Heibai Wuchang

The Heibai Wuchang, or Hak Bak Mo Seong, literally "Black and White Impermanence", are two Deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. As their names suggest, they are dressed in black and white respectively. They are subordinates of Yanluo Wang, the Supreme Judge of the Underworld in Chinese mythology, alongside the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Hell Guards. They are worshiped as fortune deities and are also worshiped in Cheng Huang Temples in some countries. In some instances, the Heibai Wuchang are represented as a single being – instead of two separate beings – known as the Wuchang Gui (also romanised Wu-ch'ang Kuei), literally "Ghost of Impermanence". Depending on the person it encounters, the Wuchang Gui can appear as either a fortune deity who rewards the person for doing good deeds or a malevolent deity who punishes the person for committing evil. In folklore, the White Guard's name is Xie Bi'an (), which can be interpreted as "Those who make amends ("Xie") will always be at peace ("Bi'an")". The Black Guard's name is Fan Wujiu (), which conversely means that "Those who commit crimes ("Fan") will have no salvation ("Wujiu")". They are sometimes referred to as "Generals Fan and Xie" (). In Fujian Province and among overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, they are known as "First and Second Masters" () or "First and Second Uncles" (; Tua Di Ah Pek / Tua Li Ya Pek in Hokkien). In Taiwan, they are called "Seventh and Eighth Masters" (). In Sichuan Province, they are referred to as the "Two Masters Wu" (). The White Guard is commonly portrayed as a fair complexioned man dressed in a white robe and wearing a tall hat bearing the Chinese words "Become Rich Upon Encountering Me" (一見發財 / 一見生財), "Become Lucky Upon Encountering Me" (一見大吉), or "You Have Come Too" (你也來了). He holds a hand fan in one hand and a fish-shaped shackle or wooden sign in the other hand. He is usually depicted as the taller of the duo.