in Chinese Taoist mythology, the most popular group of heroes. It included Lü Tung-bin, Li Tie-guai, Zhongli Quan, Zhang Guo-lao, Cao Guo-ju, Han Xiang-tzu, Lan Tsai-he and He Hsien-gu. The idea of V. b. developed in the first centuries AD. e., but as a canonized group of V. b. established themselves, probably, no earlier than the 11th-12th centuries. Consolidation of the composition of V. b. it went gradually; for example, instead of He Xian-gu, this group often included Xu-shenwen, a real character of the 12th century. Initially, the main character was apparently Li Tie-guai, later - Lu Dong-bin. Tales about V. b. were developed in Yuan drama (13-14 centuries), plays of the Ming period (14-17 centuries) and in the later, so-called. local drama.
In Taoist literature, the first of V. b. Lan Tsai-he is mentioned. In “Continuation of the Lives of the Immortals” by Shen Fen (10th century), Lan is described as a kind of holy fool. He wears a torn blue dress (Lan means “blue”) with a belt more than three inches wide with six ebony plaques, a boot on one foot, the other barefoot. In his hands were bamboo planks (a type of castanets). In the summer he insulates his robe with cotton wool, in the winter he rolls around in the snow. He wanders through the city bazaars, singing songs of which he knows many, and begging for food. Lan strung the money that people gave him onto a long cord and dragged it behind him. At times he lost coins, distributed them to poor people he met, or drank them away in wine shops. One day, when he was singing and dancing near Lake Haoliang and drinking wine in a wine shop there, a crane appeared in the clouds and the sounds of a reed pipe and flute were heard. At the same moment, the Doe climbed onto the cloud and, throwing down his boot, dress, belt and castanets, disappeared. In some medieval texts, Lan is identified with the dignitary Chen Tao, who allegedly became immortal, and with the hermit Yu. Xu Jian, but in the Yuan drama "Han Zhongli Leads Lan Tsai-he From the World" - Lan Tsai-he - stage name actor Xu Jian. It is believed that his name comes from a similar-sounding refrain in some songs of the 10th-13th centuries. Images of Lan also appeared in the 10th-13th centuries. Subsequently, when compiling a cycle of stories about V. b. stories appeared about Lan's meeting with other characters in the group. At the same time, he loses his original attributes - the paiban castanets and the flute, thanks to which he early period was revered, apparently, as the patron saint of musicians: castanets go to Cao Guo-jiu, the flute goes to Han Xiang-tzu, and Lan himself is depicted with a basket (Lan also means basket); its contents - chrysanthemums, bamboo branches - were associated with immortality, and Lan began to be revered as the patron saint of gardening. In folklore, the ever-young Doe turns into a fairy of flowers, although he often retains a male appearance.
Legendary skin Lü Dong-bin had already developed by the middle. 11th century, his first detailed description contained in “Notes from the Study of the Unreasonable” by Zheng Jing-bi (late 11th century). A temple was built in his honor in Yuezhou (modern Hunan Province); he was officially canonized in 1111. According to legend, Lü Yan (his middle name Dong-bin, i.e. “guest from the cave”) was born on the 14th of the 4th moon 798. At the moment of conception, he descended from heaven to his mother’s bed for a moment a white crane. From birth, Lü had the neck of a crane, the back of a monkey, the body of a tiger, the face of a dragon, the eyes of a phoenix, thick eyebrows, and a black mole under his left eyebrow. Lü could memorize 10 thousand characters a day. When he served in the government in the Tehua region (modern Jiangxi province), he met Zhongli Quan in the Lushan mountains, who taught him magic, fencing and the art of making himself invisible. The teacher called him Chunyanzi - “the son of pure power - yang (bright beginning).” According to another version, fifty-year-old Lü was forced to flee with his family to the Lushan Mountains, where Zhongli Quan converted him to Taoism. Lü, who promised the teacher to help people comprehend the Tao (“the way”), came to Yueyang under the guise of an oil merchant and decided to help those who would not demand to be hanged with a hike. This turned out to be one old woman. Lü threw a few grains of rice into a well near her house, and the water in it turned into wine; by selling the wine, the old woman became rich. According to the most popular version of the legend, the young scientist Lu Dong-bin met a Taoist at an inn, who told the hostess to cook millet porridge and, while waiting for the ordered food, started a conversation with Lu about the futility of worldly desires. Lü disagrees. He falls asleep and sees in a dream his future life, full of ups and disappointments, terrible scenes and misfortunes. When he is threatened with death, he wakes up and sees himself in the same yard, the housewife is cooking porridge, and the Taoist is waiting for food. Lu, who has regained his sight, becomes a Taoist hermit. This legend uses a plot that developed back in the Tang era and was known in the 8th century. based on Shen Ji-ji's novella “Notes about what happened at the head,” where the Taoist bears the surname Lü. Subsequently, this plot in relation to Lü Tung-bin was developed by Chinese playwrights: Ma Chih-yuan (13th century). Su Han-ying (16th century) and others. The late anonymous play “The Dream of Dong-bin” was usually performed in temples on the birthday of one of the supreme Taoist deities Dun-wan-guna. There are many stories about the appearance of Lyu among people, which is usually learned from the poems he left, of which quite a few were attributed to Lyu. IN folk beliefs Lü is a holy ascetic who experienced suffering in worldly life and decided to serve people as a caster of demons persecuting the helpless people. On popular prints he is usually depicted with a sword cutting evil spirits and a fly chaser - an attribute of a carefree immortal, next to him is his student Liu (“willow”), from whose pointed head a willow branch grows (according to legend, this is the spirit of the old willow - the werewolf whom Lu converted to his faith). Sometimes Lü is depicted with a boy in his arms - the desire to have numerous sons, in this capacity of the saint-child-giver Lü was honored by Chinese scientists. Liu was credited with the ability to show the path to healing or salvation. The legends about Liu have a noticeable Buddhist influence, particularly in the story of the miraculous dream. There are Buddhist interpretations of his sword art as “cutting off” all passions and earthly aspirations. In late Taoism, Lü began to be revered as the patriarch of some Taoist sects.
Zhongli Quan (according to another version, Han Zhongli, i.e. Han Zhongli, the second name of Yun-fang is “cloud house”) allegedly came from near Xianyang in Shaanxi province. Legends about Zhongli apparently developed in the South century, although it is said that he himself attributed his birth to the Han era (in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD). According to the first mentions of him (in “Xuan-he shu pu” - “List of calligraphic inscriptions of the Xuan-he years”), he is a brilliant calligrapher of the Tang era, he has tall, curly beard (according to other sources, it fell below the navel), thick hair at the temples, bare head with two tufts of hair, tattooed body, bare feet. According to later legends, Zhongli was sent by the Han emperor at the head of an army against the Tibetan tribes. When his warriors were about to win, an immortal flying over the battlefield (according to some versions, Li Tie-guai) decided to set him on the path (dao) and told the enemy how to defeat Zhongli. Zhongli's army was defeated, and he himself fled to the desert lands. In desperation, he turned for advice to a monk he met, and he took him to the Lord of the East, the patron saint of all male immortals, who advised Zhongli to give up thoughts about a career and devote all his strength to comprehending the Tao. Zhongli took up alchemy and learned to turn copper and tin into gold and silver, which he distributed to the poor in times of famine. One day it split in front of him stone wall, and he saw a jade box - it contained instructions on how to become immortal. He listened to them, and a crane descended to him, and Zhongli sat on it and flew away to the land of the immortals. Zhongli is usually depicted with a fan that can revive the dead. Zhongli was canonized during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, in the 13th and 14th centuries, due to his veneration as one of the patriarchs of some popular Taoist sects.
Zhang Guo-lao (lao, “venerable”), one of the V. b., apparently is a hero deified by the Taoists, who lived in the Tang era under Emperor Xuanzong (8th century). His biography is available in official stories Tang Dynasty. The earliest record about him is from Zheng Chu-hui (9th century), where he is described as a Taoist magician. Zhang rode a white donkey that could run 10 thousand li a day. Stopping to rest, Zhang folded it like paper. When he had to go again, he splashed water on the donkey and it came to life. According to the earliest of the legends associated with Zhang's life at the court of Xuanzong, Zhang in the same way revived the magician She Fa-shan, who revealed to the emperor the secret that Zhang was a spirit - a werewolf of the white bat, which appeared during the creation of the world from chaos (according to other legends, Zhang was allegedly born under a mythical ancestor Fu-si or under the legendary Emperor Yao), and, having told this, he immediately gave up the ghost. Zhang was credited with the ability to predict the future and report events of the distant past. Zhang Guo-lao is usually depicted as an old Taoist with a bamboo rattle in his hands, often sitting on a donkey facing the tail. Luxury prints with his images (Zhang bringing his son) were often hung in the newlyweds' room. Apparently, there was a contamination here between his images of Zhang and Zhang-hsien bringing sons. Among the Miao people (Western Hunan), Zhang Guo-lao turned into a mythical hero who struck 11 of the 12 suns and moons that were shining simultaneously with iron arrows from an iron bow, and also tried to cut down a tree growing on the moon that was obscuring its light. He fell asleep under a tree and found himself buried forever in its trunk. In these myths, Zhang seemed to simultaneously replace two heroes of Chinese mythology: the arrow Yi and Wu Gan.
