Ba Xian
The Eight Immortals (八仙 in pinyin: Bā xiān; in Wade-Giles: Pa hsien) are Chinese deities who are represented as a group and rarely individually. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a tool of power (法器) that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" (暗八仙 àn ~). Most of them are said to have been born in Tang Dynasty or Song Dynasty. Not only are they worshipped by the Daoists, but they are a popular element in the secular Chinese culture. They live on Penglai Mountain-Island.
The Immortals are:
- Immortal Woman He (He Xiangu),
- Royal Uncle Cao (Cao Guojiu),
- Iron-crutch Li (Li Tieguai),
- Lan Caihe,
- Lü Dongbin,
- Philosopher Han Xiang (Han Xiang Zi),
- Elder Zhang Guo (Zhang Guo Lao), and
- Zhongli Quan.
For their names in Chinese characters and Wade-Giles, see the individual pages in the list above.
In literature before the 1970s, they were sometimes translated as the Eight Genii. First described in the Yuan Dynasty, they were probably named after the Eight Immortal Scholars of the Han.
Background
In general, all facets of Daoism (philosophical, alchemical and religious) are characterized by an interest in prolonging life - with the ultimate end being the attainment of immortality. Unlike many other religious traditions, Daoism was profoundly materialistic, so the attainment of eternal life was understood as being contingent upon maintaining the body. More specifically, since the Daoist cosmology predicates material existence upon the transformations of qi (vital energy), and since physical death was understood as the cessation of qi flow, they understood that proper (i.e. qi-enhancing) techniques could prolong life (sometimes indefinitely). Such beliefs were compatible with folk accounts of hermits residing in harmony with nature, living forever in peace and tranquility.
Such an account of a “mountain immortal” can be seen as early as the 3rd century B.C.E., in Zhuangzi’s description of an individual who, through proper dietary and breathing practices, has cast off the shackles of mortal life:
There is a Holy Man living on faraway Ku-she Mountain, with skin like ice or snow, and gentle and shy like a young girl. He doesn’t eat the five grains [1], but sucks the wind, drinks the dew, climbs up on the clouds and mist, rides a flying dragon, and wanders beyond the four seas. By concentrating his spirit, he can protect creatures from sickness and plague and make the harvest plentiful (Zhuangzi (Ch. 1), Watson 27).
These accounts gradually developed into a school of alchemical thought, who taught that immortality could be achieved through ingesting potions and elixirs (weidan (“Outer Alchemy”)) or through meditation and physical practices (neidan (“Inner Alchemy”)).
When religious Daoism emerged in the early part of the first millennium, their celestial pantheon included many legendary figures that had attained immortality through the means discussed above. The Eight Immortals are such figures. Though tales of their individual exploits date back to the Tang (or even the Han) dynasty, they began to be recognized as a group later in the Song period.
Nature of the Eight Immortals
As has been established, Daoism possesses a deep and abiding interest in the achievement of physical immortality. With the advent of religious Daoism, it is perhaps unsurprising that figures would arise who would represent this ideal in a populist form – one that would be amenable to veneration. What is intriguing, however, is the manner in which these undoubtedly ‘‘popular’’ figures manifest Daoist characteristics.
First and foremost, the group known as the Eight Immortals is notable for its diversity. All the members, with their various ages, genders, class backgrounds, and occupations, can be seen to represent a different subset of the human experience, which, in turn, stresses the attainability of the ideal of immortality. As Kristofer Schipper suggests: "there are as many ways to become immortal as there are Immortals, and there is nothing systematic about it" (164). Further, their various adventures (as told in myth and folklore), stress the Daoist ideal of wu-wei. They are most often depicted carelessly roaming from one place to another, or, as in introduction to the tale of the ‘’Jade Emperor’s Birthday’’, bobbing aimlessly in a boat “drinking, singing, and playing ‘guess fingers’” (Ho and O’Brien, 56). In this way, they exemplify the “free and easy” lifestyle advocated by Zhuangzi as the path to the Dao. Likewise, many tales see the immortals (either separately or in concert) wandering through various people’s lives and, through a simple word (or a magic spell), making things better for them. Rolling together the archetypical clown, healer, alchemist, virgin, hermit and trickster characters, the Eight Immortals simultaneously reinforce social roles and transcend them, allowing people, especially the poor and the oppressed, to laugh, but also to find hope in their sometimes bleak living situations.
Brief Biographical/Hagiographical Sketches of the Eight
The Eight Immortals in Chinese Folk Culture
The Immortals are the subject of many artistic creations, like paintings and sculptures. Examples of writings about them include:
- The Yueyang Mansion (《岳陽樓》 yuè yāng loù) by Ma Zhiyuan (馬致遠 mǎ zhì yuǎn),
- The Bamboo-leaved Boat (《竹葉船》 zhú yiè chuán) by Fan Zi'an (范子安 fàn zǐ ān), and
- The Willow in the South of the City (《城南柳》 chén nán liǔ) by Gu Zijing (谷子敬 gǔ zǐ jìng).
- The most significant of the writings is The Eight Immortals Depart and Travel to the East (《八仙出處東游記》 bā xiān chī chù dōng yoú zì) by Wu Yuantai (吳元泰 wú yuán taì) in Ming Dynasty.
- There is another work in Ming, by an anonymous writer, called The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea (《八仙過海》 bā xiān guò haǐ). It is about the Immortals on their way to attend the Conference of the Magical Peach (蟠桃會 pán taó huì) and encountered an ocean. Instead of going across by their clouds, Lü Dongbin suggested that together, they should use their powers to get across. Stemming from this, the Chinese proverb "The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals its divine power" (八仙過海，各顯神通 ~, gè xiǎn shén tōng) indicates the situation that everybody shows off their powers to achieve a common goal.
Worship
Established in the Song Dynasty, the Xi'an temple Eight Immortals Palace (八仙宮), formerly Eight Immortals Nunnery (八仙庵), where statues of the Immortals can be found in the Hall of Eight Immortals (八仙殿). In Mu-cha (木柵 mù zhà), Taipei County, Taiwan, there is a temple called South Palace (南宮), nicknamed Eight Immortal Temple (八仙廟 ~ miào).
Other sets of Eight Immortals
- The Eight Immortals of Huainan
- The Eight Immortals from Sichuan
- The Eight Immortals Indulged in Wine
- The Eight Immortals of Communist Party of China
- Eight Immortals Mountain
Notes
- ^ This line describes two Daoist cultivation practices (grain avoidance and breathing exercises) that were thought to prolong life. See Schipper (167-170) or Ho and O'Brien (16-18).
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
The Eight Immortals of Taoism. Translated and edited by Kwok Man Ho and Joanne O'Brien, with an introduction by Martin Palmer. New York: Meridian, 1990. ISBN: 0-452-01070-5.
Fowler, Jeaneane. An Introduction to the Philosophy and Religion of Taoism. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. ISBN: 1-84519-085-8.
Kohn, Livia. Daoism and Chinese Culture. Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press, 2001. ISBN: 1-931483-00-0.
Schipper, Kristofer. The Taoist Body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993. ISBN: 0-520-05488-1.
Wong, Eva. Tales of the Taoist Immortals. Boston & London: Shambala, 2001. ISBN: 1-57062-809-2.
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