The poem says:
A hundred years pass by like flowing streams; Like froth and foam a lifetime's work now seems. Yesterday faces had a peach's glow;
Today the temples float up flakes of snow. Termites disband—illusion then you'll learn! Cuckoos call gravely for your early return.
Secret good works will always life prolong. Virtue's not needy for Heaven's care is strong.
We now tell you about Taizong, whose soul drifted out of the Tower of Five Phoenixes. Everything was blurred and indistinct. It seemed to him that a company of imperial guardsmen was inviting him to a hunting party, to which Taizong gladly gave his consent and went off with them.
They had journeyed for a long time when suddenly all the men and horses vanished from sight. He was left alone, walking the deserted fields and desolate plains. As he anxiously tried to find his way back, he heard someone from beyond calling in a loud voice:
"Great Tang Emperor, come over here! Come over here!"
Taizong heard this and looked up. He saw that the man had
A black gauze cap on his head;
Rhinoceros horns around his waist.
His head's black gauze hat dangled pliant bands:
His waist's rhino horns displayed plates of gold.
He held an ivory plaque sheathed in hallowed mist;
He wore a silk robe circled by holy light.
His feet put on a pair of white-soled boots
For treading cloud and climbing fog;
He grasped by his heart a book of life and death,
Which determined one's fate.
His hair, luxuriant, flew above his ears:
His beard fluttered and danced around his jaws.
He was once a prime minister of Tang:
Now he judged cases to serve Yama King.
Taizong walked toward him and the man, kneeling at the side of the road, said to him, "Your Majesty, please pardon your subject for neglecting to meet you at a greater distance."
"Who are you," asked Taizong, "and for what reason did you come to meet me?"
The man said, "Half a month ago, your lowly subject met in the Halls of Darkness the Dragon Ghost of the Jing River, who was filing suit against Your Majesty for having him executed after promising to save him. So the great king Qinguang of the first chamber immediately sent demon messengers to arrest you and bring you to trial before the Three Tribunes. Your subject learned of this and therefore came here to receive you. I did not expect to come late today, and I beg you to forgive me."
"What is your name," said Taizong, "and what is your rank?"
"When your lowly subject was alive," said that man, "he served on Earth before the previous emperor as the district magistrate of Cizhou. Afterwards I was appointed vice president of the Board of Rites. My surname is Cui and my given name is Jue. In the Region of Darkness I hold a judgeship in the Capital of Death."
Taizong was very glad; he went forward and held out his royal hands to raise the man up, saying, "I am sorry to have inconvenienced you. Wei Zheng, who serves before my throne, has a letter for you. I'm glad that we have a chance to meet here."
The judge expressed his gratitude and asked where the letter was. Taizong took it out of his sleeve and handed it over to Cui Jue, who received it, bowing, and then opened it and read:
Your unworthily beloved brother Wei Zheng sends with bowed head this letter to the Great Judge, my sworn brother the Honorable Mr. Cui. I recall our former goodly society, and both your voice and your countenance seem to be present with me.
Several years have hastened by since I last heard your lofty discourse. I could only prepare a few vegetables and fruits to offer to you as sacrifices during the festive times of the year, though I do not know whether you have enjoyed them or not.
I am grateful, however, that you have not forgotten me, and that you have revealed to me in my dreams that you, my elder brother, have ascended to an even higher office. Unfortunately, the worlds of Light and Darkness are separated by a gulf wide as the Heavens, so that we cannot meet face to face.
The reason that I am writing you now is the sudden demise of my emperor, the accomplished Taizong, whose case, I suppose, will be reviewed by the Three Tribunes, so that he will certainly be given the opportunity to meet you.
I earnestly beseech you to remember our friendship while you were living and grant me the small favor of allowing His Majesty to return to life. This will be a very great favor to me, for which I thank you once more.
After reading the letter, the judge said with great delight, "The execution of the old dragon the other day by the human judge Wei is already known to your subject, who greatly admires him for this deed. I am, moreover, indebted to him for looking after my children.Since he has written such a letter now, Your Majesty need have no further concern. Your lowly subject will make certain that you will be returned to life, to ascend once more your throne of jade." Taizong thanked him.
As the two of them were speaking, they saw in the distance two young boys in blue robes holding banners and flags and calling out, "The King of the Underworld has an invitation for you."
Taizong went forward with Judge Cui and the two boys. He suddenly saw a huge city, and on a large plaque above the city gate was the inscription in gold letters, "The Region of Darkness, The Gate of Spirits." Waving the banners, the blue robes led Taizong into the city.
As they walked along, they saw at the side of the street the emperor's predecessor Li Yuan, his elder brother Jiancheng, and his deceased brother Yuanji, who came toward them, shouting, "Here comes Shimin!
Here comes Shimin!"
The brothers clutched at Taizong and began beating him and threatening vengeance. Having no place to dodge, the emperor fell into their clutch; and only whenJudge Cui called a blue-faced, hook-tusked demon to drive them away could he escape and continue his journey.
They had traveled no more than a few miles when they arrived at a towering edifice with green tiles. This building was truly magnificent. You see
Lightly ten thousand folds of colored mists pile high;
Dimly a thousand strands of crimson brume appear.
Heads of wild beasts rear up from the eaves aglow.
