The real "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea"

In our country, almost everyone is familiar with the story of "Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing his magical powers". Are these Eight Immortals mythical figures fabricated out of thin air, or are they imitations of some figures in history? It should be said that all gods are artificial. The so-called "Eight Immortals" is no exception. Most of them are based on historical figures, but there are also different versions.

As we all know, there is a saying in the folklore of the Eight Immortals: Guo Fengchun looks serious: "Gensheng, this is not your salary, but your profit. The amount is the money I earned in Xuanzhou this time. Besides, I have decided that no matter what business I do in the future, I will give you all the ingredients of the money I earn, and we will do business together! " , Zhang,,, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu. Some studies believe that there was the word "Eight Immortals" in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, which originally referred to a group of immortals fantasized by immortals since the Han and Jin Dynasties. Until the Tang Dynasty, "Eight Immortals" was just an empty noun. The specific figures of the Eight Immortals were not officially determined until the publication of Wu Yuantai's Travel Notes to the East and Tang Xianzu's Handan Ji in the middle of Ming Dynasty.

The two most popular types of Eight Immortals

Tie Guai Li said Tie Guai Li first, while Tie Guai Li was the head of the Eight Immortals in folklore. Some books say that his surname is Li, Ming Hong, and he was born in Sui and Xia Dynasties. 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. Once, 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 her apprentice by mistake. Suddenly, she saw a hungry ghost nearby and said with a brainwave, "That is, from the forehead of the hungry ghost, he became an ugly man with a hairy beard, black face and huge eyes, and a lame right foot." It seems that he is a Taoist immortal, and everything is attached.

Among the Eight Immortals in Zhong Liquan, 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.

Lv Dongbin served as county magistrate twice.

Zhang, Zhang, is an elderly fairy named "Zhang Guo". Because he is the oldest person, people call him "Zhang". There is a real Zhang Guo in history, with old and new books of the Tang Dynasty circulating. 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 own anecdote to the emperor. Xuanzong called him and Zhang Guo let him go again. He came to a Buba village and a land temple in the middle of nowhere and had to stay in the land temple. The land Lord already knows that Shan Ren is going to Penglai Fairy Island to seek a living Buddha. He begged Ren Shan with a bitter face: "I have pitied my old man for many years, but he has never had a chance to wait for heaven. Please ask the living Buddha? " Ren quickly promised to come down. Playing dead again, it took a long time to wake up, and the messenger dared not move forward.

Xuanzong heard about it and sent Xu Jiao to invite him. Zhang Guo has to go to Beijing. It is said that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty became suspicious of his rumors, so Li Wei became the guest of honor in Hubei Province that night. During the dinner, Edongchang asked Li Jue to pick a vacant magistrate in Shandong to take office. Li Jue put down his glass and said, "My brother and I got married in Jin Lan, and now we can serve my uncle and aunt in the house for my brother. My wish is enough, and my husband kisses me bald. " This made Mrs. E smile, but E Dongchang narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and said, "Since you don't want to go out to be an official, here you are." He once asked Xing Hepu, who was good at calculating the good and evil of dying young, to tell Zhang's fortune, but Xing knew nothing about Zhang's Jiazi. A Taoist teacher, the night light, was 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.

Among the Eight Immortals in Lv Dongbin, the most popular story is Lv Dongbin. 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 are included in The Complete Poems of Tang Dynasty and The Summary of Ci. 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), with Tang Xiantong in the middle. He used to be a landscape painting of a village with mountains and water. As shown in the above picture, the mountains are steep and the houses are strewn at random in Shui Rou. Zhou kept admiring while watching. Suddenly, he pointed to the house at the end of the village and said in a rather regretful tone, "Cui Di, this house is quite out of harmony with other houses. If you draw in a unified style, this painting will be more perfect! " Cui Jiazhong nodded and said, "Brother Zhou is absolutely right. However, this is a realistic painting, completely according to the original appearance. " On Monday, I suddenly frowned and paused. He asked Cui Jiazhong for details. Two county magistrates.

