The Black and White Impermanence Immortal, also known as Impermanence. Perhaps the reason why we Chinese are so close to and familiar with Immortal Impermanence is because he is an authentic Chinese god and has no roots in Indian Buddhism. Lu Xun said: "In the Indian Buddhist scriptures, there are flaming skys and ox-headed asparagus, all of which are directors in hell. As for Mr. Impermanence, who is the messenger of the soul, it seems that he has no experience in ancient times and is accustomed to it. All I heard was words like "life is impermanent". In the old superstitions, impermanence was said to be the messenger that attracts the soul of life when a person dies, and is a messenger who comes to pick up the dead person in the world of the world. Impermanence is further divided into black impermanence and white impermanence. There is a famous song "Hate the Impermanence" in "A Dream of Red Mansions", "It's just the right time to be happy with prosperity, but it's time to hate the impermanence again." Even glory and wealth are no match for life and death. Although Black Impermanence and White Impermanence are both impermanent ghosts, the former only brings disaster to evil people, while the latter brings fear and uneasiness to people on the one hand, and good luck in making money on the other. This reflects a folk concept: ghosts are as good and evil as humans. On the famous mountain in the ghost town, there are two small gods that often appear, one is Bai Wuchang and the other is Hei Wuchang. What do these two gods do? Bai Wuchang and Hei Wuchang are both called the Second Master Wuchang, and they are gods who specialize in catching evil spirits. Impermanence is listed among the top ten handsome men[1]? Bai Wuchang, on the other hand, always smiles and wears a long hat with the four characters "make money at first sight" on his head; Hei Wuchang has a serious face and has the four characters "the world is peaceful" on his long hat. Why is impermanence divided into black and white? I think there are several reasons: First of all, many of the gods in religion have human nature. To catch evil spirits, there cannot be just one person doing this job all day long. There must be shifts. Otherwise, if one god does this job, it will be a long-term problem. Unbearable. Therefore, there is one for day and one for night; secondly, from the perspective of black and white yin and yang, it is consistent with the Taoist theory of yin and yang; thirdly, from the analysis of many folklore stories, white impermanence mostly punishes those who are "not worthy", while black impermanence is Specialized in catching evil spirits with chains and shackles. In the famous "Tianzi Hall" in Fengdu there is the second master Wuchang; in the "Wuchang Hall" there are statues of Wuchang and his wife; in the "City God's Temple" there are statues of Wuchang and his wife. White Wuchang is accompanied by his wife, but Black Wuchang is accompanied by Wuchang's wife. Bai Wuchang's name is Xie Bian, known as "Seventh Master"; Black Wuchang's name is Fan Wujiu, known as "Eighth Master". It is said that Xie and Fan have been sworn brothers since childhood. One day, the two of them walked together under the Nantai Bridge. It was about to rain. The seventh master asked the eighth master to wait for a while and go home to get an umbrella. Unexpectedly, after the seventh master left, a thunderstorm poured down and the river swelled. The eighth master did not want to break the promise. Due to his short stature, he drowned in the water. Not long after the seventh master came with an umbrella, the eighth master had disappeared. The seventh master was so miserable that he hanged himself on a bridge pillar (so many images of Bai Wuchang have a long red tongue sticking out). The Lord of Hell commended them for their deep faith and ordered them to catch the lawless people in front of the City God. Some people say that "Xie Bian" means that if you reward the gods, you will be safe; "Fan Wujiu" means that those who break the law will not be saved. Of course, these are all folklore. Legend 1[2] Regarding the story of Bai Wuchang, there is a story that is more typical. One year during the Qingming Festival, Bai Wuchang passed by a place on business and saw a woman and two children crying in front of a grave. He was very sad. He also saw an old man shaking his head and sighing not far away, and he felt very sympathetic. Bai Wuchang asked the old man about it, and found out that this woman had been greatly wronged. It turns out that this woman's surname is Chen, and she is the third daughter of a wealthy businessman. This wealthy businessman had quite a fortune, but he was unlucky and only gave birth to three daughters. The third daughter still had a pockmarked face. When the mother saw that her third daughter was infected with smallpox, she blamed herself very much. She loved her third daughter very much and died last year. There was a clerk in the Chen family named Ao Da, who was