Woohoo! Finally got down to visiting
Har Par Villa (虎豹別墅). I've been wanting to do this for years but somehow or rather, other things just kept popping up and the plan to visit just didn't materialize, until now (^ _ ^)
Basically, to quote Wikipedia, it's a theme park (free admission) that "contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy, as well as dioramas of scenes from Journey to the West. The most well-known attraction is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depictions of hell in Chinese mythology".
Needless to say, the Ten Courts of Hell was first on our list.
Here's a taste of what awaited us...
... and there were the ox and horse constables of the underworld at the entrance...
... and into the gates where the person's sins and misdeeds were brought forth before Yama ...
In the 1st Court of Hell, the virtuous would be exempted and led over a golden bridge to heaven.
But for the sinners, they would be sent to repent before the Mirror of Retribution (where all their past sins are revealed to them) and then taken to a court of hell for punishment.
2nd court of hell - conmen, robbers, and those who had inflected physical injury would be thrown into the volcanic pit. Those who were into corruption, stealing and gambling would be frozen into blocks of ice. And for prostitutes, they would be thrown into a pool of blood to drown.
The ungrateful and those who had either shown disrespect to elders or had escaped from prison would be brought to the 3rd court to have their hearts cut out. The drug addicts and traffickers, tomb robbers and people who urged others into crime and social unrest would be tied to red hot copper pillar and grilled in this court too.
4th court of hell - tax dodgers and those who had refused to pay rent or had committed business fraud would be pounded by stone mallet. And those who were disobedient to their sibling or had shown lack of fillal piety would be grounded by a large stone.
5th Court - those who had plotted another's death for his/her property or money, and those money lenders with exorbitant interest rates would be thrown into a hill of knives.
6th Court - People who had stolen from temples committing blasphemy and those who killed animals mercilessly would be made to kneel on iron nails, saw in two or chopped in half, and later gnawed by rats.
7th Court - The rumor-mongers and those who had sown discard amongst family members would have their tongues pulled out. Whereas the rapists and those who drove others to their death would be thrown into a wok of boiling oil.
8th & 9th Court - Robbers, murderers, rapists and those who had conducted any unlawful conduct would have their head and arms chopped off. And those who had neglected the old and the young would be crushed under boulders.
10th Court - After serving their sentences, the sinners arrived here for King Zhuanglun to pass the final judgement, before they were allowed to drink the magic tea that made them forget their past life and go through the Wheel of Reincarnation. Depending on the sinner's past life, he/she may be born into a life of ease and comfort OR into sorrow and suffering.
All in all, this attraction's rather educational. It's something worth bringing my kids to (if I have any in time to come) and kinda give them an education/ overview on the various virtues and about Karma, and linger about especially around the displays on 'fillal piety'. Hiak, hiak.
OK, moving on to something more light-hearted. This park's not just about scary, gruesome stuff. There's also stuff on Chinese folktales...
... epic mythical war scenes...
... characters and scenes from 'Journey to the West'...
... statues of gods...
... and displays on 'modern' sins and virtues.
Too many scenes to absorb and too long an entry to write. So I guess I'll just end it here :P
Labels: Singapore lah
