Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/160

 宋帝王. In this division of purgatory all have to pass over a bridge and many fall into the water; then there is the thousand knife hill, on which many fall and are impaled. There are sixteen minor places under this king; the following may be named. The salt hell, hemp rope and cangue hell, pierce ribs hell, scrape face hell, also extracting kidneys, liver, heart, eyes and skin alive hell; amputation of foot, finger and toe nails hell, suck blood hell, hang head downwards hell, break collar bone, break knee, etc. etc.

五官王. Here are to be found the oil caldron and fire pillar for adulterers. Under this king there are sixteen other hells, such as the slough hell, pikes, scalding, extracting marrow, crush bones, brush skin, nail skin, sit on needles, sear with hot iron, prick eyes, dust filling mouth, prick lips, pour medicine, slippery road and burying hells.

閻羅王. By the side of this king of Hades are placed two demons, one with a cow's and the other with a horse's head. Here is the cold ice, the sawing asunder and other sufferings, after which it is said that the wind of Hades flows on the broken and bruised spirits and makes them whole and ready for the next court.

卞城王. In this court is an iron bound city with no way out, and the tearing out of the tongues of those who have been liars. This is called the yelling hell.

泰山王. Here the god of thunder strikes some dead, while others are killed by heaping stones over them.

都市王. This is the dirty blood hell; many are ground on the grindstone; it is called the disturbed court and has sixteen minor places of punishment under it.

平等王. In this court those who have killed dogs are eaten by dogs, and those who have killed chickens are pecked by chickens, and those who have killed horses or oxen are tormented by them.

轉輪王. When the souls reach this stage they are given some soup, called mi hu t‘ang (迷昏湯), which makes them forget their former sorrows and existence, and they are sent forth again into the world in all kinds of different forms. This is what is known as the revolving wheel of transmigration of souls.