Li Te-guai (Li “iron stick”, sometimes Te-guai Li) is one of the most popular heroes of the cycle about V. b. His image apparently took shape by the 13th century. based on legends about various immortals - lame people. Lee is usually portrayed tall man with a dark face, big eyes, a curly beard and curly hair, grabbed by an iron hoop. He is lame and carries an iron staff. His constant attributes are a gourd hanging on his back, in which he carries wonderful potions, and an iron stick. In the drama of Yue Bochuan (13-14 centuries) “Lü Dong-bin turns Li-Yue with an iron stick into immortals,” the immortal Lü Dong-bin revived a certain official who died from fear of a dignitary in the guise of the butcher Li (hence the new surname ), and then made him immortal. According to another version, reflected in the novel “Journey to the East” (16-17 centuries), Taoist Li Xuan, having learned the secrets of the Tao, left his body in the care of a student, and sent his soul to the mountains, warning that he would return in seven days, otherwise, he ordered the student to burn the body. Six days later, the student learned about his mother’s illness, burned the teacher’s body and hurried home. Li Xuan's returning soul had no choice but to enter the body of the deceased lame beggar. Subsequently, he appeared at the student’s house, revived his mother, and after 200 years he took the student to heaven.
According to another version, recorded in the work of the philologist Wang Shi-zhen (1526-90), Li allegedly lived in the 8th century. He studied Tao for 40 years in the Zhongnanshan Mountains, and then, leaving his body in the hut, he went wandering. The body was torn to pieces by a tiger, and the returning soul moved into the flesh of the deceased lame beggar. There are stories about how Li swam across the river on a piece of bamboo and sold miraculous potions at the market that cured all diseases. Lee was revered as the patron saint of magicians, and his images served as a sign for apothecary shops.
The first records about Han Xian date back to the Song era. The image of Han Xiang is based on - real personality, the nephew of the famous thinker and writer of the Thai era Han Yu (768-824), who was the complete opposite of his uncle, a Confucian rationalist who did not believe in either Buddhist or Taoist miracles. All the main legends about Han Xiang are dedicated to demonstrating the superiority of the Taoists over the Confucians. According to one of them, when Han Yu, during a drought, unsuccessfully tried to cause rain by order of the sovereign, Han Xiang, taking on the guise of a Taoist, caused rain and snow, deliberately leaving his uncle’s estate without precipitation. Another time, at a feast at his uncle’s, Han Xiang filled a basin with earth and grew two beautiful flowers in front of the guests, among which appeared golden hieroglyphs forming a couplet: “The clouds on the Qinling ridge blocked the path, where are home and family? The snow has covered the Languan passage, the horse does not move forward.” Han Yu understood the meaning of these lines later, when he was sent into exile to the south for speaking out against Buddhism. Having reached the Qinling ridge, he found himself in a snowstorm, and Han Xiang, who appeared in the guise of a Taoist, reminded him of the prophetic verses and spent the whole night talking about Taoist mysteries, proving the superiority of his teachings. As a farewell, Han Xiang gave his uncle a gourd flask with malaria pills and disappeared forever. The meeting in the Qinling Mountains became a popular theme for paintings already among Song painters. Han Xiang was also depicted with a basket of flowers in his hands and was revered as the patron saint of gardeners. Legends about Khan are also recorded among the Central Asian Dungans (Khan Shchenzy), where he appears as a magician and sorcerer.
The immortal Cao Guo-jiu, according to the “Notes on the miraculous penetration of the immortal sovereign Chongyang” (“Chunyang dijun shen xian miaotong ji” by Miao Shan-shi, approximately the beginning of the 14th century), was the son of the first minister Cao Biao under the Sung sovereign Ren-tsung ( reigned in 1022-1063) and the younger brother of Empress Cao (Guo-jiu is not a name, but a title for the brothers of the empress, literally “uncle of the state”). Cao Guo-jiu, who despised wealth and nobility and dreamed only of the “pure emptiness” of Taoist teaching, once said goodbye to the emperor and empress and went to wander around the world. The sovereign gave him a gold plate with the inscription: “Guo-jiu can travel everywhere, like the sovereign himself.” When he was crossing the Yellow River, the carrier demanded money from him. He offered a plate instead of payment, and the companions, having read the inscription, began shouting toast to him, and the carrier froze with fright. A Taoist wearing rags sitting in the boat shouted at him: “Since you became a monk, why are you showing your power and scaring people?” Cao bowed and said: “How dare your disciple show his power!” - “Can you throw a gold plate into the river?” - asked the Taoist. Cao immediately threw the plate into the rapids. Everyone was amazed, and the Taoist (it was Lu Dong-bin) invited him with him. According to a later version, Cao suffered a serious tragedy due to the dissipation of his brother, who wanted to take possession of the beautiful wife of a scientist whom he killed. On the advice of Cao, the brother threw the beauty into the well, but she is saved by an old man - the spirit of one of the stars. When a woman asks Cao for protection, he orders her to be beaten with a wire whip. The unfortunate woman reaches the incorruptible judge Bao, who sentences Cao to life imprisonment and executes his brother. The sovereign declares an amnesty, Cao Guo-jiu is released, he repents, puts on a Taoist dress and goes to the mountains. A few years later, he meets Zhongli and Liu, and they number him among the host of immortals. Cao Guo-jiu is usually depicted with paiban (castanets) in his hands and is considered one of the patrons of actors. Cao was added to V. b.'s group. later than the others.
To the number of V. b. also belongs to the woman He Xian-gu (lit. “immortal maiden He”). There are many local legends about girls who bore the surname He, who apparently later merged into a single image. Wei Tai's "Notes at the Eastern Terrace" (11th century) tells about the maiden He from Yongzhou, who was given a peach (or date) to taste as a child, after which she never felt hungry. She knew how to predict fate. Local residents revered her as a saint and called her He Xian-gu. According to the “Second Collection of Mirrors on the Comprehension of Tao by Light Immortals of All Epochs” by Zhao Dao-i (13th-14th centuries), He was the daughter of a certain He Tai from Zengcheng County near Guangzhou. During the time of the Tang Empress Wu Tse-tian (reigned 684-704), she lived near the Mica Stream. When she was 14-15 years old, a saint appeared to her in a dream and taught her to eat mica flour in order to become light and not die. She vowed not to marry. Subsequently, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight, but then appeared on earth more than once. It is believed that the saint who set her on the path of immortality was Lü Dong-bin. However, initially in mid. In the 11th century, when the legends about He became widespread, they were not associated with the legends about Liu. According to early versions, Lü helped another girl, Zhao, and later her image merged with the image of He. By the end of the 16th century. Apparently, there was already a widespread idea of He Xian-gu as a goddess sweeping away flowers near the Gates of Heaven (according to legend, at the gate Penglai there was a peach tree that bloomed once every 300 years, and then the wind covered the passage through the Gates of Heaven with petals) and was associated with Lu. It was at his request that the Heavenly Sovereign included He in the group of immortals, and Lu, having descended to earth, guided another person onto the true path, who replaced her at the Gates of Heaven. This function of He Xian-gu was reflected indirectly in the images. Her attribute is a white lotus flower (a symbol of purity) on a long stem, curved like the sacred wand of zhuy (the wand of wish fulfillment), sometimes in her hands or behind her back there is a basket of flowers, in some cases there is a combination of a cup of a lotus flower and a basket of flowers. According to other versions, her attribute is a bamboo ladle, since she had an evil stepmother who forced the girl to work in the kitchen all day long. He showed exceptional patience, which touched Lu, and he helped her ascend to heaven. In her haste, she took a ladle with her, so He is sometimes revered as the patroness of the household.
In addition to individual legends about each of V. b. there are also stories about their joint deeds (about V. B.’s journey overseas, about a visit to the mistress of the West Si-wan-mu and etc.). These legends amounted to the 16th century. a single cycle and were used by the writer Wu Yun-tai in his novel “Journey of the Eight Immortals to the East” (late 16th century), as well as in a number of later folk dramas. They talked about how V. b. were invited to the Lady of the West, Si-wan-mu, and how they decided to present her with a scroll with a dedicatory inscription made at their request by themselves Lao Tzu. After the feast at Si-wan-mu V.b. sailed across the Eastern Sea to the Lord of the East Dun-wan-gun. And here each of V. b. showed his wonderful art: Li Te-guai swam on an iron staff. Zhongli Quan - on a fan, Zhang Guo-lao - on a paper donkey, Han Xiang-tzu - in a basket with flowers, Lu Dong-bin used a bamboo handle from a fly racer, Cao Guo-ju - wooden castanets - paiban, He Xian-gu - flat bamboo basket, and Lan Tsai-he stood on a jade plate inlaid with wonderful stones emitting light. The shine of a plate floating on the sea attracted the attention of his son Lung-wana, Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. Lung-wan's warriors took away the record, and Lan was dragged into the underwater palace. Lu Dong-bin went to rescue his comrade and set fire to the sea, and then the king of the dragons released Lan, but did not return the plate. Lü and He Xian-gu went again to the seashore, where a battle took place in which the son of the dragon king was killed. His second son also died from his wounds. Long-wan tries to take revenge, but is defeated. During the struggle, V. b. they burn the sea, throw a mountain into the sea, which destroys the palace of Lung-wan. And only the intervention of the Supreme Jade Sovereign Yu-di leads to the establishment of peace on earth and in the underwater kingdom.
