A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
On the Matter of the White and Black Impermanence — 黑白無常 — Heibai Wuchang
They are called Heibai Wuchang — 黑白無常.
Hei — 黑 — means black.
Bai — 白 — means white.
Wu — 無 — means without. Lacking. The absence of.
Chang — 常 — means permanence. Constancy. That which remains fixed.
Together — 無常 — Impermanence. The Buddhist principle that nothing endures. Everything changes. Everything passes.
Together — 黑白無常 — Black and White Impermanence.
They are also called Da Er Ye — 大二爺 — the First and Second Masters.
They are also called Qi Ba Ye — 七八爺 — the Seventh and Eighth Lords.
They are also called Fan Xie Jiangjun — 范謝將軍 — Generals Fan and Xie.
They are two beings.
They are also sometimes one being.
When they appear as one being they are called Wuchang Gui — 無常鬼 — the Ghost of Impermanence.
This single being can appear as either a fortune deity or a punishing deity depending on who it encounters.
To the virtuous it brings wealth.
To the wicked it brings punishment.
The same face. The same figure. Different judgment depending on who is standing before it.
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On the Buddhist origin of their name.
The word Wuchang — 無常 — comes directly from Buddhist teaching.
It is the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit anitya — अनित्य.
Anitya means impermanence.
The Buddha taught: all conditioned phenomena are impermanent.
Nothing that is born remains.
Nothing that arises stays.
Every moment passes.
Every life ends.
The ones who come to collect the dead are named after this truth.
They are the living embodiment of the teaching that nothing lasts.
Their arrival is the proof.
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On their origin. The Nantai Bridge — 南臺橋 — Nantai Qiao.
The most widely recorded account of their origin is set in Fuzhou — 福州 — Fuzhou — in Fujian province — 福建省 — Fujian Sheng.
Two constables — 衙役 — yamen yi — worked in the local yamen — 衙門 — yamen — the government office.
Their names were Xie Bi'an — 謝必安 — and Fan Wujiu — 范無咎.
They had been friends since childhood.
They were inseparable.
On a certain day they were escorting a convict — 罪犯 — zuifan — from one location to another.
The convict escaped into the wilderness.
Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu split up to search.
They agreed to meet under the Nantai Bridge — 南臺橋 — at a set time. Regardless of whether either had found the prisoner.
A heavy rain began.
Fan Wujiu arrived at the bridge first.
He waited.
The rain intensified.
The river beneath the bridge began to rise.
The water reached his feet.
The water reached his knees.
Fan Wujiu did not leave.
He had made a promise.
He intended to keep it.
The water rose further.
Fan Wujiu drowned.
He kept his promise.
When Xie Bi'an arrived — late because of the rain — he found his friend's body beneath the bridge.
He was overcome with grief and guilt.
He hanged himself from a pillar of the bridge.
The Jade Emperor — 玉皇大帝 — Yu Huang Dadi — observed both deaths.
He was deeply moved by their loyalty to each other.
He appointed them as Guardians of the Underworld — 冥界守護者 — mingjie shouhu zhe.
Fan Wujiu became Black Impermanence — 黑無常 — Hei Wuchang.
Xie Bi'an became White Impermanence — 白無常 — Bai Wuchang.
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On the alternate origin accounts.
A second Taiwanese tradition records a simpler version.
In this tradition Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiu were two brother-like friends in Fuzhou.
They were not constables escorting a prisoner.
They simply had an appointment to meet under the Nantai Bridge on a rainy day.
Fan Wujiu arrived first.
He was short — 矮小 — aixiao — with a dark complexion.
He refused to leave despite the flooding.
He drowned.
Xie Bi'an arrived late having gone to fetch an umbrella for his friend.
He found Fan Wujiu dead.
He hanged himself from grief.
The Jade Emperor was moved and promoted their ghosts to supernatural officers.
A third account records different individual origins.
In this account Black Impermanence was originally a gambler — 賭徒 — dutu.
He spent his life gambling.
His father tried to discipline him.
He refused to change.
One day after losing everything at the gambling table he came home and argued violently with his father.
His father lost control and killed his son in anger.
After death he was sent to hell.
He received punishment.
He repented.
He performed good deeds.
The gods were moved by his repentance and appointed him as the Black Guard.
White Impermanence in this account was born into a wealthy family.
He was kind.
His father sent him on an errand with a large sum of money.
He forgot the errand and spent the money helping a poor family in need.
When he realized his mistake he felt too ashamed to return home.