honest on the surface but very scheming in his heart. He figured that Miss Chen San was a pockmark and a young man from a rich family would definitely not want her. He might as well seduce her as his wife and wait until his father died. Don’t all the wealth belong to you? Miss Chen San has been involved in many marriages, but because of her pockmarked face, she doesn't want to marry any of them. She saw that Ao Da was strong and liked her father. The two of them flirted with each other, and soon they became a couple secretly. After a few months, Miss Chen San's belly gradually grew bigger. Miss Chen San's father had no choice but to make Ao Da his son-in-law. After Ao Da truly became his son-in-law, his father-in-law appointed him as the general manager, and he was in charge of everything in the family. Gradually, Ao Da became less submissive to his father-in-law, and drank heavily and visited women outside. When he came home, Miss Chen San persuaded him and even humiliated Miss Chen San. Mr. Chen got sick and became very angry. Ao Da's whoring and gambling became more and more powerful day by day. After hearing what the old man said, Bai Wuchang became angry and decided to teach Ao Da a lesson and show Miss Chen San a way to survive. He followed Miss Chen San home. There happened to be a gambler who came to collect gambling debts. When he saw that it was Ao Da, he had to pay him one hundred taels of silver. Seeing that there was no one at home, the gambler hugged Miss Chen San and wanted to be rude, but was suddenly slapped three times. Miss Chen San pushed the gambler away, fled into the back room, and opened the door. She couldn't help but take the rope and wanted to hang herself. She hung a rope and broke a rope, feeling strange in her heart. Bai Wuchang opened the door and entered the house with her two children in her arms. Miss Chen San saw Bai Wuchang smiling very kindly and was not afraid. Bai Wuchang said: "Why commit suicide? Why don't you pack up the remaining money at home and go to another country, and you will have to raise your two children!" After hearing Bai Wuchang's words, Miss Chen San left with her two children. After Miss Chen San left, four stores in the Chen family caught fire at the same time. Ao Da was holding his daughter and raising his daughter in Chunxiang Courtyard, smoking a big cigarette. When he rushed home, all his family property was burned down. Legend 2 There are many legends about Hei Wuchang, and one of them, "Hei Wuchang Changes Evil and Becomes Good", is also quite typical. Legend has it that once upon a time there were two father and son. The son was inactive since he was a child, smoking and gambling. The father disciplines the son, but the son refuses to listen.
Once, my son came back from gambling and lost everything. The father accidentally beat his son to death. After his son died, his bad habits did not change, and his ghost continued to do evil and harm others in the world. [3] A few years later, one night, my son came outside his house. When he was about to enter the house, the dog in the yard kept barking. His father knew that another dead ghost was coming to harm people, so he came out of the room with a knife in one hand and a tung oil lamp in the other to collect the ghosts. When the son saw his father coming with a ferocious force, he jumped up to the house and said, "Father, I am not here to harm anyone. I just want to come back and see you." The father said, "You did evil in life, and after you died, you disturbed the neighbors. After I accidentally beat you to death, I still felt uncomfortable for a long time. You continued to do evil, but I didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. "My son said, "What you said is really reasonable. My son has discovered his conscience now and vowed not to do evil again, and he will change his evil ways and do good. I will come back in the next life to repay the kindness of raising you." The father said, "That's good. It's not allowed for me to see the folks." The son said, "Don't worry, father. From now on, my son is going to be tortured and suffer, and he will not come to visit you again." Father, please take care." From then on, my son never harmed anyone again. He went to the eighteenth level of hell to be tortured. He suffered a lot in the eighteenth level of hell before he understood the value of life and that he was really guilty of the evil things he had done in the past. Once, King Qin Guang of the Ten Palaces of Hell summoned him and said, "Why don't you go and get a substitute to return to the sun?" He said, "In my previous life, I have done all the bad things that were hated by thousands of people. Wherever I go, people there They all used knives and sticks to kill me. Doing evil is really despicable. I want to be a good person again." Qin Guang said: "It seems that you are really an evil ghost who can change evil and become good. Let me tell you, if you do it again. If you have been a good ghost for three years, I