Images of V. b. decorated porcelain products, were popular in paintings, on popular popular prints, etc. In paintings there are often images of Vladimirs feasting, sitting and resting, crossing the sea or meeting with the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu. The original interpretation was given by V. b. V modern painting(Qi Bai-shi, Ren Bo-nian).
Lit.: Pu Jiang-qing, Ba xian kao (Research on the Eight Immortals), in his book: Wen lu, (Collected works), Beijing, 1958, p. 1-46; Zhao Jing-shen, Ba xian chuanshuo (Legends of the Eight Immortals), in his book: Xiaoshuo xiaihua (Notes on prose), Shanghai, 1948, p. 66-103; Popov P.S., Chinese pantheon, in the book: Collection of the Museum on Anthropology and Ethnography, v. 6, SPV, 1907, p. 1-86; Shkurki P.V., Essays on Taoism, part 2, Harbin, 1926; his, Journey of the Eight Immortals, Harbin, 1926; Lai Tien-ch "ang, The eight Immortals, Hong-Kong, 1972.
B. L. Riftin.
Described in ancient Chinese texts as the "Eight Immortal Saints (ba xian)", referring to Taoist pantheon were real historical figures. Having become saints, they were freed from worldly feelings and passions, joys and sorrows. They got eternal life and live according to heavenly laws.
China's myths are full amazing stories about people who received immortality as a result of self-improvement according to Taoist practices. There were various ways to become immortal. According to some beliefs, when a Taoist goes to Heaven, he takes his body with him. At the same time, mysterious transformations occur, the body is filled with the substance of heavenly energy and eternally gains immortality. In other cases, transformations occur due to the fact that a person drank an elixir of immortality, most often prepared in the Heavenly Palace, or ate an immortality pill. You can also try a peach from the tree of Immortality, which grows in the garden of the Goddess Sivanmu and bears fruit once every three thousand years, and there is also a magic formula written on paper, read it - and become immortal.
Thus, there are a lot of ways, choose any one. Immortal Taoist Having entered into eternal life, he leads an existence that does not depend on earthly laws. He can live in beautiful caves on sacred mountains or on the blessed islands in the sea. He can even settle in Heaven if he has the permission of the Jade Emperor. In any case, this is no longer a person, but a saint with capabilities that are unrealistic for a person. Their physical appearance remained the same for thousands of years as it was in earthly life.
Immortals can take human form and communicate with people. They command celestial animals, can transform, and often possess various magical objects endowed with magical power, it can be a fan, cord, staff, etc.
The myths about the Eight Immortals are most widespread in China. These immortals, revered and loved by the people, were once people, famous historical figures, and then, having become saints, retired to high mountains far from earthly joys and sorrows.
Zhong Li Quan is the head of the Eight Immortals. He lived during the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC-249 AD). During his lifetime, he was a military leader, and is therefore considered the patron saint of soldiers. He is usually depicted as a fat man with his midriff exposed. Sometimes he holds a peach in one hand and a fan in the other, with the help of which he revives the dead, since he possessed the secret of making the elixir of life and the powder of reincarnation.
Zhong Li was born near Xianyang in Shaanxi Province. The first mention of it is in “Xuan-he shu pu” (“List of calligraphic inscriptions of the Xuan-he years”). According to this book, he is tall, has a curly beard, thick hair at the temples, a bare head with two tufts of hair, a tattooed body, and bare feet. This is how he is depicted in the pictures.
Zhong Li Quan is one of the founders of the alchemical art of immortality. He is also one of the founders of the Quanzhen (School of Perfect Truth) Taoist school. In Taoism, he was also called Zhenyang Zushi - the first master of True Yang, as well as the Master of the Cloud Hall. He was a student of another immortal - Li Tie-guai. Under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries AD. Zhong Li was canonized and named Taoist Patriarch.
The legend says that when Zhong Li Quan was born, the entire room was illuminated with an unusual radiance, which is why the child was predicted to have an extraordinary future. The appearance of the newborn was also very unusual: a huge head, wide forehead, large ears, thick cheeks and bright lips, long eyebrows and a red nose. His arms were long, like those of a three-year-old child, and for seven days the baby did not eat anything or cry.
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When Zhong Li grew up, he became a general who received favors from the emperor. When the Tibetan Tufan tribe, who lived in the northwest, raided the border area, five thousand soldiers under the command of Zhong Li Quan were sent to meet the enemy. During the main battle, when Zhong's success was already obvious, another immortal flew over the battlefield - Li Tie Guai. Seeing what was happening below, Li thought: “Yes, this is Zhong Li Quan, who had to become a saint in order to rise above the world. But he has not comprehended the Tao and loves honors and glory too much. If he wins now, the imperial favors will completely turn his head. He will become too bogged down in honors and glory, and this will close his path to the Tao. Let him better be defeated and this will force him to leave the vanity of this world and take the Path of Truth.”
Li Tie Guai immediately turned into an old man, appeared to the commander of the Tufan tribe and revealed to him a method by which it was possible to defeat the Chinese army. The Tufan warriors defeated the Chinese, and Zhong Li Quan himself rode away from the battlefield on horseback, saving his life. He could not return to the emperor in disgrace and, in complete despair, returned to his native village, where he got married and began studying philosophy.
One day, Zhong Li Quan noticed a woman in mourning attire who was sitting near the grave mound and fanning the ground. When asked what this meant, the woman explained that her husband, before his death, asked her not to remarry until the soil on the burial mound dried out. Now, having found her groom, she wanted to quickly dry the soil on her husband’s grave. Zhong Li Quan took the fan from her and used a spell to dry the grave mound. The widow left with gratitude, leaving the fan in his hands. At home, he told this story to his young wife, and she was terribly indignant at the widow’s action. These words from his wife gave Zhong Li Quan the idea to test her feelings. Whispering the appropriate spell, he pretended to be dead.
A handsome young man immediately appeared in front of the imaginary widow, and a few days later she agreed to marry him. The groom said that for marriage he needed a potion prepared from the brain of her late husband. The widow agreed to fulfill the groom's request and opened the coffin. She was horrified when she discovered that she ex-husband came to life, and the groom disappeared without a trace. Unable to bear the shame, the woman committed suicide. After all this, Zhong Li Quan set fire to his house and left, taking with him only a fan and holy book"Daojing."
In complete despair, Zhong Li met a monk, whom he turned to for advice, what should he do now? (It was, of course, Li Tie Guai). The monk invited him to his place, and they walked together for a long time until they reached the home of the Mentor of Eastern China. The elder (to whom the monk turned) showed Zhong Li warm hospitality and the latter asked the elder to accept him as his disciple. From that day on high grief Three Peaks, he began his practice of self-improvement, taking the path of comprehending the Tao.
At that time there was severe famine in that region, people died in the thousands. Here, for the first time, Zhong Li Quan began to put into practice the knowledge he had acquired. Using alchemy, he turned copper and tin into silver and gold and distributed it to people so that they could buy food for themselves. This is how he saved many people.
One day he was sitting in a cave, deep in thought. Suddenly, the stone wall split into two halves with a roar, and a jade box appeared from the crack, containing mysterious instructions on how to become immortal. He did everything as written. Suddenly the room was filled with colorful clouds and the sound of wonderful music, and the heavenly stork invited Zhong Li Quan to go with him to the land of immortality. Since then, he became immortal, and his fan began to have the miraculous ability to bring the dead back to life.
The Eight Immortals (八仙, Ba xian) are the eight saints of the Taoist pantheon.
Each of the Eight Immortals represents different states and positions in life, due to which the Eight Immortals are the patrons of almost all types of human activity.
Lü Dongbin (Chinese: 呂洞賓): The famous Taoist patriarch, depicted with a magic sword, is also the patron of literature and hairdressers.
Li Tieguai (Chinese: 李鐵拐): Doctor and scientist, depicted with a magic gourd and an iron stick; protector of the sick, patron of magicians and astrologers.
Zhongli Quan (Chinese: 鐘離權): Patron of soldiers. He is depicted with a fan and is the owner of the elixir of immortality.
Han Xiangzi (Chinese: 韓湘子): Known as the nephew of the Tang Dynasty scholar Han Yu. Plays the flute. Patron of musicians.