He committed suicide.
After death the gods considered his act of giving and appointed him as the White Guard.
All three accounts are recorded here.
All three are present in the tradition.
None is declared superior.
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On the meaning of their names.
Xie Bi'an — 謝必安.
Xie — 謝 — means to thank. To make amends. To express gratitude.
Bi — 必 — means certainly. Without fail.
An — 安 — means peace. Safety. Calm.
Together — 謝必安 — Those who make amends will always be at peace.
Fan Wujiu — 范無咎.
Fan — 范 — means to transgress. To violate.
Wu — 無 — means without.
Jiu — 咎 — means blame. Fault. Guilt. Salvation from consequence.
Together — 范無咎 — Those who commit crimes will have no salvation.
The White Guard's name is a promise of mercy.
The Black Guard's name is a warning of consequence.
They stand together.
Mercy and consequence.
Inseparable.
As they were in life.
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On their appearance.
White Impermanence — Bai Wuchang — 白無常 — Xie Bi'an — 謝必安.
He is tall — 高大 — gaoda.
He is thin — 消瘦 — xiaoshou.
His complexion is pale — 面色蒼白 — mianse cangbai.
He wears white official robes — 白色官服 — baise guanfu.
He wears a tall hat — 高帽 — gao mao.
On his tall hat are written the characters: Yi Jian Da Ji — 一見大吉 — Great Luck Upon Seeing Me.
Or: Yi Jian Sheng Cai — 一見生財 — Wealth Comes Upon Seeing Me.
His tongue hangs from his mouth — 舌頭伸出口外 — shetou shen chu kou wai — long and red.
This is the mark of death by hanging.
He carries an abacus — 算盤 — suanpan — for calculating the duration of a person's life.
He also carries a white fan — 白扇 — bai shan.
He also carries an umbrella — 雨傘 — yusan — in memory of the umbrella he went to fetch when Fan Wujiu drowned.
He smiles.
He is always smiling.
He is called the Smiling Impermanence — 笑面無常 — xiao mian wuchang.
Black Impermanence — Hei Wuchang — 黑無常 — Fan Wujiu — 范無咎.
He is short — 矮小 — aixiao.
He is stocky — 矮胖 — aipang.
His complexion is dark — 面色黝黑 — mianse youhei — the darkness of a man who drowned.
His body is bloated in depiction — 腫脹 — zhongzhang — from the drowning.
He wears black official robes — 黑色官服 — heise guanfu.
He wears a tall hat — 高帽 — gao mao.
On his tall hat are written the characters: Tian Xia Tai Ping — 天下太平 — Peace Under Heaven.
Or: Feng Ming Shan E — 分明善惡 — I Distinguish Good and Evil.
His expression is stern — 面容嚴肅 — mianrong yansu.
He carries a chain — 鎖鏈 — suolian — for capturing souls.
He carries a court order — 拘票 — jupiao — the official document authorizing the arrest of a soul.
He does not smile.
Together they stand.
White on the right — 右 — you — the yang position.
Black on the left — 左 — zuo — the yin position.
Right is yang — 陽 — yang.
Left is yin — 陰 — yin.
White is day — 日 — ri.
Black is night — 夜 — ye.
Together they govern all.
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On their magical tools.
White Impermanence carries the Crying Stick — 哭喪棒 — ku sang bang.
This stick can awaken confused souls.
It can stun resisting spirits.
It ensures the soul crosses without resistance.
Black Impermanence carries the Soul Hook Lock — 勾魂鎖 — gou hun suo.
This chain can accurately capture fleeing souls using sharp barbs.
No soul caught in it can escape.
No soul caught in it has ever escaped.
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On their duties.
Their primary duty is soul escort — 引魂 — yin hun.
When a person dies Heibai Wuchang come.
They come together.
They stand at the foot of the deathbed — 臨終之床 — linzhong zhi chuang.
The dying person may see them.
The dying person may not.
The soul sees them regardless.
When the soul departs the body it finds them waiting.
White Impermanence on the right.
Black Impermanence on the left.
The soul is escorted to the Ghost Gate — 鬼門關 — Gui Men Guan.
This is their primary function.
Their secondary duty is the judgment of the living.
White Impermanence operated during the day. Black Impermanence operated during the night. Together they perceived everything happening within their jurisdiction at all times.
They observe.
They record.
They report.
They are the eyes and ears of the City God — 城隍 — Chenghuang — within his territory.
Nothing within a City God's jurisdiction escapes their notice.
