NO. 003In the spotlight
Granny Meng
One bowl of soup, and a farewell to the past.
Keeper of forgetting · Guide to rebirth
Read the entryA Chinese underworld atlas
Every spirit
has a story.
Meet familiar names with unfamiliar pasts.
Explore the places, beliefs and characters
of China’s imagined world beyond life.
Old legends, new encounters69illustrated entries10cultural essays03themed games
Begin with an encounter
One story.
Four ways in.
A bowl of soup, a judge’s brush, a guide at the gate. Choose a story, then find your way through the collection.
NO. 003Map
A journey through imagined landscapes.
Select a place on the painting to discover the stories behind its name.
Unfold the map
Essays
Essays
Follow the texts to discover how familiar legends developed and why versions differ.
01Essays
The Underworld Has a History
From the Yellow Springs and Youdu to courts and registers, a world took shape over time.
Read the essay ↗02EssaysWho Governs the World Below?
Daoist deities, Buddhist compassion, and local magistracies meet without forming one fixed hierarchy.
Read the essay ↗03EssaysFamiliar Stories, Different Versions
Granny Meng, Naihe Bridge, and the tall hats of the soul escorts each carry layers of change.
Read the essay ↗Reader’s Guide
Before you turn the page.
What is the Chinese underworld?
It is a family of imagined worlds beyond death, shaped by ancient Chinese ideas, Daoist traditions, Buddhist karma and liberation, and local folklore. There is no single version accepted everywhere.
Are Yanluo Wang and the Ten Kings the same?
Yanluo Wang is a particular divine title, commonly associated with the fifth court in the Ten Kings sequence. The Ten Kings refers to the wider system; names and duties differ across texts and regions.
Is this a definitive map of the afterlife?
No. The gates, rivers and bridges form an artistic reading route, not a statement of universal religious doctrine or real geography.
How do the atlas and games relate?
The atlas explains cultural traditions and their sources. The games use the same themes for fiction and entertainment; draws and scores make no claims about real destiny.
Games
You’ve met the spirits. Write your own story.
Five choices, a wheel of rebirth, or an underworld recruitment exam. Three playful ways to enter Wanlingsi.