七爺八爺是臺灣民間信仰中最具特色的一對神明，常以神將、家將形式出現在各大廟會中，也常是地獄與司法體系神明的配祀神。本文以城隍廟為中心，就該信仰的由來與演變進行考察，研究發現其源於福建「八將」中一高一矮的黑白無常組合，可能由福州直接傳入臺灣，或由福州經閩南傳入，時間約在清代中末葉之際。傳入臺灣後，其神格逐漸提升，職能日益多元，形象也有更多人性化的表現，不僅不再是令人害怕厭惡的鬼，還是可以為地方掃除鬼魅、為信眾消災解厄，具有道德、童趣與親切感的神明。不過，即便七爺八爺已被視之為神，但仍無法獨立成為主神，神性較接近大眾爺，但神格在其之下。由此亦可對神明的官僚體系及鬼神之間的轉化提出再思考。

The Seven Lords and Eight Lords are the most distinctive pair of gods in Taiwanese folk beliefs. They often appear in major temple fairs in the form of divine generals and family generals. They are also often the companion gods of the gods of hell and the judicial system. This article focuses on the City God’s Temple to investigate the origin and evolution of this belief. The study found that it originated from the combination of black and white impermanent ghosts in Fujian's "Eight Generals", one tall and one short. It may have been directly introduced to Taiwan from Fuzhou, or from Fuzhou to Taiwan via southern Fujian around the middle and late Qing Dynasty. After being introduced to Taiwan, its godhead gradually improved, its functions became increasingly diversified, and its image became more humane. Not only was it no longer a fearful and disgusting ghost, it could also clean up ghosts in the local place, eliminate disasters for believers, and was moral, childlike, approachable god. However, even if the Seven Lord and Eight Lord are regarded as gods, they still cannot become the main gods independently. Their divinity is closer to the Lord of the Masses, but their godhead is below it. This can also lead to rethinking the bureaucracy of gods and the transformation between ghosts and gods.

七爺八爺;神將;家將團;城隍廟;民間信仰

Seven Lords and Eight Lords; Divine Generals; Family Generals Group; City God Temple; Folk Belief