Nothing during the day.
Nothing during the night.
Their tertiary duty is the distribution of fortune and punishment.
The white guard rewards the virtuous with wealth.
The black guard punishes the wicked.
This is why they are worshipped as fortune deities — 財神 — caishen — in some traditions.
A businessperson who is honest may pray to Heibai Wuchang for wealth.
The prayer is not to the god of wealth.
It is to the ones who know whether the businessperson is actually honest.
They know.
They always know.
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On how they differ from Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face — 牛頭馬面 — Niu Tou Ma Mian — are the enforcers of the underworld courts.
They collect souls assigned to hell.
They are fierce — 兇猛 — xiongmeng.
They have no compassion in their function.
Heibai Wuchang are different.
They are subordinates of the City God — 城隍 — Chenghuang.
Their jurisdiction is the mortal world — 陽間 — yangjian — within a specific city's boundaries.
Unlike the fierce Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Heibai Wuchang carry both fortune and punishment in equal measure.
Different function.
Different nature.
Different temperament.
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On their appearance in classical literature.
Sun Wukong — 孫悟空 — encountered Heibai Wuchang during his time in the underworld in the Journey to the West — 西遊記 — Xiyou Ji.
He overpowered them.
He crossed out his name from the Book of Life and Death.
Heibai Wuchang reported the incident.
They could not stop Sun Wukong.
But they reported accurately.
They always report accurately.
Pu Songling — 蒲松齡 — the great Qing dynasty author — included encounters with Heibai Wuchang in multiple stories in the Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio — 聊齋誌異 — Liaozhai Zhiyi.
In these stories they appear to the living.
Sometimes as a warning.
Sometimes as a summons.
Sometimes they can be reasoned with.
Sometimes they cannot.
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On the Ghost Month and Heibai Wuchang.
During the Ghost Month — 鬼月 — Gui Yue — the seventh lunar month — when the gates of hell open — Heibai Wuchang are particularly active.
They supervise the wandering souls.
They ensure the souls return to the underworld when the gates close on the last day of the seventh month.
Souls that refuse to return — the lingering ghosts — are captured by Heibai Wuchang's chains.
They are brought back by force.
The Ghost Month ends because Heibai Wuchang enforce the ending.
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On their worship.
They are worshipped in City God temples — 城隍廟 — Chenghuang Miao — throughout China and Southeast Asia.
They are worshipped in Taiwan — 台灣 — Taiwan — where they are among the most popular deities in religious processions — 宗教遊行 — zongjiao youxing.
In Taiwan they are called Qi Ye — 七爺 — the Seventh Lord — and Ba Ye — 八爺 — the Eighth Lord.
They appear at every major temple festival — 廟會 — miaohui — in Taiwan.
The tall hats.
The white and black robes.
The long red tongue of the White Guard.
The dark stern face of the Black Guard.
They walk through the streets of Taiwan at every festival.
They have walked through the streets of Taiwan at every festival for hundreds of years.
They are worshipped in Singapore — 新加坡 — Xinjiapo — as Da Er Ye — 大二爺 — the First and Second Masters.
They are worshipped in Malaysia — 馬來西亞 — Malaixiya.
They are worshipped in Indonesia — 印度尼西亞 — Yindunixiya — among the Hokkien diaspora — 福建華僑 — Fujian huaqiao.
In Indonesia and Malaysia and Singapore they are known by their Hokkien names.
Tua Ya Pek — 大爺伯 — White Impermanence.
Di Ya Pek — 二爺伯 — Black Impermanence.
The Hokkien diaspora carried them across the sea.
The same way they carried Mazu — 媽祖.
The same way they carried Tudi Gong — 土地公.
The same way they carried everything that mattered.
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On what they represent.
They represent loyalty — 忠義 — zhongyi.
Not the loyalty of soldiers to generals.
Not the loyalty of subjects to emperors.
The loyalty of two ordinary people to each other.
Fan Wujiu drowned rather than break his promise.
Xie Bi'an died rather than face the world without his friend.
Neither death was required.
Neither death was ordered.
Both were chosen.
They represent the Buddhist truth embedded in their name.
Wu Chang — 無常 — Impermanence.
Everything ends.
Every life.
Every friendship.
Every moment of warmth between two people who care for each other.
Everything passes.
The ones named after this truth are also the ones who embody its opposite.
A friendship so loyal it survived death.
A promise kept even at the cost of life.
The impermanence of all things.
Except that.
Except what they chose.
END OF CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE