Journal of Indian Literary Studies, Issue 6

Author: Jiang Jingkui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: The two novellas, The Legend of Zhong Kui Slaying Demons by the Ming Dynasty author Yan Xia Sanren and The Legend of Zhong Kui Pacifying Demons by Yun Zhong Daoren, both tell the story of Zhong Kui becoming a deity after self-immolation and slaying or pacifying demons. Although the plots differ, the protagonists in both works are Zhong Kui, though the King of Hell is also an indispensable character—he is the organizer of the mission to slay and pacify demons and Zhong Kui's staunch backing. Perhaps the long novel The Popular Romance of the Three Treasures Grand Eunuch's Journey to the West by Ming Dynasty author Luo Maideng features a more extensive account of the King of Hell, with a more vivid portrayal.
Near the end of this novel, a junior officer named Wang Ming arrives as a scout at a city, the Fengdu City of the Kingdom of Fengdu. By coincidence, he sees his deceased wife Liu, who died ten years ago, doing laundry. She guides him to her home. It turns out she has married Cui Jue, the judge, who in Journey to the West secretly granted Emperor Taizong additional years of life. Once, when Cui Jue was tallying the souls of the dead before the King of Hell, he mentioned that one had been wrongly detained and should be returned to the living world. This wrongly detained soul was Liu, Wang Ming's wife. Instead of allowing the beautiful woman to return to the living world, Cui took her to his home and made her his wife. At first, Liu refused, accusing him of breaking his word and not returning her to the living world, blaming the officials for their untrustworthiness. Cui retorted that whether he kept his word or not, "once power is in hand, orders are issued—and this has been the case throughout history." Eventually, Liu had no choice but to become his wife. Now that her original husband has arrived, what should she do? She feigns that her elder brother has come. Thus, Cui takes this "brother-in-law" on a tour of the underworld, including Hell, the Ten Courts of the King of Hell, and the Eight Agencies, namely the Hall of Filial Piety, the Hall of Fraternal Love, the Hall of Loyalty, the Hall of Trustworthiness, the Hall of Propriety, the Hall of Justice, the Hall of Integrity, and the Hall of Shame. These eight halls are only slightly inferior to Heaven.
The King of Hell sends a ghost messenger to Cui Jue to review the case, which involves many souls. Cui Jue states that those who died unjustly must be vindicated and that the parties involved must be held accountable—even Emperor Taizong, the rightful emperor of his time, had to pay for his actions (was this due to his forgetfulness, or was it part of the years he was granted?). The Journey to the West depicts the King of Hell's palace as connecting to the heavens above and the underworld below. What is particularly interesting are the "Eight Agencies." These eight halls serve as supplements to Heaven, providing a place for upright and honorable souls to enjoy. Honorable souls cannot flood into Heaven all at once, as it cannot accommodate them. Designing the Eight Agencies as a supplement to Heaven seems more reasonable. Since good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell, the arrangements for these two extremes are relatively straightforward—they are minorities. However, most people fall into the middle ground, not purely good or purely evil, but with both virtues and flaws, or mostly good with minor faults. These people do not qualify to enter Heaven, nor can they squeeze into Hell—placing them in the Eight Agencies is the most appropriate solution. This is indeed a creative addition by the novel's author.
In Journey to the West, the King of Hell is fooled by Cui Jue in the matter of altering the (: is a term that doesn't need translation, but the context suggests it refers to a ledger of life and death), proving him neither wise nor discerning, nor meticulous in his duties—or perhaps slightly negligent. In The Journey to the West, the King of Hell is similarly negligent in the matter of Liu. This somewhat tarnishes the King of Hell's image as a stern and just ruler. In the short stories compiled by Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty,