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21 March 2018

Chinese St Peter

Didn't know that Chinese too shared with the Catholics a very close perception about hell or rather the entry process to hell/heaven, till I saw the following statue and description at the British museum yesterday.
 The description of this statue reads:
Figure of an assistant to the judge of hell
Hell in Chinese popular belief is modelled on a bureaucracy where souls plead before ten courts.  This pale faced clerk is carrying a slim scroll, recording the few names of those who have performed good deeds in their lives.  These figures originally came from a temple and stood either side of a judge of hell.  Perhaps all ten courts were represented with such glazed porcelain figures. [Ming dynasty, about 1522-1620, north China]

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