A Scene from Hell in the City God Temple 城隍庙 in Pingyao 平遥
The City God Temple of Pingyao didn’t seem very interesting as there was just a statue of the city god at the main temple. However, one of the sidelights here at the main temple was the presence of some sculpture. Interestingly, these were depictions of hell as envisioned by the Taoist and Buddhist religions. The Six Cao Hell here was a vivid depiction of what happens when wicked people die. There were figures of judges, officers and tortures complete with blood.
Torture Scene from Hell in the City God Temple 城隍庙 in Pingyao 平遥
It reminded me of something like Dante’s Inferno where there were several levels of hell. The Taoist and Buddhist religions have a similar concept. It graphically illustrates the Retribution teaching of Taoism and the Cause and Effect teaching of Buddhism. I guess that means there you will always get your just due in the afterlife. The scenes were quite creepy and I admit that they were quite effective in scaring people.
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