Cao Guojiu(Chinese: 曹國舅): Known as a representative of the ruling clan during the Song Dynasty. Depicted with castanets and a jade tablet giving the right to enter the imperial court. Patron of actors and mimes.
Zhang Guolao (Chinese: 張果老): He is a magician and is depicted with a bamboo drum and a mule. Patron of the elderly.
Lan Caihe (Chinese: 藍采和): Depicted as a woman or a man with a basket of flowers. Patron of flower sellers and gardeners.
He Xiangu (Chinese: 何仙姑): Woman with a lotus flower or basket of flowers and a peach wood flute. Patron of housewives.
Lu Dongbin Lu Dongbin
The legendary image of Lü Dong-bin had already developed by the middle of the 11th century; its first detailed description is contained in “Notes from the Study of the Unreasonable” by Zheng Jing-bi (late 11th century). A temple was built in his honor in Yuezhou (modern Hunan Province); he was officially canonized in 1111.
According to legend, Lü Yan (his second name is Dong-bin, i.e. “guest from the cave”) was born on the 14th of the 4th moon of the year 798. At the moment of conception, a white crane descended from the sky to the mother’s bed for a moment. From birth, Lü had the neck of a crane, the back of a monkey, the body of a tiger, the face of a dragon, the eyes of a phoenix, thick eyebrows, and a black mole under his left eyebrow. Lü could memorize 10 thousand characters a day. When he served in the government in the Tehua region (modern Jiangxi province), he met Zhongli Quan in the Lushan mountains, who taught him magic, fencing and the art of making himself invisible. The teacher called him Chunyanzi - “the son of pure power - yang (bright beginning).” According to another version, fifty-year-old Lü was forced to flee with his family to the Lushan Mountains, where Zhongli Quan converted him to Taoism. Lü, who promised the teacher to help people comprehend the Tao (“the way”), came to Yueyang under the guise of an oil merchant and decided to help those who would not demand to be hanged with a hike. This turned out to be one old woman. Lü threw a few grains of rice into a well near her house, and the water in it turned into wine; by selling the wine, the old woman became rich.
According to the most popular version of the legend, the young scientist Lu Dong-bin met a Taoist at an inn, who told the hostess to cook millet porridge and, while waiting for the ordered food, started a conversation with Lu about the futility of worldly desires. Lü disagrees. He falls asleep and sees in a dream his future life, full of ups and disappointments, terrible scenes and misfortunes. When he is threatened with death, he wakes up and sees himself in the same yard, the housewife is cooking porridge, and the Taoist is waiting for food. Lu, who has regained his sight, becomes a Taoist hermit. This legend uses a plot that developed back in the Tang era and was known in the 8th century. based on Shen Ji-ji's novella “Notes about what happened at the head,” where the Taoist bears the surname Lü.
Subsequently, this plot in relation to Lü Tung-bin was developed by Chinese playwrights: Ma Chih-yuan (13th century). Su Han-ying (16th century) and others. The late anonymous play “The Dream of Dong-bin” was usually performed in temples on the birthday of one of the supreme Taoist deities, Dong-wan-gun. There are many stories about the appearance of Lyu among people, which is usually learned from the poems he left, of which quite a few were attributed to Lyu.
In popular beliefs, Lü is a holy ascetic who experienced suffering in worldly life and decided to serve people as a caster of demons who haunt the helpless people. On popular prints he is usually depicted with a sword cutting evil spirits and a fly chaser - an attribute of a carefree immortal, next to him is his student Liu (“willow”), from whose pointed head a willow branch grows (according to legend, this is the spirit of the old willow - the werewolf whom Lu converted to his faith). Sometimes Lü is depicted with a boy in his arms - the desire to have numerous sons, in this capacity of the saint-child-giver Lü was honored by Chinese scientists. Liu was credited with the ability to show the path to healing or salvation. The legends about Liu have a noticeable Buddhist influence, particularly in the story of the miraculous dream. There are Buddhist interpretations of his sword art as “cutting off” all passions and earthly aspirations. In later Taoism, Lü began to be revered as the patriarch of some Taoist schools.
Zhongli Quan Zhong Liquan
Zhongli Quan (according to another version, Han Zhongli, i.e. Han Zhongli, the second name of Yun-fang is “cloud house”) allegedly came from near Xianyang in Shaanxi province.
Legends about Zhongli apparently developed by the 10th century, although it is said that he himself attributed his birth to the Han era (in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD). According to the first mentions of him (in “Xuan-he shu pu” - “List of calligraphic inscriptions of the Xuan-he years”), he is a brilliant calligrapher of the Tang era, he is tall, has a curly beard (according to other sources, it fell below the navel), thick hair at the temples, bare head with two tufts of hair, tattooed body, bare feet. According to later legends, Zhongli was sent by the Han emperor at the head of an army against the Tibetan tribes. When his warriors were about to win, an immortal flying over the battlefield (according to some versions, Li Tie-guai) decided to set him on the path (dao) and told the enemy how to defeat Zhongli. Zhongli's army was defeated, and he himself fled to the desert lands.
In desperation, he turned for advice to a monk he met, and he took him to the Lord of the East, the patron saint of all male immortals, who advised Zhongli to give up thoughts about a career and devote all his strength to comprehending the Tao. Zhongli took up alchemy and learned to turn copper and tin into gold and silver, which he distributed to the poor in times of famine.
One day, a stone wall split in front of him, and he saw a jade box - it contained instructions on how to become immortal. He listened to them, and a crane descended to him, and Zhongli sat on it and flew away to the land of the immortals. Zhongli is usually depicted with a fan that can revive the dead.
Zhongli was canonized during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, in the 13th and 14th centuries, due to his veneration as one of the patriarchs of some popular Taoist schools.
Cao Guo-jiu Cao Guojiu
The immortal Cao Guo-jiu, according to the “Notes on the miraculous penetration of the immortal sovereign Chongyang” (“Chunyang dijun shen xian miaotong ji” by Miao Shan-shi, approximately the beginning of the 14th century), was the son of the first minister Cao Biao under the Sung sovereign Ren-tsung ( reigned in 1022-1063) and the younger brother of Empress Cao (Guo-jiu is not a name, but a title for the brothers of the empress, literally “uncle of the state”).
Cao Guo-jiu, who despised wealth and nobility and dreamed only of the “pure emptiness” of Taoist teaching, once said goodbye to the emperor and empress and went to wander around the world. The sovereign gave him a gold plate with the inscription: “Guo-jiu can travel everywhere, like the sovereign himself.” When he was crossing the Yellow River, the carrier demanded money from him. He offered a plate instead of payment, and the companions, having read the inscription, began shouting toast to him, and the carrier froze with fright. A Taoist wearing rags sitting in the boat shouted at him: “Since you became a monk, why are you showing your power and scaring people?”
Cao bowed and said: “How dare your disciple show his power!” - “What about throwing the gold plate into the river?” - asked the Taoist. Cao immediately threw the plate into the rapids. Everyone was amazed, and the Taoist (it was Lu Dong-bin) invited him with him.
According to a later version, Cao suffered a serious tragedy due to the dissipation of his brother, who wanted to take possession of the beautiful wife of a scientist whom he killed. On the advice of Cao, the brother threw the beauty into the well, but she is saved by an old man - the spirit of one of the stars. When a woman asks Cao for protection, he orders her to be beaten with a wire whip. The unfortunate woman reaches the incorruptible judge Bao, who sentences Cao to life imprisonment and executes his brother. The sovereign declares an amnesty, Cao Guo-jiu is released, he repents, puts on a Taoist dress and goes to the mountains. A few years later, he meets Zhongli and Liu, and they number him among the host of immortals. Cao Guo-jiu is usually depicted with paiban (castanets) in his hands and is considered one of the patrons of actors.
Cao was added to the group of eight immortals later than the others.
Li Tie-guai Li Tieguai
Li Te-guai (Li “iron stick”, sometimes Te-guai Li) - his image apparently developed by the 13th century. based on legends about various immortals - lame people.
Li is usually depicted as a tall man with a dark complexion, large eyes, a curly beard, and curly hair held in an iron hoop. He is lame and carries an iron staff. His constant attributes are a gourd hanging on his back, in which he carries wonderful potions, and an iron stick. In the drama of Yue Bochuan (13-14 centuries) “Lü Dong-bin turns Li-Yue with an iron stick into immortals,” the immortal Lü Dong-bin revived a certain official who died from fear of a dignitary in the guise of the butcher Li (hence the new surname ), and then made him immortal.
According to another version, reflected in the novel “Journey to the East” (16-17 centuries), Taoist Li Xuan, having learned the secrets of the Tao, left his body in the care of a student, and sent his soul to the mountains, warning that he would return in seven days, otherwise, he ordered the student to burn the body. Six days later, the student learned about his mother’s illness, burned the teacher’s body and hurried home. Li Xuan's returning soul had no choice but to enter the body of the deceased lame beggar.
