01
Daoist traditions
Houtu, Fengdu and Dongyue must be understood within particular texts and historical settings.
Chinese Underworld Atlas
Traditions
China’s underworld traditions developed through exchanges among ancient ideas, Daoism, Buddhism and local belief. These are reading groups, not a single fixed hierarchy of gods.
02
Buddhist ideas
Kshitigarbha (Dizang) is associated with compassionate vows and deliverance. The Ten Kings tradition developed over time in China.
03
Folk bureaucracy
City Gods, judges and ghost attendants borrow the imagery of government offices; their relationships vary locally.