will definitely ask Emperor Yin to grant you an official position." Three years later, the King of Hell of the Ten Palaces summoned him again and said, "In these three years, you have indeed changed your evil ways and done good things. , I have reported to Emperor Yin that I will appoint you as the official of the Reward and Punishment Division, Hei Wuchang, specializing in catching evil spirits." From then on, he wore black linen clothes and went around in the middle of the night, conducting overt and covert inspections. He reported to Emperor Yin those who had done good deeds. The evildoers were reported to Judge Cui and many evil spirits were captured. Impermanence is a Taoist belief. Why should impermanence be divided into black impermanence and white impermanence? Instead of dividing it into yellow impermanence and purple impermanence? Black and white impermanence are not called white impermanence and black impermanence because of the difference in skin color or clothing color. Black and white impermanence is just an expression of the attributes of yin and yang. "Black" and "white" represent one yin and one yang. In other words, black impermanence represents the feminine body, and white impermanence represents the masculine body. This is also consistent with the contrasting painting method of black and white (black represents yin and white represents yang) of the yin and yang fish in the Tai Chi diagram. It can be seen that the theory of "impermanence" is also inseparable from Tai Chi Diagram. The theoretical basis of "impermanence" is the theory of yin and yang. From ancient times to the present, the colors of Tai Chi diagrams have always been black and white. There are no representations of other colors such as yellow and purple. Therefore, when people describe things, it is impossible to deviate from the Yin and Yang theory and describe impermanence as yellow impermanence, purple impermanence, etc. of. Why can't there be only one impermanence but two black and white? We must first understand the question of what is the soul and what is the soul. According to the explanation in the modern Chinese dictionary: Soul - in old superstition, refers to the spirit that can exist without the body. Soul - Superstition refers to the spirit that exists attached to the body. Although people often use soul together to describe the soul, in fact, the meaning of the two words is obviously quite different: one soul must be separated from the living body and can exist independently. The soul must be attached to the living body in order to exist. The soul cannot be independent, otherwise it cannot be called the soul. Both the soul and the soul refer to a kind of spirit. They seem to be the same, but the "spirit" is the same. The meaning of the word is really too broad. If you break it down, you can find that the "spirit" referred to by soul and soul is actually different. Soul refers more to the soul. In addition to people often thinking that the "material" that leaves the human body after death is the soul, it is also often said, such as "Teachers are engineers of the human soul." The "soul" here refers more to It refers to thoughts and morals. Soul also has another explanation in the dictionary - the most essential and important part of something. Such as "soul of the nation", "soul of dance", "soul of the Yellow River", etc. What is more reflected here is a kind of cohesion, a kind of spirit, and an abstract life. And another explanation of po in the dictionary is spirit and energy. The group of words includes courage, courage, and physical fitness. This "so" focuses more on energy than spirit. Tiandi Yiren believes that what Po really refers to is qi; it is the qi circulating in the human body; it is the yang qi relative to the underworld; it is the qi that flows through the meridians; it is the human vitality mentioned in qigong; it is the principle of the great road. gas. In the configuration table of yin and yang, five elements and internal organs in the "Huangdi Neijing", the soul corresponds to the lungs among the five internal organs and the nose among the five senses, and the lungs and nose are both related to breathing and Qi; and in the "Huangdi Neijing" It is also said that "the soul is hidden in the lungs", so the theory that the soul is broken into qi is well-founded. Third, reasoning from the above two points, after a person dies, the soul will fly away and leave the human body; while the soul will disperse with the death of the person, having nothing to rely on and no movement; so there is There are idioms such as "the soul is flying away" and "the soul is not attached to the body", but there is no such idiom as "the soul is flying away". All four things are divided into yin and yang, so which one is yin, soul or soul? Which one is Yang? People often say that "the ghost will not be separated", and the soul should naturally be yin. I have never heard anyone say that "the soul of yang will not be separated". As for Po, it is not said that it is a Yin Po. When a person dies, it is often said that the Yang Po has dissipated and there is no strength to return to heaven. It is natural that the Po becomes Yang. But neither the soul nor the soul can leave the living body. Whether it is a human, an animal, or a plant, they are all living bodies. Leaving the living body means death.
