Who is the Eight Immortals?

Hulu (Tie Guai Li)

Flower Basket (Lan Cai He)

Lotus (He Xiangu)

Sword (Lv Dongbin)

Flute (Han Xiangzi)

Yugu (Zhang)

Yuban (Cao Guojiu)

the Eight Immortals

The Eight Immortals spread among the people in China. The Taoist reform method has formed a number of immortals, namely, Zhong, Zhang, Cao Guojiu, Han Xiangzi, Lan Caihe and He Xiangu. The legend of the Eight Immortals originated very early, but there are many versions of characters. For example, the Eight Immortals in Huainan refer to the Eight Immortals who helped Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, write Huainan Zi. King Huainan is a good immortal, an elixir, and later generations call him an immortal. The theory of the Eight Immortals in Huainan may be related to this matter. During the Five Dynasties, Taoist painters painted in Shu, including Rong Chenggong, Li Er, Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Daoling, Yan Junping, Li Babai, Fan Changsheng and Mr. Today's so-called Eight Immortals were formed in the Yuan Dynasty, but their personalities are different. By the time Wu Yuantai wrote Travel Notes of the Eight Immortals in the East in the Ming Dynasty, the story of Tie Guai Li and other Eight Immortals crossing the sea had been circulated day by day, and the Eight Immortals characters had also stabilized in the circulation. The Eight Immortals have different origins and different times. Zhang Guo, a Taoist priest in the early Tang Dynasty, first appeared in Historical Records and was a real person. In the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty, fairy tales about Lv Dongbin were very popular, which contributed to the spread of Taoist inner alchemy. In the Song Dynasty, the "Golden Deer Single Knife" was widely circulated. Quanzhen religion rose in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. In order to respond to folk beliefs and legends to promote their teaching methods, Zhong Liquan and Lv Dongbin are regarded as the five great ancestors of the North. Folklore and drama are developed with Taoist immortals as the carrier, and the stories of the Eight Immortals are widely spread and rich in content. Lv Dongbin is the central figure in the formation of the Eight Immortals, and Taoism calls him Lv Zu. Taoist temples everywhere, especially Quanzhen Taoist temple, offer sacrifices in an endless stream.

The Eight Immortals are eight immortals in China Taoism and China mythology, representing men and women, the old and the young, the poor and the rich respectively. Because the Eight Immortals are all mortal, their personality is close to that of the people, and they are very important representatives of immortals in Taoism recently. Many places in China have the Eight Immortals Palace, and the Eight Immortals are also essential to welcome God. The utensils or treasures they hold are also called "eight treasures".

The origin of the Eight Immortals

The word "Eight Immortals" has always had different meanings in the history of China. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that Wu Yuantai's Journey to the East (commonly known as Journey to the East) was officially defined as Han Zhongli (or), Zhang, Han Xiangzi, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe and Uncle Cao.

The Eight Immortals of Taoism originated in the Tang and Song Dynasties, when there was a folk picture of the Eight Immortals. In Yuan Dynasty, Ma Zhiyuan's Yueyang Tower, Fan Zi 'an's Bamboo Boat and Gu Zi 'an's Willow in the South of the City all have traces of the Eight Immortals, but their members change frequently. In Ma Zhiyuan's "Three Drunk Yueyang Tower in Lv Dongbin", there is no He Xiangu, only Xu Shenweng. In Yue Bochuan's Lv Dongbin Du Tie Guai Li Yue, there is Zhang Shiro, but there is no He Xiangu. The Eight Immortals among the eunuchs on the Journey to the West in the Romance of Three Treasures in the Ming Dynasty replaced Zhang and He Xiangu with Feng Sangshou and Xuanxuzi.

Although Liu Hai (or Liu Haichan) is not among the Eight Immortals now, it is still among the Eight Immortals in many areas. Zhang in Biography of Liexian in Ming Dynasty was replaced. In some areas of Jiangxi, Liu Hai also replaced Han Zhongli with Han Zhongli, and Taiwan Province Province also replaced Lan Caihe with Liu Hai.

Japan also has a similar combination of gods called "Seven Blessed Gods", but most of them are Hindu/Buddhist gods. Due to the cultural influence of China and China, and the image of the seven gods of wealth on the treasure ship is similar to that of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, some scholars believe that the seven gods of wealth come from the Eight Immortals.

Tie Guai Li

Let's talk about Tie Guai Li first. Tie Guai Li is the first of the folklore of the Eight Immortals. Some books say that his surname is Li and his name is Hong, and he was born in Xia Dynasty. Lu Xun's A Brief History of Chinese Novels says that his surname is Li and his name is Xuan. Zhao Yi's Yu Cong Kao also said that his surname was Liu. It is said that he was a man between Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Dali, and he studied Taoism in Zhong Nanshan. As soon as Yuan Shen came out of his shell, he never imagined that his body would be eaten by a tiger, so he had to dedicate himself to a lame beggar. According to "Fairy Mirror of Past Dynasties", her handsome husband, who is good at Taoism, will lead to the derivation of Shen Yuan's magic and practice it in Dangshan Cave. On one occasion, at the request of Lao Tzu's master, she went to Huashan, thousands of miles away, and came back a few days later, only to find that her body was burned by a disciple by mistake. Suddenly she saw a hungry ghost nearby and said with a brainwave, ". That is, from a hungry forehead, he became an ugly man with a hairy beard, a black face and huge eyes, and a lame right foot. It seems that he is a Taoist immortal, and everything is attached.

