Devotional painting. China, early Qinq dynasty, late 17th-early 18th century.

Devotional painting. China, early Qinq dynasty, late 17th-early 18th century.
"Judgment of the soul in the Diyu".
Natural pigments and paper mounted on textile support.
In good condition considering the age.
Measurements: 133 x 52 cm; 148 x 64 cm (frame).

The Diyu is the underworld or "hell" in Chinese mythology, a conception shared and developed by popular religion, Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. The judgment of the soul in the Diyu is a fundamental bureaucratic and karmic process that determines the fate of the deceased in their next reincarnation. Unlike Western hell, the Diyu functions more like a purgatory or vast judicial system where souls serve time to clear their bad karma before reincarnating.

Aesthetically the piece is close to the artistic compositions of ancestor worship. Ancestor worship is possibly the most widespread religious practice in China, and has its roots in the most remote history of the country, in the earliest manifestations of Chinese culture. It is perfectly integrated in Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, and extends to all spheres of Chinese religious life.