The gates to Taizong's Hell

Gate 1 (A series) Taizong-A01 The focal set of ten scrolls For the best understanding of 19th and 20th century conceptions of Chinese hell, we recommend that you work your way through this 19th century set of ten scrolls -- one scroll for each court of the underworld -- which is fully annotated with texts, translations and additional images. Here referenced as the "A series," Joe Kagle acquired it in Taiwan in the early 1970s although it was probably brought over from the Mainland during the Nationalist exodus in 1949. That supposition is supported by the fact that the "Taizong's hell" project also includes extremely similar scrolls acquired via Shanghai, and you can here see a sample comparison of scrolls representing the tenth court. While hell scrolls exhibit a great variety of content and composition styles, there were clearly some guidelines available, and artisan workshops were mass producing these images.
Gate 2 (Other scrolls) Evisceration-E05 Additional scrolls

In addition to the "A series," the "Taizong's hell" project includes several other complete series of the underworld courts from the 19th and 20th centuries. Some are spread across ten scrolls -- one for each court -- whereas others are clustered on six, two or even just one scroll. These are here referenced as the "B series," the "C series" and so forth. "Taizong's hell" also includes many orphaned scrolls that no longer belong to complete sets. Together, all these scrolls are here offered as a database (with minimal annotation) for further research.
Gate 3 (Themes) Mulian-G02 Themes and topics

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The underworld courts give us the opportunity to see what was on the mental radars of their viewers. Their daily anxieties from being cheated in the marketplace to idle gossip became crimes to be posthumously tried. Their popular stories from "Mulian saves his mother" to "Having toured the underworld, Taizong returns to life" became the infrastructure of hell. Even their agricultural implements became instruments of torture. This section will investigate the historical, artistic and literary forces that gave hell its shape.

 
Gate 4 (Resources) Dazu caldron Additional resources

From scrolls to operas, from carved cliff faces to popular narratives, hell manifested itself through many media. Today students of hell can investigate late Chinese postmortem beliefs via scores of primary and secondary texts, via geographical sites in China and the Chinese diaspora, and via other websites. This section will provide interested students with a springboard into late Chinese thanatology.
Gate 5 (Collection) U of O exhibit History of the scroll collection

The project now known as "Taizong's hell" began in the early 1970s under the guidance of Joe Kagle who collected many of these scrolls as a Fulbright scholar in Taiwan. Thirty years later, K.E. Brashier at Reed College purchased and expanded this collection, admittedly more as a hobby than as his own field of expertise. Since then it has anchored an academic course, namely "Death and remembrance in Chinese history"; it has been viewed by thousands at museum exhibitions; and it has become the subject of a constantly updated series of websites featured by on-line educational programs such as "Asia for educators" from Columbia University. Much work remains to be done in the future, including the development of an on-line network of all surviving hell scrolls.
Gate 6 (Contact) Heavenly spirit-A05 Comments

Your comments, suggestions and insights are welcome.