8 Generals: Celestial Cops
By Brian L.
Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo
They walk the toughest beat on earth.
Like cops anywhere, their job is protecting the public from the bad guys but
the bad guys in this case are invisible and preternaturally strong, with no
scruples or compassion. The bad guys in this case are ghosts, demons and
denizens of the netherworld. They bring pestilence, plague, sickness and
misfortune to the people. Standing between the good people of a Chinese village
and these invisible evils are the 8 Generals, called in Chinese the Ba Jia
Jing. Although normally referred to in English as the “8 Generals,” the
phrase is probably more accurately translated as the “8 Retainers” in the sense
of staff officers working for a court official. For traditional Chinese the 8
Generals are celestial cops, police officers and detectives. They are an
interesting example of “martial Daoism” in the sense that the rituals are
Daoist with a clearly martial motif. Most of the young men who perform the 8
Generals are also trained in some form of southern Shaolin.
You see these “celestial cops” in
southern Chinese and Taiwanese temple parades and they are easy to spot. Their
distinctive face paint, their “urban camouflage,” which derives from the makeup
used in Chinese opera, consist of demonic swirls, darkened eyes and jutting
fangs. Their costumes and elaborate headdresses reflect their martial
background. Their self confident strides and dignified gestures reflect
considerable “command presence” as modern police trainers put it.
Their job is to investigate, arrest
and punish evil spirits, ghosts and other banes on the neighborhood. Towards
that end they carry wooden handcuffs and badges which resemble solid wooden
fans. The badges are signs of their celestial imperial authority to use
“whatever means necessary” to catch and punish malevolent spirits. They carry
with them weapons and most ominously one of their number will carry on his
shoulder a tiger and on the tiger’s back, secured by magic talismans, will be
the executioner’s sword.
History
of the 8 Generals
The number eight is an auspicious
number in Chinese culture and in particular in Daoism. There are 8 Generals to
match up with the 8 main directions (the four cardinal and four ordinal
directions) and to match up with the 8 Trigrams of Bagua.
There are many versions of exactly how
the 8 Generals came to be and who they serve. A popular version in Taiwan says
that the 8 Generals serve the Emperors of the Five Blessings (Wu Fu Da Di).
In an interesting case of it takes a “thief to catch a thief,” the 8 Generals
were originally a gang of malicious mountain spirits who lived in a cave on Mt.
Lu, and were thus known as the “8 Demons of Lushan.” These demons were so malicious and powerful
that the regular gods, including the Jade Emperor, were unable to control them.
But one of the there was one of
Emperors of the Five Blessings (Wu Fu Da Di) who was an expert in
martial arts and skilled in Daoist demonology. He stepped up to face the
challenge of catching and controlling the “Eight Demons of Lushan.” Towards
that end he traveled to Mt. Lu and promptly submitted the demons. After
defeating them, he held them captive rather than destroying them. To repay the
favor of sparing their lives, the demons swore eternal allegiance to Emperors
of the Five Blessings and vowed to help them protect humans. Thus the reformed
demons became “celestial cops” under the command of the Emperors of the Five
Blessings.
Walking
the “shadow beat”
In modern Taiwanese temple processions
the 8 Generals are a fairly common sight. They serve two important functions;
for Daoist believers the presence of the 8 Generals drives out evil spirits,
ghost and other banes. For people who accept a traditional Chinese worldview,
there is both this seen, normal everyday world but alongside of the seen world
is an unseen but nonetheless very real world “overlaid” or “intermixed” with
the normal physical world. This unseen world is the world of wandering ghost,
evil spirits, demonic forces and these are, in traditional Chinese metaphysics,
the causes of various misfortunes, diseases, plagues and other pestilence.
There are invisible but quite real entities which cause human misfortunes.
These entities have some level of awareness and are able to be frightened away
by the appearance of the 8 Generals.
The reality of this unseen
“shadow-shade” world is accepted by many modern day Chinese. And not just among
uneducated country hicks; a fair percentage of college educated, urban Chinese
fully accept the reality of this other world and fully accept the necessity and
power of the 8 Generals.
The other more mundane but perhaps equally valid purpose
for the 8 Generals is to provide a colorful and lively addition to temple
parades. The 8 Generals do draw crowds of all ages. And the different 8
Generals performance groups do have “star performers,” men who play the role
very well with a lot of life and vigor and are attractions just like an opera
performer or rock and roll musician. It should be mentioned that 8 Generals
performance is also a business and the best 8 Generals performance troupes can
fetch a good fee from the temples or communities that hire them. The fact
payment is made is not viewed as a demeaning or debasement of the spiritual
nature of things but rather simply reflects the fact that if a temple or
community wants “good protection” (or “a good show” depending on your view of
things) then you got to pay a good fee.
Hitting
the Streets
The arrival of the 8 Generals is
announced by a somewhat comic, but nonetheless powerful and good hearted, deity
known as Bao Ma Zai. He acts as a herald brining news to the village or
district of the pending arrival of the 8 Generals. His name means literally
“report horse person,” but he is always on foot! Nonetheless the implication is
he moves fast to keep people current on the news. This deity is a Taiwanese god
and he always appears in a stock form. He will always have one pants leg rolled
up, he will always have the eyeglasses painted on his face, he will always carry
the gong and will always be carrying the bandoleer of bagels. The bagels are
for children. It is considered very good luck for a parent to ask Bao Ma Zai
for one of the bagels which is then given to the child. The bagel is believed
to ensure good health for the child.
Taiwan is well known for its pork
products and Ba Ma Zai always carries a pig’s foot and shank with him.
In modern hygienic times, the pig’s foot is carried in a clear plastic bag on
his right. His rattan hat protects him from the natural elements of rain, sun
and wind but also protects him from the more baleful invisible dangers of ghost
and demons. The latter protection comes from the Daoist talismans pasted in a
cross pattern on the top of his rattan hat. He usually sports two talismans and
the cross indicates that the “door” to steal his soul is sealed closed. As a
result he cannot be harmed by any ghost or demon.
Long before you actually see the 8
Generals you will see their banners. The banners are large and colorful. The
designs on them show some famous historical or legendary warrior or some
mythical creature. The banners are clearly visible above the crowd and at every
cross road firecrackers will be ignited to signal the arrival of the 8
Generals. These Celestial Cops are not working “undercover.”
The 8 Generals will begin their
“shift” at the temple which is sponsoring the event. Prior to leaving the
temple the 8 Generals will be “empowered” by heavenly forces. A Daoist priest
will chant certain magic formulas to ensure the 8 Generals have a successful
“sweep” of the neighborhood. We are using the “cop talk” deliberately because
for the Chinese what is going on here is very clearly and obviously “police
work.”
After being empowered they will take
seats outside the temple on the streets. Front and center will be a “boy-god.”
This “boy-god” is one of the Emperors of the Five Blessings. His task is to
“brief” the 8 Generals on what to expect on the streets that day. In a very
real sense he is acting as their “police captain.” After the briefing, it is
time to hit the streets. The captain and his squad strut out of the temple,
with flexed muscles and determined strides; their handcuffs and badges in hand.
They then literally walk the beat around the neighborhood. Depending on the size
of the neighborhood they may do one or more laps around.
After clearing the neighborhood of the
invisible evils doers the 8 Generals, led by their captain return to the
temple. The Daoist priest in attendance will chant another set of magic formula
which will signal an end to that day’s work.
See
four great photos of the 8 Generals on the job!
