Ba Jia Jiang originated from the Chinese folk beliefs and myths, and usually generally refers to eight members of the godly realm. The general understanding of the origin of Ba Jia Jiang is that it is derived from the existence of eight generals who performed exorcism of evil spirits for the Wufu Emperor. These eight generals became revered as the gods of the underworld, and are represented as the bodyguards or attendants for the temples of the nether Gods such as the Dongyue Emperor, Yama and Cheng Huang. Gradually Ba Jia Jiang evolved to appear also as bodyguards to Wang Ye and Matsu, and at many other temples. Later on, believers at those temples dressed up as Ba Jia Jiang in order to defend the Gods. These actions evolved into Taiwanese folk activities, which are part of the Wu Array in Din Tao. Ba Jia Jiang is responsible for the capture of ghosts and evil spirits, bringing safety and good luck, and providing protection. They contain a strong religious nature, and Din Tao often seem as mysterious, threatening and serious. Some Ba Jia Jiang members have relations with Taiwanese gangsters.
Name
Ba Jia Jiang is one of the general troupes in Taiwan. The general groups are originated from Shih Jia Jiang in Tainan Bai Long An, and after spreading to Chiayi Ci Ji Temple, the number of Gods in the array becomes four main generals and four Season Gods, that is eight members in total. Therefore, it is called Ba Jia Jiang. According to different heritages around different actual situations, the number of Gods can be four, six, eight, ten, twelve or thirteen. The reasons these general groups are named either Shih Jia Jiang or Ba Jia Jiang are due to their heritages. However, nowadays the general media and the public sector call all the general troupes "Ba Jia Jiang".
Compositions and responsibilities
The number of Gods in Ba Jia Jiang or Shih Jia Jiang is not fixed. The more complete group is with a number of thirteen Gods, and it is also the common type of Ba Jia Jiang in Taiwan's temples. Its members include: Shih Yi, Wen Chai, Wu Chai, Gan Ye, Liu Ye, Xie Ye, Fan Ye, the great Spring God, the Great Summer God, the Great Autumn God, the Great Winter God, Wen Pan Guan and Wu Pan Guan. Their identities and Responsibilities are as follows: Shih Yi, Wen Chai and Wu Chai
Shih Yi : Also known as Xing Ju Ye. He carries instruments on his shoulders, and stands in the front of the group to check the path and lead the troupe to worship and salute. He is responsible to avoid evils and make sure the troupe and worship groups are walking towards the temple on a safe track. Shih Yi is the director of the troupe. He knocks the instrument against each other to create sounds while walking with special rhythms and patterns of footsteps. This role is usually held by a senior member of Ba Jia Jiang.
Wen Chai and Wu Chai : They are responsible to pass on Gods' orders. Wen Chai is responsible for receiving orders, and Wu Chai is responsible for passing orders. Wen Chai is also called General Chen or Chen God, and Wu Chai is also called General Liu or Liu God. These two roles are usually played by children or younger members. However, Ba Jia Jiang in Chiayi focuses more on the actions of Wen Chai and Wu Chai. Thus, these two roles are often played by main performers in Chiayi.
Gan Ye : Named Pen-Fei Gan, also known as the General Gan, Gan God and Day Tour God. He is responsible for the execution of sentences.
Liu Ye : Named Yu Liu, also known as General Liu, Liu God and Night Tour God. He is responsible for the execution of sentences with Gan Ye. Both Gan Ye and Liu Ye are arranged at the first row of the group, so they are also called "Group Leader " and "Front Row ". As they are responsible for execution of sentences, they are also known as "Supporters of Penalties ". They take turns to supervise the good and bad behaviors of people during day and night time. They are often enshrined in the Dongyue Temple, Cheng Huang Temple and some other temples.
Xie Ye : Named Bi-An Xie, also known as General Xie, Da Ye, Qi Ye, Gao Ye and Zhuo Ye. He is responsible for catching ghosts and evils.
Fan Ye : Wu-Jiu Fan, also known as the General Fan, Er Ye, Ba Ye, Ai Ye and Na Ye. He is responsible for catching ghosts and evils.
The Back Four Members
The Great Spring God : Wears blue gown with painted dragon face. He is responsible for the section of waking up criminals in the interrogation of captured ghosts.
The Great Summer God : Wears red gown with painted turtle face. He is responsible for the section of burning criminals in the interrogation of captured ghosts.
The Great Autumn God : Wears black gown with painted bird face. He is responsible for the section of beating criminals in the interrogation of captured ghosts.
The Great Winter God : Wears blue gown with painted tiger face. He is responsible for the section of threatening criminals in the interrogation of captured ghosts.
These four Gods are called The Four Seasons Gods and The Four Seasons Emperor. Their identities or surnames and stories have different versions such as General "Hong, Liu, Peng, Jin ", General "Hong, Cao, Feng, Jin ", General "He, Zhang, Xu, Cao ", "Fang, Yang, He, Sun " God, "He, Yang, Fang, Sun " God and many more. Wen Pan Guan and Wu Pan Guan
Wen Pan Guan : He is in charge of the book of "life and death" and responsible for investigating the world of goods and evils, in order to determine the length of each person's life.