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 started as a young man, and after more than 20 years of imperial examination, he gave up and traveled around the world. This Taoist priest is none other than Judy's nephew. After the overthrown Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yun's umbrella No.5 jumped on Zhu Yuanmou, Zhu Yun succeeded to the throne. On this day, Zhu Yun went to visit at noon, and Wen Li was with him. At that time, Li Wenzhi was a close friend of an alias Taoist priest, so he took a Zhu Jun shirt to blow and stir the tomb of Lu Lai. Zhu Jun said he was afraid of an accident. Zhu Yun was seriously injured and worried: "What disaster can I have?" Xu Ling, the Taoist priest, said with a smile, "Your Majesty didn't know that this emperor would have disasters, and it was a man-made disaster!" After being enlightened by Zhong Liquan. He is one of the most humane Eight Immortals. He is both clever and interesting. He is good at eliminating violence and evil for the people, and he is also good at drinking and lusting. There is a saying in the world that "Lv Dongbin weaves baizhang cloth in 300 days, and a good weaver is busy enough, let alone spinning." Miss Fu, a good girl and a rich man, has never said anything since she was a child. She has even seen spinning and weaving. Tell her to live on bread and water, she can get through it and endure it. But what about weaving and spinning? Miss fu is a little embarrassed. But no matter how difficult it is, she does it like glass, and she does it happily. There are many and miscellaneous legends about Bai Mudan, but it can also be seen that he was originally a Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty and was later deified as a fairy.

Lan Caihe used to be a tramp.

He Xiangu is the only woman in the world, and there are always different opinions about her life experience. The girl in blue said, "Brother Chai Lang, you are broad-minded. You should be smart when the iron bell serves food." She comes from the Tang Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, He Erniang was a peasant woman who made shoes in Guang Yi Ji, which was quoted from Tai Ping Guang Ji. Later, because the family was too stuffy, I swam in Luofu Mountain, lived in a mountain temple, and often collected mountain fruits for monks in many temples to eat. 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 He Xiangu was born in Zengcheng County, Guangdong Province in the Tang Dynasty. He was born with six beams of light on his head, and he was born 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 went to Beijing and left halfway. She is from the Song Dynasty. The notes of some scholars in the Song Dynasty often refer to her as a native of Yongzhou (Lingling) in the Northern Song Dynasty. Some people say that when she was young, she met strangers and became famous for eating peaches. It is said that she was grazing in the country, and when she met a stranger, she gave dates and ate them and became immortal. The notes of the Song Dynasty also recorded some deeds of He Xiangu in divination, and predicted fortunes. At that time, scholars and curious people went to other places for divination, which showed that she was just a folk witch who was good at divination.

Among the Eight Immortals in Lancai River, there is a cynical and crazy beggar. The famous Liu Dakui thought: There are so many famous Korean doctors, there is nothing to do. I went, didn't I ask for it? You may even lose your head! His name is Lan Caihe. His deeds are recorded in Shen Fen's Biography of Immortals in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Tai Ping Guang Ji in the Early Song Dynasty and Lu You's Book of Southern Tang Dynasty. He was from the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties. He is eccentric and likes drinking and singing. He usually wears a tattered blue shirt, boots on one foot and bare feet on the other. What's more unnatural is that he wears cotton-padded clothes in summer, but he lies in the snow and is steaming in winter (continuing fairy tales).

Usually, he holds a big clapper more than three feet, while playing bamboo boards, while begging along the street. He sings a lot of songs, most of which are touching the scene, which makes the world feel unfathomable and fairy-like. A cloud said, "Lan Cai He, what can the world look like? Beauty is like a spring tree, and time flies. The ancients have gone and never returned, but now more and more people come. Ride a couple to Bibo, and watch Sang Tian give birth to Bai Bo at dusk. Changjing Minghui is in the air, and the gold and silver palace is high. " He's crazy. When someone gives him money, he will probably donate it to the poor. Lan Caihe has no fixed place to live, and is at home everywhere. The prototype of this immortal is a tramp. Just because of his madness and kindness to the poor, he is loved and deified as an immortal.

Han Xiangzi is the nephew of Han Yu, a famous writer in Tang Dynasty.

