Nightfall has not yet arrived; the glow of the setting sun has just enveloped Dadaocheng‚ and the faintly humid air of early summer is humming. In the distance bursts of traditional Beiguan music can still be heard; several meter-long strings of red thumb-sized firecrackers are dragged along the road to where they will be set off. The streets and lanes are overflowing with the waiting crowd; holding incense sticks‚ they wait quietly in front of the incense altar‚ craning their necks in anticipation of the arrival of the City God on his night patrol. People turn out en masse for the City God sacrifice in this scene from Japanese colonial-era Taipei. The troupe pictured is the front-most column.
(Image Source and Archiving Institute: Anthropological Collection Information System ‚ National Taiwan University ，http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/item/00/4d/af/97.html)
‘Night patrol’ refers to the ‘night visit’ made by Daoist gods‚ a kind of routine activity conducted at night involving a procession. After nightfall‚ the City God dispatches the subordinate to make rounds of inspection around the territory and investigate whether there are evil spirits concealed there‚ and if so‚ to expel them and pacify the local area. Although the troupe is not as big as that during the daytime procession‚ the night patrol has a distinct kind of solemn atmosphere. Unlike the common Mazu processions‚ the deities that carry out the ‘night visit’ are much like the inspection units of the human world‚ for example‚ the City God‚ the King of the Green Hill (also called King Lingan)‚ the Dazhongye (ghost hordes)‚ and other gods of justice. Although the date and style of the City God’s night patrol both differ by locality‚ one thing remains the same: the night patrol is always held on the night before the birthday of the local City God‚ and there is another procession held on the god’s birthday. Taking the Xiahai City God Temple in Dadaocheng‚ Taipei‚ as an example‚ the City God’s birthday falls on the 13th day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. On this day‚ in the afternoon there is a procession‚ and on the nights of the 11th and 12th there are two processions‚ along northern and southern routes respectively – although in recent years there have been two simultaneous processions (along northern and southern routes) on the night of the 11th day. During the night patrol‚ only the wooden tablets and each formation and Jiajiang [1]‚ act as representatives. The original City God statue sits inside the temple in command‚ and does not go with the troupe on the patrol. At the beginning‚ the night patrol procession is led by the Huye (Tiger Guardian Spirit)‚ and pageboy holding bottle gourds‚ or Baomazhai (the messenger). Behind them are the Civil Judge and Military Judge‚ members of the Court of the Four Seasons [2]‚ the Seventh Lord (also called General Xie)‚ the Eighth Lord (also called General Fan)‚ Guanjiangshou [3]‚ the infernal Jiajiang‚ the Beiguan Orchestra‚ and right at the very end‚ the luzhu [4] and his assistants’ sedan chairs. These subordinates and spirit-‘officials‚’ without exception‚ have ferocious-looking faces‚ and all carry a string of round salty pastries (xianguang bing [5]) to pass out to believers‚ who eat them to pray for peace and security. The Seventh Lord carries a plaque and a spiked rod (dinggun) or chains in his hands‚ as well as an umbrella on his back. The Eighth Lord carries a bundle wrapped in cloth on his back‚ and holds shackles and a plaque on which is written ‘reward good and punish evil’ in his hands‚ symbolizing the subduing and exorcism of ghosts‚ the elimination of evil‚ and the speedy conveyance of evil spirits before the City God for interrogation. This is different from the daytime procession‚ in which he holds a fan and a handkerchief.
During the ‘night patrol‚ the Seventh Lord carries an umbrella on his back‚ wears straw sandals‚ and holds a carved wooden tablet (huo qian) or chains.
The Eighth Lord also wears straw sandals and carries a special bagel-like salty pastry (xianguang bing)‚ and holds a plaque on which is written ‘reward good and punish evil’.
In this kind of sacrificial rite‚ groups of Jiajiang perform special kinds of formation footwork; sometimes they even form pairs and arrange themselves into very complex battle formations. Swinging the supernatural weapons they hold in their hands to intimidate demons‚ they are extremely imposing. Only after 1:00 AM is the night patrol sequence completed‚ and the Jiajiang return to the temple to rest and wait for the following day when they will go out together with the City God (this time to explore the good and evil of the human world).
Endnotes:
[1] Jiajiang: A kind of Taiwanese folk formation‚ a military formation within a military-civil formation. Jiajiang are retinues of god and responsible for capturing all kinds of evil spirits. The composition of the Jiajiang varies by locality‚ but usually includes the Court of the Four Seasons‚ the Seventh Lord and the Eighth Lord.
[2] The Court of the Four Seasons (Siji Shentang): the four officers of spring‚ summer‚ autumn and winter. When the City God is holding a trial in the court‚ they sit beside him and assist with interrogation through torture. They are equipped with instruments of torture such as wooden barrels‚ fire bowls‚ golden melon hammers‚ and pythons.
[3] Guanjiangshou: A kind of Taiwanese folk formation‚ originally defenders of Ksitigarbha. Because it is ‘the head of all the officials’‚ it is referred to as Senior Official.
[4] Luzhu: Annual host of god’s affairs. Early immigrants carried incense ash in a small bag as a representation of idol. Instead of a real statue‚ the incense burner‚ where incense ash came from‚ became the object for worship. In Chinese‚ Luzhu means manager of the Incense Burner.
[5] Xianguang bing: a kind of salty bagel‚ also known as pingan bing‚ its outer appearance resembles a donut‚ with a hole in the middle that enables them to be strung together. They are specially prepared to be eaten during the night patrol.
Further Reading:
Taipei Xia-Hai City God temple http://www.tpecitygod.org/
Source：http://digitalarchives.tw/Exhibition/3403/1.html | 
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