Subsequently, he appeared at the student’s house, revived his mother, and after 200 years he took the student to heaven.
According to another version, recorded in the work of the philologist Wang Shi-zhen (1526-90), Li allegedly lived in the 8th century. He studied Tao for 40 years in the Zhongnanshan Mountains, and then, leaving his body in the hut, he went wandering. The body was torn to pieces by a tiger, and the returning soul moved into the flesh of the deceased lame beggar. There are stories about how Li swam across the river on a piece of bamboo and sold miraculous potions at the market that cured all diseases. Lee was revered as the patron saint of magicians, and his images served as a sign for apothecary shops.
He Xiangu He Xiangu
The woman He Xian-gu (literally “immortal maiden He”) is also among the Eight Immortals.
There are many local legends about girls who bore the surname He, who apparently later merged into a single image. Wei Tai's "Notes at the Eastern Terrace" (11th century) tells about the maiden He from Yongzhou, who was given a peach (or date) to taste as a child, after which she never felt hungry. She knew how to predict fate. Local residents revered her as a saint and called her He Xian-gu.
According to the “Second Collection of Mirrors on the Comprehension of Tao by Light Immortals of All Epochs” by Zhao Dao-i (13th-14th centuries), He was the daughter of a certain He Tai from Zengcheng County near Guangzhou. During the time of the Tang Empress Wu Tse-tian (reigned 684-704), she lived near the Mica Stream.
When she was 14-15 years old, a saint appeared to her in a dream and taught her to eat mica flour in order to become light and not die. She vowed not to marry. Subsequently, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight, but then appeared on earth more than once. It is believed that the saint who set her on the path of immortality was Lü Dong-bin. However, initially in mid. In the 11th century, when the legends about He became widespread, they were not associated with the legends about Liu. According to early versions, Lü helped another girl, Zhao, and later her image merged with the image of He.
By the end of the 16th century. Apparently, the idea of He Xian-gu as a goddess sweeping away flowers near the Heavenly Gates was already widespread (according to legend, at the Penglai Gate there was a peach tree that bloomed once every 300 years, and then the wind covered the passage through the Heavenly Gates with petals) and associated with Lu. It was at his request that the Heavenly Sovereign included He in the group of immortals, and Lu, having descended to earth, guided another person onto the true path, who replaced her at the Gates of Heaven. This function of He Xian-gu was reflected indirectly in the images. Her attribute is a white lotus flower (a symbol of purity) on a long stem, curved like the sacred wand of zhuy (the wand of wish fulfillment), sometimes in her hands or behind her back there is a basket of flowers, in some cases there is a combination of a cup of a lotus flower and a basket of flowers. According to other versions, her attribute is a bamboo ladle, since she had an evil stepmother who forced the girl to work in the kitchen all day long. He showed exceptional patience, which touched Lu, and he helped her ascend to heaven. In her haste, she took a ladle with her, so He is sometimes revered as the patroness of the household.
Han Xiangzi Han Xiangzi
The first records about Han Xian date back to the Song era. The image of Han Xiangzi is based on a real person, the nephew of the famous thinker and writer of the Tang era Han Yu (768-824), who was the complete opposite of his uncle, a Confucian rationalist who did not believe in either Buddhist or Taoist miracles.
All the main legends about Han Xiangzi are dedicated to demonstrating the superiority of the Taoists over the Confucians. According to one of them, when Han Yu, during a drought, unsuccessfully tried to cause rain by order of the sovereign, Han Xiangzi, taking on the guise of a Taoist, caused rain and snow, deliberately leaving his uncle’s estate without precipitation. Another time, at a feast at his uncle’s, Han Xiang filled a basin with earth and grew two beautiful flowers in front of the guests, among which appeared golden hieroglyphs forming a couplet: “The clouds on the Qinling ridge blocked the path, where are home and family? The snow has covered the Languan passage, the horse does not move forward.”
Han Yu understood the meaning of these lines later, when he was sent into exile to the south for speaking out against Buddhism. Having reached the Qinling ridge, he fell into a snowstorm, and Han Xiangzi, who appeared in the guise of a Taoist, reminded him of the prophetic verses and spent the whole night talking about Taoist
As a farewell, Han Xiang gave his uncle a gourd flask with malaria pills and disappeared forever. The meeting in the Qinling Mountains became a popular theme for paintings already among Song painters. Han Xiangzi was depicted holding a flute. Legends about Khan are also recorded among the Central Asian Dungans (Khan Shchenzy), where he appears as a magician and sorcerer.
Zhang Guo-lao Zhang Golao
Zhang Guo-lao (lao, “venerable”), one of the Eight Immortals, apparently is a hero deified by the Taoists who lived in the Tang era under Emperor Xuanzong (8th century).
His biography is available in the official histories of the Tang Dynasty. The earliest record about him is from Zheng Chu-hui (9th century), where he is described as a Taoist magician. Zhang rode a white donkey that could run 10 thousand li a day. Stopping to rest, Zhang folded it like paper. When he had to go again, he splashed water on the donkey and it came to life. According to the earliest of the legends associated with Zhang's life at the court of Xuanzong, Zhang in the same way revived the magician She Fa-shan, who revealed to the emperor the secret that Zhang was a spirit - a werewolf of a white bat that appeared during the creation of the world from chaos (according to other legends, Zhang was allegedly born under the mythical ancestor Fu-si or under the legendary sovereign Yao), and, having told this, he immediately gave up the ghost. Zhang was credited with the ability to predict the future and report events of the distant past. Zhang Guo-lao is usually depicted as an old Taoist with a bamboo rattle in his hands, often sitting on a donkey with his face to the tail.
Luxury prints with his images (Zhang bringing his son) were often hung in the newlyweds' room. Apparently, there was a contamination here between his images of Zhang and Zhang-hsien bringing sons. Among the Miao people (Western Hunan), Zhang Guo-lao turned into a mythical hero who struck 11 of the 12 suns and moons that were shining simultaneously with iron arrows from an iron bow, and also tried to cut down a tree growing on the moon that was obscuring its light. He fell asleep under a tree and found himself buried forever in its trunk.
In these myths, Zhang seemed to simultaneously replace two heroes of Chinese mythology: Wu Gan and the arrow Yi.
Lan Tsai-he Lan Caihe
In Taoist literature, the first of the Eight Immortals is Lan Tsai-he. In “Continuation of the Lives of the Immortals” by Shen Fen (10th century), Lan is described as a kind of holy fool.
He wears a torn blue dress (Lan means “blue”) with a belt more than three inches wide with six ebony plaques, a boot on one foot, the other barefoot. In his hands were bamboo planks (a type of castanets). In the summer he insulates his robe with cotton wool, in the winter he rolls around in the snow. He wanders through the city bazaars, singing songs of which he knows many, and begging for food. Lan strung the money that people gave him onto a long cord and dragged it behind him. At times he lost coins, distributed them to poor people he met, or drank them away in wine shops. One day, when he was singing and dancing near Lake Haoliang and drinking wine in a wine shop there, a crane appeared in the clouds and the sounds of a reed pipe and flute were heard. At the same moment, the Doe climbed onto the cloud and, throwing down his boot, dress, belt and castanets, disappeared.
In some medieval texts, Lan is identified with the dignitary Chen Tao, who allegedly became immortal, and with the hermit Yu. Xu Jian, but in the Yuan drama "Han Zhongli Takes Lan Cai-he Away from the World" - Lan Cai-he is the stage name of actor Xu Jian.
It is believed that his name comes from a similar-sounding refrain in some songs of the 10th-13th centuries.
Images of Lan also appeared in the 10th-13th centuries. Subsequently, when compiling a cycle of stories about V. b. stories appeared about Lan's meeting with other characters in the group. At the same time, he loses his original attributes - the paiban castanets and the flute, thanks to which in the early period he was apparently revered as the patron saint of musicians: the castanets go to Cao Guo-jiu, the flute to Han Xiang-tzu, and Lan himself is depicted with a basket (Doe also means basket); its contents - chrysanthemums, bamboo branches - were associated with immortality, and Lan began to be revered as the patron saint of gardening.
In folklore, the ever-young Doe turns into a fairy of flowers, although he often retains a male appearance.
So, the eight immortals - Lu Tung-bin, Zhongli Quan, Li Tie-guai, Cao Guo-jiu, Zhang Guo-lao, Lan Tsai-he, Han Xiang-tzu and He Hsien-gu - are legendary personalities who achieved immortality, thanks to his unsurpassed art and asceticism.
Each of them has various supernatural abilities and perfections.
The image of the eight immortals is very popular in Chinese art
The first tales of the eight immortals began to appear at the very beginning of our era, but this group was canonized only in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. At first, the main character was Li Tie-guai, and a little later - Lu Dong-bin.
In addition to the legends about each of the immortals, stories about their activities as a group have also been preserved. We are talking about traveling overseas, visiting Si-wanmu and other legends. By the 16th century, all these legends were compiled into a single block.
