A certain Mr. Zhang died suddenly and was taken away by a ghostly attendant to appear before King Yama (the King of the Underworld). The King checked his register and, angered that the attendant had mistakenly seized the wrong man, ordered that Zhang be sent back.
As Zhang descended from the throne, he secretly begged the ghost attendant to let him have a look at the underworld prisons. The attendant led him through the Nine Hells, pointing out the Mountain of Knives and the Forest of Swords, one by one. Finally, they came to a place where a monk was hanging upside down, with a rope piercing through his thigh, shrieking in agony.
Zhang drew nearer and saw that it was his own elder brother. Shocked and grieved, he asked: “For what crime is he suffering this?” The ghost replied: “He became a monk, but he collected vast sums of money from believers and spent it all on women and gambling. For this he is being punished. To escape this torment, he must repent of his own accord.”
When Zhang recovered consciousness, he suspected that his brother might already be dead. At that time his brother was living at Xingfu Temple. Zhang went there to inquire. As soon as he entered the gate, he heard cries of pain. Entering the chamber, he saw that his brother had developed a festering sore on his thigh, with pus and blood oozing out. He had hooked his foot onto the wall, hanging himself upside down – exactly as Zhang had seen in the underworld.
Startled, Zhang asked the reason. His brother said: “Hanging myself this way gives me some relief; otherwise the pain pierces my very heart and guts.” Zhang then told him what he had witnessed in the netherworld. The monk was terrified. He immediately gave up meat and wine, and devoutly recited Buddhist scriptures and mantras. Within half a month he recovered completely, and from then on he lived as a strict, observant monk.
The Historian’s Commentary (Yishi Shi yue):
“The ghostly prisons are vague and distant, and evil people often use this to console themselves, not realising that the calamities they suffer in this visible world are in fact the punishments of the invisible one. Should we not stand in awe?”
Note
From Liaozhai, Mr. Zhang is wrongly taken to the underworld and witnesses his sinful monk‑brother’s hellish torture. Revived, he finds the monk bears matching physical agony, who then recovers through sincere repentance.
King Yama (冥王):
Also known as Yanluo Wang, the King of the Dead in Chinese Buddhist and folk religion. He presides over the underworld (Hell), judges the deceased, and sentences them to various punishments according to their sins. The concept derives from the Hindu deity Yama and was absorbed into Chinese Buddhism.
In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong fell into a deep slumber after drinking on Flower‑Fruit Mountain and was dragged to the Underworld by ghost messengers. Breaking free from his fetters, he brandished his golden‑hooped staff and threw the netherworld into chaos. He coerced the Ten Yama Kings to produce the Book of Life and Death. Locating his entry, he crossed out all lifespan records for monkey‑kind, freeing his monkey subjects from the control of karmic reincarnation. He then departed. The Yama Kings had no choice but to report his misconduct to the Jade Emperor.
Nine Hells (九幽):
In traditional Chinese cosmology, the underworld is divided into multiple levels or regions. The “Nine Hells” refers to the deepest and most dreadful parts, where sinners undergo tortures such as being impaled, boiled, or frozen. This reflects Buddhist and Taoist beliefs about karmic retribution.
Mountain of Knives and Forest of Swords (刀山、剑树):
Standard imagery in Chinese hell depictions. The Mountain of Knives is a hill covered with sharp blades that sinners must climb; the Forest of Swords is a grove where blades fall like rain. These tortures are said to be reserved for those who committed violence, theft, or sexual misconduct in life.
Monks:
A Buddhist monastic. In traditional China, monks were expected to observe celibacy, abstain from alcohol and meat, and live a life of piety and charity. Using donations for personal indulgence was considered a grave sin, leading to severe punishment in the afterlife.
Repentance:
In Buddhism, chanhui (confession and repentance) involves acknowledging one’s wrongdoings, vowing to reform, and performing meritorious deeds. For example, in Journey to the West, Tang monk Tripitaka spent a long time meditating on the King Liang’s Water Litany (Liang Dynasty Water Repentance Liturgy).
Here, the monk’s genuine repentance – abandoning meat, wine, and reciting scriptures – leads to his physical recovery, demonstrating the principle of karmic cause and effect.
Xingfu Temple (兴福寺):
A common name for a Buddhist temple, meaning “Temple of Thriving Blessings.” There are several temples in the history with the same name, the specific temple is not historically identified; it serves as a setting to ground the supernatural vision in the real world.
Hanging upside down (倒悬):
A traditional Chinese metaphor for extreme suffering (e.g., “the people are hanging upside down” means they are in dire distress). For example, Mencius once said that,
Here it is both literal punishment and physical symptom – the pus‑sores on the thigh mirror the rope piercing in the vision.
The Historian’s Commentary:
As in many Liaozhai tales, Pu Songling ends with a personal moral reflection. He warns that people often dismiss the idea of hell because it seems remote, but they fail to see that misfortunes in life are already manifestations of spiritual consequences. The closing line urges the reader to maintain a reverent fear of moral law.
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