Pairs of lambent roof tiles rise in tiers of five.
Rows of red-gold nails bore deeply into doors;
Crosswise, slabs of white jade make up the rails.
Windows near the lights release morning smoke.
The screens, the curtains, flash like fiery bolts.
High-rising towers reach to the azure sky.
Criss-crossing hallways join the treasure rooms.
Fragrance from beast-shaped tripods line royal robes;
Scarlet silk lanterns brighten the portals leaves.
On the left, hordes of fierce Bull-heads stand;
On the right, gruesome Horse-faces line up.
Gold placards turn to greet the ghosts of the dead;
White silk descends to lead the deceased souls.
It bears this name: The Central Gate of Hell,
The Darkness Hall of the Princes of yama.
As Taizong was looking at the place, there came from within the tinkling of girdle jade, the mysterious fragrance of divine incense, and two pairs of torch candles followed by the Ten Kings of the Underworld coming down the steps. The Ten Kings were:
King Qinguang, King of the Beginning River, King of the Song Emperor, King of Avenging Ministers, King Yama, King of Equal Ranks, King of the Tai Mountain, King of City Markets, King of Complete Change, and King of the Turning Wheel. Coming out of the Treasure Hall of Darkness, they bowed to receive Taizong, who, feigning modesty, declined to lead the way.
The Ten Kings said, "Your Majesty is the emperor of men in the World of Light, whereas we are but the kings of spirits in the World of Darkness. Such are indeed our appointed stations, so why should you defer to us?"
"I'm afraid that I have offended all of you," said Taizong, "so how can I dare to speak of observing the etiquette of ghosts and men of Light and Darkness?" Only after much protestation did Taizong proceed into the Hall of Darkness. After he had greeted the Ten Kings properly, they sat down according to the places assigned to hosts and guests.
After a little while, King Qinguang folded his hands in front of him and came forward, saying, "The Dragon Spirit of the Jing River accuses Your Majesty of having him slain after promising to save him. Why?"
"I did promise him that nothing would happen," said Taizong, "when the old dragon appealed to me in my dream at night. He was guilty, you know, and was condemned to be executed by the human judge Wei Zheng. It was to save him that I invited Wei Zheng to play chess with me, not anticipating that Wei Zheng could have performed the execution in his dream! That was indeed a miraculous stratagem devised by the human judge and, after all, the dragon was also guilty of a mortal offense. I fail to see how I am to blame."
When the Ten Kings heard these words, they replied, bowing, "Even before that dragon was born, it was already written on the Book of Death held by the Star of South Pole that he should be slain by a human judge. We have known this all along, but the dragon lodged his complaint here and insisted that Your Majesty be brought down so that his case might be reviewed by the Three Tribunes. We have already sent him on his way to his next incarnation through the Wheel of Transmigration. We regret, however, that we have caused Your Majesty the inconvenience of this journey, and we beg your pardon for pressing you to come here."
When they had finished speaking, they ordered the judge in charge of the Books of Life and Death to bring out the records quickly so that they could ascertain what the allotted time of the emperor was to be.
Judge Cui went at once to his chamber and examined, one by one, the ages preordained for all the kings in the world that were inscribed in the books. Startled when he saw that the Great Tang Emperor Taizong of the South Jambūdvīpa Continent was destined to die in the thirteenth year of the period Zhenguan, he quickly dipped his big brush in thick ink and added two strokes before presenting the book.
The Ten Kings took one look and saw that "thirty three years" was written beneath the name Taizong. They asked in alarm, "How long has it been since Your Majesty was enthroned?"
"It has been thirteen years," said Taizong. "Your Majesty need have no worry," said King Yama, "for you still have twenty years of life. Now that your case has been clearly reviewed, we can send you back to the World of Light."
When Taizong heard this, he bowed to express his gratitude as the Ten Kings ordered Judge Cui and Grand Marshal Chu to accompany him back to life.
Taizong walked out of the Hall of Darkness and asked, saluting the Ten Kings once again, "What's going to happen to those living in my palace?"
"Everyone will be safe," said the Ten Kings, "except your younger sister. It appears that she will not live long."
"When I return to the World of Light," said Taizong, bowing again to thank them, "I have very little that I can present you as a token of my gratitude. Perhaps I can send you some melons or other kinds of fruit?" Delighted, the Ten Kings said, "We have eastern and western melons here, but we lack southern melons."
"The moment I get back," said Taizong, "I shall send you some." They bowed to each other with hands folded and parted.
The marshal took the lead, holding a flag for guiding souls, while Judge Cui followed behind to protect Taizong. They walked out of the Region of Darkness, and Taizong saw that it was not the same road. He asked the judge, "Are we going on the wrong way?"
"No," said the judge, "for this is how it is in the Region of Darkness: there is away for you to come, but there is no way out. Now we must send Your Majesty off from the region of the Wheel of Transmigration, so that you can make a tour of Hell as well as be sent on your way to reincarnation." Taizong had little alternative but to follow their lead.
They had gone only a few miles when they came upon a tall mountain. Dark clouds touched the ground around it, and black mists shrouded the sky. "Mr. Cui," said Taizong, "what mountain is this?" The judge said, "It's the Mountain of Perpetual Shade in the Region of Darkness."