though they differ in some details.
	Single Scroll 2 (S2)	Similar to S1 in composition, this heavily stained scroll includes the standard tortures of boiling caldrons and tongue ploughing as well as a group of worthies being led to (presumably) the Western Paradise of Amitabha. Like S1, it also employs the image of the net capturing the sinful, an image not common to the other scrolls in this collection.
	Single Scroll 3 (S3)	This third canvas scroll differs in content from S1 and S2 and is perhaps the last of a set because it shows the scene of Mdm. Meng offering the tea of forgetfulness (which is why none of us remember our past lives or our passage through hell) in close proximity to the six paths of reincarnation. It also offers another image of Emperor Taizong being accused by the beheaded river dragon.
	Single Scroll 4 (S4)	The simpler style of S4 is also unlike most of the other scrolls in the collection; it is given over to blocks of color that were then filled in with detail. It also seems to have spaces for the addition of texts, namely over and to either side of the magistrate's head as well as in the empty box on the right side of the scroll. (For examples in which that box is texted, see S5 and S6.)
	Single Scroll 5 (S5)	According to the document on the magistrate's desk, S5 represents the second court of King Chu Jiang even though Mdm Meng is here serving her tea of forgetfulness. Unfortunately the text to the left is no longer decipherable, but the vase on the right contains lots listing lifespans. The focus of this scroll is not on tortures, and the upper half is devoted to stellar deities. It most likely belonged to the same set as S6.
	Single Scroll 6 (S6)	Most likely of the same set as S5 above, S6 depicts the fifth court of King Yama, and again the upper half is given over to the images of stellar or meteorological deities. The box on the left is largely legible and mostly consists of names and a date on the sexagenary cycle of 1923.
	Single Scroll 7 (S7)	Acquired via Shanghai, S7 gives us the remarkable opportunity to study the mass production of hell scrolls by comparing it with A10, acquired via Taiwan. The composition and style are nearly identical with only minor differences such as the inclusion of a window in one, different eaves on the principal building and (rarely) different decorations on a few people's robes.
	Single Scroll 8 (S8)	Depicting the tenth court, S8 is particularly interesting in how it shows the six forms of rebirth as the dead are given the hats or pelts they will don in the life to come. The cartouches explain the sins or merits that justify the new attire. Among the animal rebirths, there are here depicted future cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, deer and tigers. Continuing the animal theme, the scroll in its upper righthand corner depicts the merit of releasing animals from the marketplace back into the wilds. (See A5 for other images of the same and a discussion.)
	Single Scroll 9 (S9)	Like S7 above, S9 provides a another opportunity for understanding the mass production of hells scrolls, but unlike S7, here while the composition is identical to one of the scrolls in the A Series (namely A6), the style is very different. Every character, pose, foot and hand is in the same place on either scroll, but their manner of depiction are not at all similar. (Unfortunately when this scroll was remounted as some point in its history, the upper fifth of it was removed.)
	Single Scroll 10 (S10)	Perhaps of the same series as S17 (below), S10's style moves well beyond the cartoonish art typical of most scrolls on this website and could perhaps be described as more painterly, as representative of the genre of Chinese figure painting. Faces are no longer generice and become quite expressive. The floor is tiled. The demons now have muscle tone (or, more interestingly, a lack of muscle as their bodies are not romantically portrayed). If there is a spectrum of "craft" and "art," this scroll is leaning toward the latter.
	Single Scroll 11 (S11)	In very poor condition, S11 depicts the fifth court of "Son of Heaven Yama," and what is perhaps most striking here is the strong symmetry of composition that is generally lacking in other scrolls. Even the number and type of figures are mirrored along the central axis from top to bottom.
	Single Scroll 12 (S12)	While S12 isn't technically a hell scroll and lacks the didactic element of revealing certain punishments for certain crimes, King Yama still figures into this portrayal of heaven and hell. Above, the sun, moon and stellar deities process through the sky with presumably the emperor of heaven seated in his dragon-drawn carriage. Below, his counterpart Yama is escorted by his demons, the fan above his head announcing "The Earth Agency's King Yama of the Fifth Court."
	Single Scroll 13 (S13)	Like S12 (above), S13 depicts a heavenly entourage in contrast to their underworld counterparts. In addition to Horse-face and Ox-head, Kshitigarbha or Dizang is dressed as a monk and holds his traditional alarm staff while riding a tiger-like beast.
	Single Scroll 14 (S14)	Depicting the third court of hell, S14 is similar in style to S11 and may have originally been from the same set. Although no one is actually being tortured in this portrayal, it depicts the kharma mirror, the virtue of collecting and ritually burning paper with text on it and the processions of captured villains such as the infamous Qin Gui (see A6 for details).
	Single Scroll 15 (S15)	Also perhaps belonging to the same set of scrolls as S11 and S14 (or at least of a similar style) but surviving in a better condition, S15 portrays the ninth court of King Dushi with traditional tortures such as the weighing of cheating merchants on scales, vertically rending and tiger attacks on hunters. Mulian and references to other narratives also appear among the clouds.
	Single Scroll 16 (S16)	Yet another possible scroll from a set that may have included S11, S14 and S15 above, S16 depicts the fourth court but is in extremely poor condition. It includes the freezing hell and knife hill as well as the tortures of being bound to a hot copper furnace chimney or being forced to swallow superheated metal pellets.
	Single Scroll 17 (S17)	Probably of the same set as S10 above, S17 is extremely artistic when compared to its relatively cartoonish cousins and vaunts the style of traditional Chinese figure painting. In addition to eviscerations and the condemnation of breaking up someone's marriage, this court again focuses on the procession of the captured Qin Gui (see A6 for details).
	Single Scroll 18 (S18)	Extremely rich in content and in good condition (although the cloth it was mounted on is deteriorating), S18 was recently acquired via Yunnan and depicts the first five courts. (No doubt it was originally part of a pair.) It includes traditional structures such as the Tower for Viewing One's Home Village and the kharma mirror alongside most of the major tortures such as the knife hill, sword tree, blood pool, boiling oil caldron and copper chimney. It also references the Mulian and "Journey to the West" stories among others.

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