The yin and yang attributes of the soul should be consistent with the yin and yang attributes of the living body. If a male is yang, his soul is yang, and the female is yin. This is why when reading palmistry, men should look at the left hand and women should look at the right hand; when horoscopes are arranged for fortune, men should have yang and yin in reverse, and women should have yin and yang in reverse. This is just to follow the "po" nature. The yin and yang attributes of the soul are exactly the opposite of those of the living body. For example, if a male is yang, then the soul is yin, and if a female is yin, then the soul is yang. Why do you say this? In order to explain Yin and Yang more intuitively, they are represented by positive and negative charges respectively. Positive charges represent Yang and negative charges represent Yin. According to the principle of same-sex repulsion and opposite-sex attraction, and the principle of yin and yang and the five elements, it can be deduced: The yang body, that is, the masculine life body, is equivalent to Tai Chi, while the yang soul and the yin soul are equivalent to yin (yin soul) and yang (yang soul) Eryi. One yin and one yang are called Tao! In this way, the yin and yang states of men and women can be balanced. When the human body ages and dies, the soul will leave the body and enter another type of space (often called the underworld). To enter this space, there must be an indirect "substance" to guide the soul. And this "matter" is impermanent. At this time, the function of black and white impermanence comes into play. Black Impermanence is the representative of the feminine, and White Impermanence is the representative of the masculine. The human soul is divided into Yin and Yang. When the human soul leaves the body, the male Yin soul (negative charge) is composed of the yang (positive charge) carried by the White Impermanence. ) attracts and captures it; the female Yang soul (positive charge) is attracted and captured by the negative charge (negative charge) carried by Hei Wuchang. The principle by which Impermanence fixes the soul to oneself is that people of the same sex repel each other and opposite sexes attract each other. The legendary ghost is unable to act after seeing the black and white impermanence. In fact, it is attracted by a very strong force. If impermanence has only a neutral structure, then no matter what characteristics the soul has or its yin and yang, it cannot interact with impermanence, and it cannot be absorbed or captured by impermanence. Therefore, impermanence must have two attributes of yin and yang, that is, it can be divided into black and white. Why must black and white impermanence come to greet people after death? For example, if the male ghost is attracted by Bai Wuchang, Black Wuchang is obviously useless. If Bai Wuchang can solve the problem alone, why do they need two people to come and go at the same time? The previous article only talked about the relationship between the soul and impermanence, but not the soul. As we all know, when the soul flies away and the soul disperses, the person dies. The soul wants to fly and the soul disperses. In fact, it means that both the soul and the soul have left the human body. When the soul wants to fly, it is attracted and captured by impermanence. When the Po is about to disperse, it means that the "Po" is no longer gathered in the body, but is drawn away and sucked away by external forces, thus dissolving the form of the "Po". And to lose soul, you have to rely on impermanence. The principle is still that people of the same sex repel each other and opposite sexes attract each other. Yang soul (positive charge) will attract each other when encountering black impermanence (negative charge), and the "so" will be sucked away from the human body, and eventually the soul will be scattered and the person will die. In the same way, the Yin soul needs to meet Bai Wuchang to be dispelled. That is to say: for men, white impermanence absorbs their yin soul, and black impermanence disperses their yang soul; for women, black impermanence absorbs their yang soul, and white impermanence disperses their yin soul. Therefore, black and white must come to guide us at the same time. Don't be afraid of black and white, being led by them is not a bad thing, it means that you have not become the legendary lonely ghost. If people do more good deeds, when the black and white impermanence is connected, there will be fairy music, lotus flowers, and the bliss of jumping out of reincarnation. But the rate that can reach this level is too low after all. But this does