Familiar Stories, Different Versions
Granny Meng, Naihe Bridge, and the tall hats of the soul escorts each carry layers of change.
Ask what kind of evidence it is
A religious scripture, a local temple custom, a supernatural tale, a morality book, and a modern game can all preserve cultural meaning. They do not make the same kind of claim. Before calling a detail ancient, ask which text records it, when that text circulated, and whether the detail belongs to the text itself or a later commentary. Early date alone also does not settle a work's authorship or provenance.
One king, then ten courts
Yama entered Chinese Buddhist traditions before the mature Ten Kings system. Later Chinese texts and funeral observances placed Yanluo within a sequence of kings; popular morality books developed further court duties. Identifying the fifth-court Yanluo with Bao Zheng is another layer of folk interpretation. It is misleading to project that entire combination into the earliest references to Yama.
A judge between history and fiction
Lord Cui's local cult and traditions of upright officials provide one background to Judge Cui. Dunhuang narratives and Journey to the West develop the famous alteration of Emperor Taizong's lifespan. The legendary miracle is not established by the existence of a historical official. Likewise, the modern Four Judges chart combines people and characters with separate histories.
Familiar images still vary
The popular Eighteen Hells list is not a verbatim table shared by the Shiba Nili Jing, the Kshitigarbha Sutra, and Yuli Baochao. Granny Meng's bridge-side soup scene developed over time, and the inscriptions on White and Black Impermanence's hats can differ locally.
Variation is part of the material itself. The atlas uses clear, friendly illustrations while marking textual, regional, and later popular versions, so a memorable image remains an invitation to read rather than a claim that only one version exists.