Subsequently, the writer U. Yuntai included this cycle in his novel “The Journey of Eight Immortals to the East.”
The novel tells of the invitation of eight immortals to the Lady of the West and immortality - Xi-wanmu, for whom the group prepared a scroll with a dedicatory inscription, which was made by Lao Tzu himself.
At the end of the festival at the ruler of Si-vanmu, they crossed the Eastern Sea to meet with Dong-wan-gun.
Si-wanmu
On this journey, each of the eight immortals presented their wonderful capabilities: Li Tie-guai cut through the water with a metal staff. Zhongli Quan - swam on a fan, Zhang Guo-lao - on a donkey made of paper, Han Xiang-tzu - sitting in a basket with flowers, Lu Dong-bin “saddled” a bamboo handle, Cao Guo-jiu - used castanets, He Xian-gu - a flattened bamboo basket, and Lan Tsai-he decided to use a jade plate covered with a scattering of stones that emitted light.
However, this radiance led to the fact that, having pleased the son of Lung-wan, the plate was taken away from Lan. The immortal himself was put in an underwater palace. Lui Dong-bin rushed to help his friend, managing to set the sea on fire. The Dragon King freed Lan, but he kept the plate.
The immortals decide to go to the end and in the decisive battle kill both sons of the ruler. Trying to take revenge, Lung-wan is defeated. The heated eight immortals continue to burn the sea and, throwing a mountain onto Lung-wan's palace. And there would be trouble, if only Yu-di had not intervened in this riot.
Peace and tranquility are established on land and in water.
Each of the Eight Immortals guards one of the eight directions, so their presence in the house provides multifaceted favorable Feng Shui. If they are near you, there is nothing to be afraid of. They bring longevity, good luck, good descendants, wealth, good name and recognition. They also evoke compassion and generosity of soul. They are truly saints, so they stand for everything that is positive, pure and empowering.
Han Xiang Ji
Han Xiang Ji was the nephew of Han Yu, a great poet and scholar of the Tang Dynasty. He studied and prepared to pass state exams, but to the great chagrin of his uncle, he did not take them. He was an intelligent, but somewhat wild child; pomp and vanity were alien to him. Despite being expelled from a Buddhist ashram for rudeness and hooliganism, he loved silence and solitude. He was initiated into the secrets of Taoism by an immortal named Lü Dong Bin as a teenager and even then began to master the practices of internal alchemy. He experienced the mystery of Heaven and mastered the transformation of the Five Elements. One day, Lü Dong Bin took him to the mythical World Tree to tell him about the Universe. Han Xiang Ji fell from a tree and died, but was immediately resurrected. He began to work miracles and predict the future. He made wine without using grapes, and his flowers could bloom in the middle of winter. One day he grew a peony bush, and on each petal were written verses in gold, predicting the fate of his uncle. He is often depicted with a bouquet of flowers. He carries a flute and plays six healing sounds on it. He is shown riding a buffalo, a mythical Buddhist deity.
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Quan Zhong Li
Quan Zhong Li born in the 3rd century. During the Han Dynasty, he served as an army general. After meeting with the elder who taught him the Tao, he left public service and went to the mountains, becoming a beggar wanderer. One day, while meditating, the stone wall of his home split, and a jade box appeared in the crack. The box contained secret instructions on the practices of Immortality. He followed the instructions, and one fine day his cell was filled with rainbow clouds and divine music. A crane flew in and took him to the land of Immortality. After this, he was able to roam the skies on his own. During the Great Famine, he turned copper and tin into gold and silver and distributed it to the poor, saving many lives as a result. He taught Lu Dong Bin Taoist secrets after he proved to him the frailty of existence and convinced him to join the ranks of the Immortals. He is usually depicted with a beard and light clothing. His hair is styled in two buns. His symbol is a fan, with which he revives and reincarnates the souls of the departed. He is already 1800 years old, but he sometimes appears on earth as a messenger from heaven.
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Cao Guo Jiu
Cao Guo Jiu - This is one of the two brothers of the empress of the Sung dynasty, who ruled in the 11th century. n. e. He was so ashamed of his brother, a murderer and hedonist, that he gave away all his wealth to the poor and went to the mountains in search of the Tao. In the mountains he wore clothes made from wild plants and lived like a hermit. Over time, he harmonized his mind, body and spirit and learned Taoist transformation techniques. One day, while walking through his mountain kingdom, he met two of the eight immortals: Zhong Li Quan and Lu Dong Bin. Lü Dong Bin asked him, "What are you doing?" He replied, “I nurture the Tao and study the Path.” When asked where Tao was, he pointed to the sky. When asked where heaven was, he pointed to his heart. Zhong Li Quan brightened and said: "The heart is heaven, and heaven is Tao. You have truly found the truth and the way. You understand the essence of things "They invited him to travel with them. His symbol is castanets, the rhythm of his castanets is calming and relaxing, which makes it easier to meditate and travel through the Universe. He rides on a horse, whose spirit may have helped him discover the secrets of the Tao and immortality. They say that he still lives on Earth.
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Zhang Guo Lao
Zhang Guo Lao born in the 8th century AD, but in a previous life he served as First Minister to the legendary Emperor Yao (2357-2255 BC). He was already old and lived as a hermit in the mountains when the secrets of immortality were revealed to him, and he turned to "Original Steam". He had an amazing donkey that carried him thousands of miles in a matter of seconds. When he arrived at his destination, he simply put the donkey in his pocket like a piece of paper. When it occurred to him to travel again, he simply took the donkey out of his pocket and wet it with water. Many Tang Dynasty emperors invited him to court, but he usually refused them. He entertained one of the emperors by turning invisible and drinking poisons. The Emperor gave him the title "Master of Understanding Miracles" offered him a high post and a daughter to boot, but Zhang Guo Lao rejected both offers. And when the emperor wanted to force him to do this, he fell on his face and died. He was buried in a coffin, but later, when the coffin was opened, it was empty. After this he was often seen alive. His symbol is a quiver with magic wands or "Phoenix feathers", with which he can predict fate.
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Lan Sai He
Lan Sai He born during the Tang Dynasty and at the age of 16 became the youngest immortal. He was an artist and, like many ancient shamans, he wore makeup and wore women's clothing. He was a poor street singer and gave away everything he earned. He walked through the streets barefoot, singing and dancing, and a crowd of onlookers followed him, thinking that he was crazy. He wrote and sang songs about life, about its illusory pleasures, endless and useless reincarnations. In winter, he slept in the snow, and steam emanated from his body, which testified to his mastery of the technique of internal alchemy. One evening after a performance, he left the tavern and sat on a crane, which descended to the ground, accompanied by the sounds of a divine choir. And in front of the amazed audience, the crane gracefully lifted this " holy fool " . Its symbol is a basket of chrysanthemums, flowering branches peach, paws of pine and bamboo. He sits astride an elephant, a symbol of wisdom, strength and prudence.
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Lü Dong Bin
This immortal is often called Progenitor Lu or Lu Wang. Lü Dong Bin - this is the one who comprehended the incomprehensible truth on the top of Mount Stor. He was born in the 8th century AD. and is still alive. He was a student of the Confucian school and became a Taoist, having been initiated into the secrets of inner alchemy by the immortal master Chung Li Chun. He sits astride a tiger, a symbol of sacred energy emanating from the Taoist goddess Xi Wang Mu, who rules the West. Lü Dong Bin holds a horsehair broom in his hands, which demonstrates his ability to fly through the sky and walk on clouds. He is always depicted with a magical double-edged sword on his back. This sword was given to him by a dragon, with its help you can hide in heaven and become invisible to evil spirits. Beard Lü Dong Bin is divided into three parts and symbolizes the three Piercing Channels used in the technique of internal alchemy. He can instantly travel thousands of miles in search of people with kind soul and give them Immortality. He also takes every opportunity to punish the rich and noble if he sees them oppressing the weak and poor. The Chinese people have always loved and respected Ancestor Lu. He lived on earth for 400 years, and often appears again.
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He Xian Gu
He Xian Gu was born in the 7th century AD and is now over 1400 years old. She became immortal when she was 14 and met the immortal Lü Dong Bin, who taught her inner alchemy and gave her PEACH OF IMMORTALITY. Once the girl ate the peach, she was able to travel in her spirit body and pay her respects to the great Taoist goddess of immortality, Xi Wang Mu, who kindly showed He Xian Gu her new home- endless gardens. The girl learned to stop menstruation and conserve her vital energy. She also gained the ability to feed exclusively on the sweet dew of God, connecting with the omnipresent Qi. In her youth, she told fortunes by flying over the mountain tops and collecting herbs and food for her mother and the poor people. The fame of the girl’s miraculous abilities reached the imperial palace, and the Empress of China summoned her to her place. But the girl ascended to heaven and was no longer seen during the daytime. A few years later, she was seen flying on a cloud over the Ma Ku Temple. And now He Xian Gu comes to virtuous people in need of support. She is depicted holding a lotus flower (symbol of an open heart and holy radiance), demonstrating her strength and purity. She sits astride a deer, a symbol of longevity and inexhaustible energy.