Zhong Liquan

In the Eight Immortals, Zhong Liquan is second only to Tie Guai Li in fame. He has a high position among the Eight Immortals, especially because he is highly respected by Taoism. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jin Zhendao was regarded as the "ancestor of Zhengyang". The archetypes of his characters appeared in the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty. His deeds were recorded in the Chronicle of Xuanhe, Jane Yizhi and History of Song Dynasty. It was only later mistaken for the separation of Korea and China and attached to the Han Dynasty. Books such as "The Mirror of Immortals in Past Dynasties" and "A General Examination of Continued Documents" say that Zhong Liquan and Li Zhongfu are named Yunfangzi and Zhengyangzi. A native of Xianyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, his father Zhong was a general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and his brother Zhong was a corps commander, who later became an immortal. In the Tang Dynasty, there was indeed a man named Zhong Liquan. His three quatrains are recorded in all Tang poems, and it is said that "Xianyang people, when they meet an old friend, get a fairy trick, and when they meet a real person in Huayang, they go to Wang Xianren and spread to Kongtong Mountain. They were named Mr. Fang Yun, and then they went immortal. " The poems he left in the world are called Three Poems to Avoid Chang 'an Restaurant, including "Always bring a pot of wine when sitting and lying down, and don't teach your eyes to know the imperial city", "It's not easy to get the word, so I'm willing to follow it when I return", which is quite "fairy flavor" and should be a good man.

Zhang

Zhang is an old folk fairy named "Zhang Guo". Because he is the oldest person, people call him "Zhang". There is a real Zhang Guo in history, and the old and new books in the Tang Dynasty are all rumors. When Wu Zetian lived in seclusion in Zhongtiao Mountain, everyone said that he had the secret of immortality. He claims to be several hundred years old. Wu Zetian sent messengers to summon him, but Zhang pretended not to go. In the twenty-first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Wei Ji, the secretariat of Hengzhou, played his anecdotes to the emperor. Xuanzong called him, and Zhang Guo pretended to be dead. It took him a long time to wake up, so the messenger was afraid to go forward. Xuanzong heard about it and sent Xu Jiao to invite him. Zhang Guo has to go to Beijing. It is said that Tang Xuanzong doubted his rumors. He once asked Xing Hepu, who was good at calculating the good and evil of dying young, to tell Zhang's fortune. I don't know Zhang Jiazi, but a teacher is good at ghosts. Xuanzong asked him to see Zhang Guo, but he asked, "Where is Zhang Guo?" I didn't see it across the street. According to historical records, Zhang Guo was just an old liar with a guilty conscience. Otherwise, why not play dead a few times to avoid being drafted? At best, it is an illusion. Therefore, the fairy tales about him are all fabricated by Taoism for the purpose of propaganda, relying on folk rumors and exaggeration. "Tai Ping Guang Ji" also records that Zhang claimed to be Emperor Yao. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty asked the warlock "Ye Fashan" Zhang about his origin, Ye Fashan said, "If you dare not speak, you will die." Later, he said, "Zhang Guo is a white bat essence in the beginning of chaos." He fell to the ground dead. After Xuanzong intervened, Zhang Guo saved him.

Lv Dongbin

Lv Dongbin is the most popular story in the Eight Immortals. In Taoism, Quanzhen Taoism regards him as "the ancestor of Chunyang", also known as "Lv Zu". Traditionally, most researchers believe that Lu was born in the late Tang Dynasty. His poems were included in the Summary of Jin Tang's Poems and Songs. In the Song Dynasty, Luo Dajing's A Record of He Lin Yu, Hong Mai's Jian Yizhi and Ji Xian Zhuan all recorded it. It is said that he was from Jingzhao (now Shaanxi An), and Tang Xiantong was in the Central Plains. He served as a county magistrate twice. It is said that he is from Jiujiang, originally an imperial clan of the Tang Dynasty, and his surname is Li. In order to avoid the disaster of the marquis of Wu, he changed his surname to Lu. He made his debut as Shao Guang, who spent more than 20 years in the imperial examination, so he traveled around the world and was enlightened by Zhong Liquan. He is one of the most humane Eight Immortals. He is handsome and funny, and he is good at eliminating violence for the people. He is also good at drinking and lusting. There is a legend of "Three Performances by Lu" in the world. There are numerous legends about him, but we can also see that he was originally a scholar who longed for Taoism in the Tang Dynasty, and was later deified into a fairy.

he xian gu

He Xiangu is the only female of the Eight Immortals, and there are different opinions about her life experience. She comes from the Tang Dynasty. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, Guang Yi was quoted as "He Erniang" in Taiping Guangji. She is a peasant woman who knits shoes. Later, because her home was too stuffy, she swam in Luofu Mountain, lived in a mountain temple, and often collected wild fruits for monks to eat in. Once, a monk from Zhou Xun Mountain Temple, 400 miles away, came to Luofushan Temple and said that one day a fairy went there to pick bayberries. It was verified that that day was the day when Ernian picked the fruit. Besides, everyone doesn't know where Ernian picked so many wild fruits, so she thinks Ernian is a fairy who picks fruits in Zhou Xun Mountain Temple. From then on, Ernian became famous and no longer lived in a mountain temple. "Continued Examination" said that when Tang was born, He Xiangu was from Zengcheng, Guangdong. He was born with six lights on his head and a "fairy family". When he was thirteen, he met a Taoist in the mountains and ate a peach. From then on, he was neither hungry nor thirsty, and he was as light as a fly, and he could foresee the fortunes of life. Later, she was called to Beijing and left halfway. She is from the Song Dynasty. Some scholars in the Song Dynasty called her a native of Yongzhou (Lingling) in the Northern Song Dynasty.