Wu Hua Ba Men

Wu Hua Ba Men

Describes a wide variety of things, each with a dazzling array of styles.

Military Origins: The Wisdom of Military Formations

"Wu Hua Ba Men" originally originated from ancient military terminology and is closely related to military formations.

"Wu Hua Zhen": The Wu Yue naval formation in autumn corresponds to the Five Elements (gold, wood, water, fire, and earth), symbolizing five basic formation variations.

The Five Elements interact with each other, making the formation flexible and adaptable to different battlefield situations.

"Ba Men Zhen": Derived from the Eight Trigrams in the Qi Men Dun Jia (rest, life, injury, death, scene, death, surprise, and opening), it implies a complex tactical layout.

The Eight Gates formation can generate sixty-four variations, leaving the enemy in a state of confusion and uncertainty.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang created the "Eight Formations Diagram," which arranged the formation according to the eight gates. This evolved from the theory of the Eight Trigrams in the Book of Changes and became the prototype of the "Eight Gates Formation."

On ancient battlefields, the combination of the "Wu Hua Zhen" and the "Eight Gate Formation," with their infinite variations, became the key to victory.

Documentary Records: Evolution from Military Strategy to the Marketplace

Military Terminology

The idiom was first seen in "Yu Chu Xin Zhi: Sun Jiagan's Southern Travels," written by Zhang Chao in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

The original text describes the peaks west of Fulong Mountain: "West of Fulong, peaks stand in disorder, spread out in all directions, like a vast expanse of flat sand, with eight gates and five flowers."

Here, "eight gates and Wu Hua" still retains the imagery of military formations.

Qian Yong's "Lüyuan Conghua" from the Qing Dynasty records that demons assembled hundreds of men and formed the "Wu Hua Zhen" and "Eight Gate Formation," practicing like drills on the battlefield, further confirming their military origins.

2. Marketplace Industry Stage

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the development of urban economies led to the influx of military vocabulary into the marketplace, where it evolved into a synonym for lower-level industries.

"Wu Hua" refers to the five major occupations in ancient markets, many of which were closely related to urban life:

Golden Chrysanthemum: Tea vendors in teahouses, often decorated with chrysanthemum patterns.

Kapok: Itinerant doctors often used kapok flowers as a symbol of their herbal medicine practices.

Daffodil: Singers in restaurants or brothels, named after their waterside habitats.

Pyracantha: Street jugglers, often using torches and other tools in their performances.

Tuniu: Porters or porters, associated with land labor.

"Eight Gates": A classification of urban professions during the Ming and Qing dynastie

referring to the eight major underworld trades: Jin (fortune-telling), Pi (medicine vendors), Cai (magic tricks), Gua (acrobatics), Ping (storytelling), Tuan (begging), Tiao (swindling), and Liu (singing).

3. Literary Quotation Stage

In the 42nd chapter of Wu Jingzi's The Scholars from the Qing Dynasty, it is mentioned: "That little actor... performed a variety of things."

Here, the idiom has moved away from its military context and has come to describe a variety of performance styles.

Semantic Evolution: From Pejorative to Neutral

Initial Pejorative: During the Ming and Qing dynasties, this idiom was first used in the marketplace, implying disdain for lower-class professions and carrying a derogatory connotation.

Modern Neutral: In contemporary usage, "various things" no longer carries a pejorative connotation, but instead emphasizes diversity.

It is often used to describe product variety (e.g., "e-commerce platform products are varied") and technological advancements (e.g., "smart devices have a variety of functions"), reflecting the adaptability of language to social development.

Core Meaning

This idiom embodies the ancient wisdom of "win through change," reminding people that things are multifaceted and creative, and encouraging an open-minded approach to the world.