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Lee Te Guai
Lee Te Guai (or "Li Iron Crutch"), born during the Han Dynasty. He lived for 10 years in the mountains, where he meditated so selflessly that he sometimes forgot to eat and sleep. Some legends say that the great Laozi himself initiated him into Taoist practices, others indicate that the divine Xi Wang Mu, the ruler of the West, taught him immortality. He is depicted in the guise of a lama, although he was previously handsome and well-built. He turned into a freak after his spiritual body flew to see Laozi. Lee Te Guai asked his disciple to watch his body for seven days and not allow animals, insects and other spirits to enter it. The disciple said that his mother was dying, so he burned the body and went to his mother's bedside. On the seventh day, Lee returned and wanted to enter his body. Seeing that it was destroyed, he entered the body of the newly deceased beggar lama. By pouring water on the beggar's bamboo staff, he turned it into an iron crutch and a magic staff. His symbols are a staff and a pumpkin (symbol of the Universe). Having perfectly mastered the Five Elements technique and learned to combine yin and yang into one primordial energy, he acquired the ability to change things with the help of a staff and heal with the help of medicines that were stored in the gourd. It is said that he brought back to life the mother of one of his students with the help of a potion mixed with a pumpkin. At night he turns into a tiny man and crawls into a pumpkin to sleep. His generosity is well known to the poor, sick and unfortunate. He eventually went to heaven in the form of a dragon, but often he returns to help those in need. He sits astride a chimera, a mythical guardian, a symbol of courage and bravery.
Images of the Eight Immortals in A4 format (glossy) and their Lives can be purchased from us in the Center .
The Eight Immortals (ba xian) are legendary Taoist heroes who descend from Heaven to Earth to help people realize their goals and desires. Among the immortals there are six men and two women. Here are their names: Li Tieguai, Zhongli Quan, Lu Dongbin, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu.
Each of the eight immortals embodies different aspects of life and different states, each has supernatural abilities for humans, and together they “overlap” almost the entire spectrum of human desires, which is why they are often depicted together and the images are used as a favorable feng shui symbol. Each of them has its own symbols endowed with magical powers. They are called immortal because, according to history or legends, each of them, thanks to their special qualities, different times and under various circumstances actually achieved immortality.
I write “according to history or legends” because there are several opinions - some believe that these were once real people who lived on Earth, others believe that these are fictional heroes, and still others believe that some of them really lived on Earth, and some are fictional. For us now this is no longer important. They lived at different times, even in different centuries, in different provinces of China, but they were brought together apparently because, firstly, they are all united by immortality, and secondly, because together they “overlap” all aspects of life, and when their images are present in the house, they help to establish a life in which EVERYTHING is good.
They all achieved immortality under different circumstances, but there is a legend that they became immortal by drinking nectar and eating the peach of immortality. It doesn't matter either. It is important that they can work miracles and help all family members with literally everything.
Their images are painted on dishes, vases, on fabric, cut from stone, bone and wood, cast from metal, depicted on postage stamps, fans and wherever possible. They are depicted sitting, standing, riding special animals, and are often depicted on a dragon boat. Paintings often feature images of immortals feasting, sitting and resting, crossing the sea, or meeting with the founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu.
Their images are also placed wherever possible - in homes and offices, in churches and restaurants. Poems and poems are written about them, theater plays are staged.
There is an opinion that since there are exactly eight immortals, they bring special luck in our time - in the eighth generation according to the Chinese calendar from 2004 to 2024.
After each of them became immortal, they could already be “met” together at any time and there are legends about them joint activities. The most famous of them is set out in the popular novel by Wu Yuntai “Journey of the Eight Immortals to the East” and we're talking about about their journey across the seas to visit the Lady of the West Xi Wangmu and the Lord of the East Dong Wanggun. Of course, it was a very exciting journey, in which each of the immortals showed their magical abilities and performed fantastic feats, doing good and punishing evil heroes in order to maintain peace and tranquility on earth and on water.
When they finished their visit to Xi Wangmu and went to visit the Lord of the East, the Eastern Sea was on their way, but even the abyss of water was nothing to the immortal. Everyone set off swimming on what they owned: some on castanets, some on an iron stick, some on a basket of flowers, some on a donkey, some on a fan.
There are novels that detail the lives of all the immortals and the circumstances under which they achieved immortality.
Zhongli Quan is the personification of longevity.
Zhongli Quan is usually depicted as fat, bare-bellied, and holding a fan, which he uses for healing. It symbolizes good health and long life. It is believed that he is the patron saint of soldiers, firstly because, possessing the elixir of immortality and a magical fan, he can bring dead soldiers back to life and restore health to wounded soldiers. And secondly, because he was a good commander.
Zhongli Quan was a student of another immortal - Li Tieguai, and he, knowing about the abilities and purpose of Zhongli Quan, arranged for him to lose in the most important battle so that he would give up worldly glory in order to gain the Tao. And so it happened. He left the world, taking with him only the Tao Te Ching scroll. Comprehending the Tao, he practiced alchemy and learned to turn copper and tin into gold and silver, distributing them to the poor in times of famine.
One day, a stone wall cracked in front of him, and he saw a jade box containing instructions on how to become immortal. He listened to them, and a crane descended to him, sitting on which, Zhongli flew away to the land of the immortals.
Some legends say that he was a brilliant calligrapher of the Tang era, he was tall, had a curly long beard, thick hair at the temples, an uncovered head with two tufts of hair, a tattooed body, and bare feet. In some images he does have a beard, although not to his waist, and in some he has no beard at all.
According to legend, to this day he often descends to Earth on Qilin (you can find out about him on the website in the section Symbols of Feng Shui luck). It is believed that his image also helps those who are experiencing a period of troubles due to the influence of Grand Duke Jupiter.
Zhang Guolao is the embodiment of wisdom.
Zhang Guolao, like all immortals, has wisdom and is revered as a sage. Like other immortals, he can become invisible and generally perform miracles. It is believed that he helps childless couples in acquiring offspring, patronizes old people, and helps the head of the family in making the right decisions. Images of Zhang Guolao presenting his son to young spouses are usually given as wedding gifts and hung in the newlyweds’ room.
You can find different images of Zhang Guolao. He is depicted in at different ages- sometimes young, but more often old, with a beard. Sometimes he is depicted riding a mule, sometimes on a white mule. They also write that he rode a magical white donkey that could run tirelessly all day, and there are images of Zhang Guolao sitting on the donkey backwards, facing the tail.
When he is depicted as a young man, he is usually shown playing a special musical instrument- on a bamboo rattle or simply on a flute or a bamboo drum. But most often he is depicted as old, with a beard, holding a case with two sticks sticking out of it, curved at the ends. Apparently, having matured and become wiser, he stopped playing the rattle and began to engage in more serious matters, such as fortune telling.
Zhang Guolao became famous for being able to see into the future, i.e. predict the future, foretell fate. He did it by own methodology, using special sticks, which he carried in a case.
It is difficult to talk about which immortal is older or younger, since they have all lived for many centuries, but it is believed that Zhang Guolao is the eldest of the eight immortals we are talking about.
Lu Dongbin is a scientist, expels demons and evil spirits, helps in studies, heals diseases.
Lü Dongbin is known both as a reclusive scientist and as a master of meditation and as a patron of literature and hairdressers. Why hairdressers? It remains a mystery. It also protects against diseases caused by evil spirits and bad Qi, and helps to achieve success in science. His image in the house protects against all evil energies.
He is depicted with a magical sword slung over his back - a gift from the dragon, with which he fights evil spirits and bad energies in general, and with a fan or fly chaser in right hand. Like Zhang Guolao, he is sometimes depicted with a boy in his arms, because he asks heaven to grant numerous offspring to all who wish.
There are different opinions about his birth and life before enlightenment and the acquisition of immortality, about his unusual qualities. They write that at the moment of his conception, a white crane descended from the sky to his mother’s bed, and when he was born, the aroma of incense was felt around him. From birth, Lü had the neck of a crane, the back of a monkey, the body of a tiger, the face of a dragon, the eyes of a phoenix, thick eyebrows, and a black mole under his left eyebrow. He could memorize 10 thousand hieroglyphs a day. At the age of 20, he was unmarried and tried twice to take the official exam, but failed. At the age of 21, according to one version, and at 50, according to another, he met his Teacher, the Immortal Zhongli Quan, a famous magician and alchemist. This meeting radically changed Lu's life; he understood the futility and emptiness of everyday life and became enlightened. Lu becomes a Taoist hermit and, after undergoing long-term training in numerous techniques, receives initiation and later becomes known as a holy ascetic who experienced suffering in worldly life and decided to serve people as a caster of demons persecuting the helpless people.
