Pa-cha

Ba-zha (Chinese: 八蜡; pinyin: Bālù or Bāzhà), sometimes romanized as Pa-cha or translated as the Eight Sacrifices, refers to an ancient Chinese agricultural rite and, in later Chinese folk religion, a deity associated with protection against agricultural pests. The original Ba-zha ritual consisted of eight sacrifices performed at the end of the harvest year. In later folklore, Ba Zha was regarded as a guardian figure who protected farmers from locusts and other harmful insects.

Historical ritual

The Ba-zha (八蜡) refers to the eight sacrifices performed during the ancient Chinese Zha sacrifice (蜡祭), an agricultural ceremony held at the end of the year. It was held in the 12th lunar month to give thanks for agricultural production and pray for protection from disasters affecting crops.

The origins of Ba-zha are connected with the ancient Chinese Zha sacrifice (蜡祭), which dates back to the Pre-Qin period. In early Chinese tradition, the Zha sacrifice and the La sacrifice (腊祭) were two different year-end rituals. The Zha sacrifice was held to honor agricultural deities, natural spirits, and beings associated with farming, while the La sacrifice was mainly associated with ancestors and the Five Sacrifices (五祀). In later periods, the two rituals became increasingly confused and gradually merged into traditions associated with the La Festival (腊八节).

Some later texts attributed the origin of the Zha sacrifice to ancient rulers, and Emperor Yao was among the earliest figures associated with the Zha sacrifices. The ritual continued to be practiced during later periods, including the Han and Tang dynasties. By the Ming and Qing periods, worship related to insect control became increasingly associated with local shrines dedicated to insect deities. The Sanhuang Benji (三皇本纪), an 8th-century supplement to the Records of the Grand Historian, attributed the creation of the Zha sacrifice to Shennong, stating: "[Shennong] first taught farming... and thus created the Zha sacrifice."

The Book of Rites (Liji) records the Great Zha ceremony (大蜡) in the chapter "Jiao Te Sheng" (郊特牲; "The Single Victim at the Border Sacrifice"). It includes a prayer: "May the earth return to its place; may water flow back into its channels; may insects not swarm; may weeds return to the marshes" (土反其宅，水归其壑，昆虫毋作，草木归其泽).

The Liji also lists eight sacrifices connected with the Great Zha ceremony:

1. Shennong (先啬), the First Agriculturalist
2. Houji (司啬), the Director of Husbandry
3. Farmers (农)
4. Field boundaries (邮表畷)
5. Cats and tigers (猫虎)
6. Dikes and embankments (坊)
7. Canals and water channels (水庸)
8. Insects (昆虫)

Iconography

Ba-zha is depicted as a naked to the waist human with a beak-like nose. His body beneath the waist resembles a bell (some legends state he was born from a bell) with big crawled bird paws underneath.

Later folklore

In later Chinese folklore, Ba Zha (八蜡神) was regarded as a deity associated with protection against locusts and other agricultural pests. Some traditions connected this deity with the insect-related sacrifice of the Ba Zha ritual, although the historical relationship between the ritual and the later deity varies among sources.

In a Mongolian legend, the deity is known as Ba Zha Yeh, who lived in a remote valley inhabited by wolves, scorpions, locusts, and other harmful creatures. According to the story, these animals did not attack or disturb him despite their presence in the area.

During the Qing dynasty, temples dedicated to Ba Zha and locust-related deities existed in some regions. These temples were used by local officials and communities to pray for protection from locust plagues.

Ba Zha was also associated with General Liu Meng (刘猛将军), another deity worshipped for protection against locusts. Research on Qing dynasty local beliefs records that worship of Ba Zha and Liu Meng sometimes overlapped in regions affected by locust disasters.

In Zi Bu Yu (子不语), Yuan Mei recorded a belief that insects and fish were under the control of the Ba Zha God, while prayers could also be made at the shrine of General Liu Meng for protection from disasters.

Temples and traditions

As the Ba-zha ritual developed in local religious practice, temples and shrines associated with Ba Zha appeared in some regions of China. Since the eighth sacrifice of the Ba Zha tradition was related to insects (昆虫), later folk worship often connected Ba Zha with protection against locusts and other agricultural pests. Some temples known as Ba Zha Temples (八蜡庙) or Insect Ba Zha Temples (虫八蜡庙) became places where people prayed for protection from insect damage to crops.

The Imperial Gazetteer of Shengjing (钦定盛京通志) records that a Ba Zha Temple in Shengjing was commonly known among local people as an "Insect King Temple" (虫王庙).

The Gazetteer of Fengshan County (重修凤山县志) records that a Ba Zha shrine was built by county magistrate Song Yongqing after a locust plague during the 45th year of the Kangxi reign.

Ba Zha worship also influenced some local place names and folk traditions. In Hangzhou, the street name "Chongbazha Lane" (虫八蜡子巷) preserves the memory of a former Ba Zha temple site. In Tianjin, local communities developed folk performances such as the Xiaochehui, which were associated with late-Qing dynasty Insect Ba Zha temple festivals.

References

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