Reader’s Guide
People, places, institutions and rebirth. Each volume follows its own thread.
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.
Figures
Deities, guardians and attendants, grouped by their narrative roles.
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Places
Gates, rivers, bridges and cities along an imagined journey.
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Institutions
The Ten Courts, judges’ offices and traditions of the hells.
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Rebirth
The six realms, karma and cultural ideas of rebirth.
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