Cao Guojiu - personifies fame and recognition
According to literary sources, Cao Guojiu was the son of the first minister under the Song emperor and the brother of the empress. He is usually depicted dressed in a court robe and holding a pair of castanets or a jade tablet in his hand - this symbolizes his noble origin and confirms the right to enter the imperial palace.
However, Cao Guojiu was devoted to Taoist teachings and one day, in adulthood, he said goodbye to the emperor and empress and went to wander around the world. As a sign of gratitude and respect, the sovereign presented him with a gold plate with the inscription: “Guojiu can travel everywhere, like the sovereign himself,” and this tablet played an important role in the fate of Cao Guojiu. According to legend, one day Cao Guojiu was crossing the Yellow River and the ferryman demanded money from him. Cao Guojiu showed the plate to the carrier and his companions, having read the inscription, began to lament toast to him, and the carrier simply froze in fear. The Taoist sitting in the boat said: “Since you became a monk, why are you showing your power and scaring people?” Cao bowed before the Taoist and replied: “How dare your disciple show his power.” Then the Taoist said: “Is it weak to throw a golden plate into the river?” Cao immediately threw the plate into the river. Everyone was amazed, and the Taoist (according to legend was Lu Dongbin) invited him to travel together.
Growing up at the court, Cao was not trained in any specific craft and, as they say, did not know how to do anything with his hands, so he simply wandered around the country. But one day Lai Caihe gave him his castanets and Cao began to sing, dance and make faces. That is why artists consider him their patron. It also gives the head of the family public recognition and attracts the attention of high authorities to him. He is considered the patron saint of politicians and brings good luck to those who lust for power.
The presence of his image in the house as a feng shui symbol has protective properties. He is a powerful protector who watches over you, although you may not know it. He great friend those who want to be successful in getting an education.
Li Tieguai - bestows wisdom
Li Tieguai is depicted in the garb of a beggar, but has supernatural powers. He bestows wisdom and is considered the most powerful of the immortals, although how can one say which of the immortals is more powerful and which is less? So tell me after this that you understand life, when under the attire of a beggar there can be a sage, and under the attire of a sage there can be a swindler.
Li Tieguai is also depicted as lame; in one hand he holds a magic gourd, in which he stores a magic potion, and in the other - an iron stick-staff. He is considered the protector of the sick, the patron of magicians and astrologers. He has a reputation as a philanthropist and helps those who need money, as well as those who need recuperation after illness.
The Jade Emperor granted him immortality for numerous noble deeds. According to legend, he is a student and contemporary of Lao Tzu himself.
Despite the high status of an immortal and self-respect, it is no coincidence that he is depicted in the clothes of a beggar, with a stick - a beautiful legend reflected in the novel “Journey to the East” (16-17 centuries) explains this. According to this legend, a Taoist named Li Xuan, having learned the secrets of the Tao, left his physical body in the Danshan cave, in Anhui province, in the care of a student, and he himself (in a subtle body) went to Lao Tzu, warning the student that if he did not return in seven days, his body would have to be destroyed. Six days later, the student learned about his mother’s illness, burned the teacher’s body ahead of schedule and hurried home. Returning on the seventh day, Li Xuan found that his body had been burned! So what could he do? Just at this time, not far from the cave, a lame beggar died of hunger, and Li Xuan passed into his body. From then on he lived in the body of a lame beggar.
True, there are others, no less beautiful stories. For example, a certain man named Han Yu studied Tao in the mountains for 40 years, and then, leaving his body in a hut, he went for a walk. The body was torn to pieces by a tiger, and the returning soul moved into the flesh of the deceased lame beggar.
There are stories about how Li swam across the river on a piece of bamboo and sold miraculous potions at the market that could cure all diseases. Lee was revered as the patron saint of magicians, and his images served as a sign for apothecary shops.
Li Tieguai often flies to the sky and returns to Earth on a tiger, so you can see images of him sitting astride a tiger.
There are many legends about him. Here are a couple of them. They say that during his earthly wanderings, he used to hang a pumpkin on the wall at night and jump into it, appearing only the next morning. It is also said that one cold night he entered a red-hot furnace and invited the guard Chaodu, whom he considered a very worthy man, to follow him into the red-hot furnace. Horrified, he refused. Then Li Tieguai ordered him to climb onto a piece of bamboo that was floating on the surface of the river, saying that it was a boat that would easily transport him to the other side. And again Chaodu refused, then Li Tieguai declared that the guard was too burdened with earthly concerns and could not go to the camp of the Immortals. Having said this, he stepped onto a piece of bamboo and floated away.
Han Xiangzi brings healing energy. It is believed that his teacher was Lu Dongbin.
Han Xiangzi loves to play the flute and these sounds attract the Qi of happiness, so all animals, insects and plants prosper and grow in his presence. That is why he is considered the patron saint of musicians. He knows how to make plants bloom in his presence, right away. He carries many plants in a sack on his back. This is why he is depicted playing the flute or simply holding a flute in his hand and with a bag on his back.
You can find images of Han Xiangzi with a basket of flowers or fruits in his hands, as he is considered the patron saint of gardeners.
It is believed that he was the nephew of the famous Tang era scholar and literati, Han Yu. However, Han Yu was a pragmatist and did not believe in any miracles and did not even share the views of any religion. And in our time, many scientists believe that it is inappropriate for a true scientist to believe in miracles and in God, no matter what he may be. But Han Xiangzi, on the contrary, believed in miracles and even performed miracles himself and became immortal.
There is a legend about how once, during a severe drought, the sovereign asked the scientist Han Yu to help - to do something so that the crop would not perish, but Han Yu, no matter how hard he tried, with his scientific methods couldn't help. But Han Xiangzi created a miracle - he actually caused rain, and in order to annoy his uncle, he caused rain everywhere, but not over his uncle’s estate.
Another time, at a feast at his uncle’s, Han Xiangzi filled a basin with earth and, in front of the guests, grew two beautiful flowers, on the leaves of which appeared golden hieroglyphs forming the phrase: “The clouds on the Qinling ridge blocked the path, where are home and family? The snow has covered the Languan passage, the horse does not move forward.” Han Yu understood the meaning of these lines later, when he was sent into exile to the south for speaking out against Buddhism. Having reached the Qinling ridge, he found himself in a snowstorm, and Han Xiangzi, who appeared in the guise of a Taoist, reminded him of the prophetic verses and spent the whole night talking about Taoist mysteries, proving the superiority of his teachings. You can often find images of an uncle and nephew at this very meeting.
Han Xiangzi was especially successful in studying magical knowledge. He knew how to turn water into wine and grow flowers in winter. He is depicted as a handsome young man playing a magic flute, which made everything around him blossom. Because of this beauty, Han Xiangzi was associated with a woman, and was sometimes depicted with distinctly feminine features.
Among the eight immortals there are two women.
Lan Caihe - brings good luck to girls
Lan Caihe is usually depicted in a blue dress holding a basket of flowers or simply holding a bouquet of flowers. She is the embodiment of femininity and brings happiness to young women. She patronizes flower merchants and gardeners.
However, there is one difficulty in understanding this image, because sometimes Lan Caihe is depicted as a girl, and sometimes as a boy. Both are quite acceptable. When Lan is portrayed as a youth, he is also wearing a blue dress, because Lan means "blue", but his dress is torn, he wears a boot on one foot, and the other foot is bare. He can hold castanets in his hand, but not Spanish ones, but Chinese ones, which are a pair of bamboo planks. Legend has it that he wanders through the city bazaars, singing songs of which he knows many, and begging for food. Lan strings the money that people give him onto a long cord and drags it behind him.
At times he lost coins, distributed them to poor people he met, or drank them away in wine shops. One day, when he was singing and dancing near Lake Haoliang and drinking wine in a wine shop there, a crane appeared in the clouds and the sounds of a reed pipe and flute were heard. At the same moment, the Doe climbed onto the cloud and, throwing down his boot, dress, belt and castanets, disappeared.
When Lan met other immortals, he gave his castanets to Lao Guojiu, gave his flute to Han Xiangzi, and began to carry a basket of flowers. In folklore he sometimes turns into a fairy of flowers.
He Xiangu - helps to arrange a successful marriage, find family happiness
The second woman among the immortals is He Xiangu. She predicted fate and patronized the household, although she herself knew how to do without food. She is depicted holding a lotus flower or a basket of flowers in her hands, but there are also images of her holding a peach wood flute. Her presence in the house benefits the eldest woman of the clan, as well as happiness in the family and marriage.
Apparently, she is not a prototype of a real person who lived before, because in folklore there are many legends about girls with the surname He and He Xiangu. Apparently, she is a collective image.
According to one legend, in her youth, a saint appeared to her in a dream and taught her to eat mica flour in order to become light and not die. Subsequently, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight, but then appeared on earth more than once. It is believed that the saint who set her on the path to immortality was Lu Dongbin. She vowed not to marry and had no family.
The gods from time to time invited her to take care of the flowers growing at the gates of heaven, and after this work she descended to earth again.