not stop people from yearning for it. On the contrary, more and more people are working hard for it. People who understand Chinese will naturally first think of the word "impermanence" when they see it. It is an adjective that means unpredictable. "Life is impermanent" means that life's encounters are unpredictable and unpredictable. Zhuangzi and Xunzi were the first to use this adjective very early: "The tendency to give up without certainty is called impermanence." Chinese folklore, whether originating from Buddhism or Taoism, has formed a system of its own over time. . All stories take place in this Chinese system, such as the Ten Palaces of Hell, the Four Seas Dragon King, etc., all have the power of a mortal convention. If the person who created the story leaves this scope, it will be difficult to become popular. accepted by the public. In folklore, Impermanence is a ghost, so it is also called Impermanence Ghost. There are two types of impermanence, one is black impermanence and the other is white impermanence. In folklore, the shapes of these two impermanent ghosts are also fixed. Mr. Bai Wuchang has a face as white as pink, wears white clothes and a white high hat. On the high hat, there are four words written on it: "Get rich at first sight." Holding a white mourning stick, the whole body is white, only the long tongue that occasionally spits out is bright red. This shape is quite weird and terrifying to describe, but as long as you are Chinese, you will recognize it as soon as you see the shape: it is white. Mr. Impermanence. As for Mr. Black Impermanence, everything is the opposite of Bai Impermanence, everything is black. The four words on the high hat are "Peace in the World", but he is short and fat. The characters of the two Wuchangs are significantly different from their facial shapes: Hei Wuchang has a sad face and looks very miserable; while Bai Wuchang has a very weird smile, and I don't know what it means. They can be divided into two groups. One is clearly intent on trapping souls, while the other may design traps to make people fall into the trap and lose their lives. The responsibility of Black and White Impermanence is to capture the soul, that is, to take the life of a living person and turn it into a dead person, and then take the person's soul to the underworld to be dealt with. This is another link in a series of Chinese folklore: after a person dies, his soul goes to the underworld, and the Ten Palaces of Hell judge the person based on his deeds of good and evil in the underworld. There are certain procedures. For example, when the soul crosses the Naihe Bridge, it must drink Meng Po soup to clear all the memories of the previous life and cannot carry them to the next life (so none of us can remember the events of the previous life), etc. wait.
Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang both work as servants in the Palace of Hell, and their duties are somewhat similar to those in ancient government offices. The colleagues who are black and white, as well as Niutou and Mamian, are all government servants and spies. As for the judge, he is the master in the yamen - the place where souls are judged in the underworld. It is very similar to the yamen in the yang world. It is naturally conceived by the creator based on the situation in the yang world. When Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang want to restrain their souls, they don't do it randomly. They don't have the right to make decisions themselves, but only accept orders. The order comes from the King of Hell. The King of Hell has a "book of life and death" that records everyone's names and longevity. Someone should die at the age of forty-one. At the moment when he should die, Black and White will be dispatched to send out a gust of evil wind. In the past, someone's soul was taken away, and someone disappeared in the underworld! Black and white impermanence is just following orders, and there is a considerable degree of imagination in this. If the person who is ordered by Black and White to capture the soul of Black and white is someone they like very much, what should they do? Of course, you have to carry out the orders and not disobey them. If Black and White Wuchang hates someone very much and wants him to disappear in the underworld, they have no right to make their own decisions and must obey the orders of the King of Hell. The King of Hell is the absolute authority: "The King of Hell is doomed to die at the third watch. Who dares to keep people alive until the fifth watch?" Similarly, if the King of Hell is destined to immortalize a person, no one can make that person die. The one who holds the power of life and death is Yama. Although the black and white impermanence seems to be very powerful, in fact, they are just the executors of life and death. It is conceivable that in many situations, there is a situation where there is no control over the body - that is something that no executor can do. Things to avoid.