It is widely rumored in Han Xiangzi that Han Xiangzi is the nephew of Han Yu, a famous writer in the Tang Dynasty. Prime Minister's genealogy table, Youyang Miscellaneous Secrets, Taiping Guangji, Xi 'an Shi Zhuan are all related, or the children are applauding his introduction. A nephew named Han Yu. Historically, Han Yu did have a grandnephew named Han Xiang, who used to be an official in Cheng Dali. Han Yu once wrote a poem, "Moving to the left to show the grandnephew and grandson": "A letter plays in the sky, and the road is eight thousand. If you want to eliminate disasters for the holy dynasty, you are willing to decline and cherish the old! Where is the home of Yunheng Qinling? Snow White brought Blue Horse back. I know you should be interested in collecting my bones in the river from far away. " The legend about his immortality was first seen in Youyang Miscellanies in the Tang Dynasty. It is said in the book that Han Yu has a nephew who is young and frivolous and doesn't like reading. Han had to report to Wu Zetian. In order to catch the thief, the emperor promised to summon Su Wuming. Looking at Su Wuming, who is not outstanding in appearance, Wu Zetian asked: "Can you really catch the thief?" The more you blame him, you can change the color of peony flowers according to your uncle's request within seven days. Every flower has a poem "Where is home in Yunheng Qinling ...", which surprised Han Yu. It is said that Han slept well that night. Xiangzi is Han Yu's nephew, and his deeds are similar to Youyang Miscellanies. Han Xiangzi's character prototype is Han Yu's nephew, immortal for five generations.

The teenagers in the ninth row of Cao Guo put on that beautiful dress and rode on horseback. The horses ran like lightning, and they soon came to the palace on the glass mountain. He saluted the princess gracefully and put a silver leaf on her knee. He turned around, walked out of the palace and found his horse. He rode down from the other side of the mountain and saw an old lady on the road. He threw a few coins at her and went on his way. When Wei arrived in Liaodong, he came over to Li Hei and said, "Li Shifu, this old man is Wei, the magistrate of Changle. He has just retired and returned to his hometown. He wrote to Li Shifu before. I don't know why Li Shifu kept him? " When he got to the house, the boy dismounted and went in. The horse disappeared into the forest. The last Cao Guojiu of the Eight Immortals appeared at the latest, and there were few fairy tales. His life experience and stories are similar, and they are all related to Cao Empress.

There is a legend in the history of Song Dynasty, Cao Shu, the word Gong Bo, the grandson of Cao Bin, and the brother of Cao Empress. He is gentle and easy-going, familiar with temperament and loves to write poems. He was crowned King of Jiyang County, and he lived a smooth life at the age of 72. As Xianjing said, Cao Guojiu was pure and kind, and didn't like wealth, but his brother was arrogant and illegal. Once upon a time, there was a member named Zhao who gave birth to a son named Zhao Sheng. He is smart and knowledgeable, and won the love of members and the praise of relatives and friends. Cao Guojiu was deeply ashamed of his evil deeds, so he went into the mountains to practice. When he met Zhong Liquan and Lv Dongbin and accepted him as his disciple, Cao Guojiu soon became a fairy road. Cao Guojiu described in The Journey to the West is similar to the above.

The true folk story of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea"

In addition to the above, there are some folk legends about the Eight Immortals, including the tragic story of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea".

During the Stegosaurus period in the Northern Song Dynasty, Shamen Island (now Temple Island) was the place where the imperial court imprisoned prisoners. From the third year of Stegosaurus, all illegal soldiers were sent to Salmon Island. This so-called "heterogeneous" means that there are suspicious people in the store. "Strange wind" is a suspicious sign outside the store, and "peculiar smell" is the chef's tampering with food. If there is abnormal wind, take effective preventive measures immediately. If there is an odor, declare that everyone "overslept (ate)", close the door at night, and then eat some dry food to satisfy their hunger. Year after year, there are more and more prisoners on the island. However, the imperial court only distributes food rations to 300 people in the whole island every year, and the food is becoming more and more insufficient.

Later, Li Qing, the guard leader of Shaman Island, thought of a vicious method: when the number of prisoners exceeded 300, some of them were bound by their hands and feet and drowned in the sea, so that the number of prisoners on the island was always within 300. In this way, more than 700 people were killed in two years. In order to survive, prisoners often jump into the sea to escape, but most of them are swallowed up by the rough waves. On one occasion, after getting the news that they were going to be killed, more than 50 prisoners took advantage of the fine weather and the bright moon to avoid the guards, jumped into the sea with gourds and wood and swam towards Penglai Mountain.

About 30 miles from Shamen Island to Penglai, most of the prisoners were exhausted and drowned in the water, leaving only eight swimmers with strong martial arts and strong physique. They swam downstream to the shore and hid in the lion cave at the foot of Ya Dan Mountain in the north of Penglai. The next day, fishermen found them. They were all very surprised when they heard that eight people had crossed the ocean from Salmon Island to come here. They called it "God", and the story spread among the people, known as "Eight Immortals", evolved into the story of "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" today.

Selected from Life in Science

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