"Black and white are impermanent, one yin and one yang, in charge of life and death, shuttling back and forth between the two worlds of yin and yang.
There is a joke in our "Journey to the West" that Sun Wukong turned into white impermanence, scared Zhu Bajie to death, and took out all the gold and silver he had hidden in private.
This makes people curious, these two ghosts, what did they come from when they were alive?
Black and White Impermanence: The legendary underworld servant
Black and white impermanence, what our ancestors have passed down is the ghost in the underworld. They are characters with heads and faces in the netherworld.
When ordinary people mention them, they feel afraid and feel that they are a symbol of terror. But to be honest, they actually have a human touch.
Bai Wuchang, whose name is Xie Bi'an, is a lively and cheerful guy with a smile on his face. He was dressed in a white robe, with white makeup on his face and leg shackles in his hands.
Although he looks kind and humorous, he is also doing the work of leading souls. As he worked, he caught demons and comforted the dead souls, bringing them to Hades for judgment.
Black impermanence, whose name is Fan Wuyi, is not the same as white impermanence.
He had a dark face, was slightly shorter, and wore a black hat on his head.
Black Impermanence works seriously and earnestly, specializing in catching those evil ghosts who have committed the most heinous crimes. Although he doesn't like to talk, he also understands the warmth and coldness of the world.
Before sending the soul to Hades, he had to carefully inquire about the demons and determine how their sins should be suffered.
Every time they went out on a mission, they wore official robes and held shackles in their hands, which were connected with those sinners' shackles, leading them to Huangquan Road.
This road, like a long green belt, spreads out quickly in the hands of black and white impermanence.
Their appearance is a portrayal of the extremes of life. Bai Wuchang's miserable white face is like a symbol of the passage of life;A black face with impermanence is a sign of uncleanliness and sin.
Together, the two of them are the faithful executors under Lord Yama, and such a special image is because they were originally human beings, able to communicate with people, and understand people's feelings.
But that's not all.
In addition to sending sinful souls, they also have to take care of the ghosts who died in vain.
In the stories handed down by our ancestors, many people died by accident or injustice, and Black and White Impermanence has to try to help them reverse their fate, give them an unfinished chance in the world, so that they can continue to experience suffering and growth in the world.
In old legends, there are places where it is said that black and white impermanence is a man and a woman, but this is not true.
They are actually brothers, because of the good deeds in their lives, they won the favor of the king of Hades, and they became yin.
The story of their lifetime
Xie Bi'an and Fan Wujiao, the two are sworn brothers, although the family is poor, but they also love to study some books when they have nothing to do, and they have survived a lot of hard lives together.
Their friendship grew stronger through the storm until one day, a catastrophe pushed their fate to a fork in the road.
It was a hot summer afternoon, and the two of them made an appointment to go out.
Who knew that as soon as they went out, the sky changed, the wind was blowing, and the rain was pouring down, drenching them both to the core.
Fan Wuyi's body was weak, and he suddenly caught a cold and fever. Xie Bi'an looked at his buddies, anxious like ants on a hot pot, looking for a place to shelter from the rain.
But the wind and rain were so strong that they got lost and dangled in the rain and couldn't find a place.
Later, the two finally found a dilapidated small temple, so they hid in it and waited for the rain to stop.
But the rain became heavier and heavier, and Fan Wuyi's body was shivering with cold. Xie Bi'an let him lie on the ground and went out to find matches in the heavy rain.
He walked in the rain for half a day and could not find a branch to start a fire. Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, and the rain was getting more and more rapid, his heart was as anxious as fire.
He finally found a few branches, but when he hurried back to the temple, he found that the temple was low-lying and washed all over the ground by the rain.
Fan Wuyi was out of breath, and Xie Bi'an felt so guilty that he felt that it was all his fault and failed to protect his brother.
In the end, he decided to commit suicide to accompany his brother. It is said that a few days after his death, the local villagers saw the shadows of the two of them appear in the field at night, and everyone was terrified until Lord Yama himself came forward.
It turned out that the deep friendship between these two brothers touched the king of Hades, and they resurrected them to become the black and white impermanence of the underworld, protecting the souls of hell from the invasion of ** and greed.
In this way, Bai Wuchang Xie Bi'an and Black Impermanence Fan Wuyi became immortal legends, doing their work diligently in the underworld, using their endless friendship and strength to maintain the order of the underworld.
Black and white impermanence, although it is the beginning of tragedy, but in the underworld, they always depend on each other and will never be separated.
Why is it called black and white impermanence and not another color?
In our Chinese culture, black and white impermanence is not only the legendary messenger of the underworld, but also carries a heavy cultural and philosophical significance.
These two colors, black and white, are actually closely related to our theory of yin and yang. Black represents yin and white represents yang.
The striped clothes they wore were meant to highlight the contrast between yin and yang. This striking color and image makes black and white impermanence seem both mysterious and authoritative.
In the theory of the five elements of yin and yang, black and white pairing is widely used to show the essence and interrelationship of things. The theory of yin and yang covers opposing elements such as breath, movement and stillness, negative and positive, and it believes that the complementarity and unity of yin and yang is the principle of the existence of the universe.
In the Taiji diagram, black and white echo each other, full of wisdom and unique beauty. The identity setting of black and white impermanence fits this cultural belief and philosophy perfectly.
Their costumes are dark and blurry, like starlight in the dark, reminiscent of the deep night sky. And the white turban and face, like the moonlight illuminating the darkness, reflect the coexistence and inseparable relationship of yin and yang.
In addition to the yin and yang symbolism, black and white impermanence also breeds rich plots in folk tales.
In some stories, Black Impermanence is an evil ghost who did evil during his lifetime. But once he saw his grief-stricken father, he felt deep repentance, decided to repent and reform, and finally got the opportunity of Lord Yama to experience in the underworld, eliminate sins and redeem them.
And Bai Wuchang is the good ghost who is helpful. In one story, he helped a suffering woman out of an unhappy marriage and bravely burned her husband's fortune.
The black and white impermanence in these stories shows a variety of images and personalities, truly reflecting the complex relationship between good and evil, cause and effect in the human world.
They represent the balance of yin and yang aura, carrying people's pursuit and belief in good and evil, cause and effect. And in their job duties, it is mainly to check the souls of the living and take them into the process of judgment in the underworld.
In the underworld, in addition to black and white impermanence, there are also other ghosts and gods such as bull heads and horse noodles, who cooperate to deal with the various revenant business under the Nine Springs.
Therefore, black and white impermanence is not only a symbol of color, but also a true embodiment of the essence of traditional Chinese culture and philosophy.
Their images, stories, and the doctrine of yin and yang combine to reveal the mystical interpretations of the ancient literati on complex issues such as man and nature, man and society, and man and fate.
Our perception of black and white impermanence is often affected by deep-seated fear, which is due to people's natural resistance to the unknown.
But if we look at it from a different angle, we will find that black and white impermanence is actually fulfilling their duties, just as we follow our mission in the world.