Lü Dongbin

Lu Dongbin

Lǚ Dòngbīn (呂洞賓) ("Lu Tung-Pin" in Wade-Giles) is the most widely known member of the Eight Immortals and hence is considered by some to be the de facto leader of the group. He is the most significant of the Eight and is the only one to receive significant veneration outside of the group context.

Lü Dongbin, whose birth name was Lü Yan, is generally thought to have "lived from the end of the Tang dynasty (618-906 C.E.), through the Five Dynasties (907-960 C.E.) and into the early part of the Song (960-1279 C.E.). He is depicted in art as a scholarly gentleman and he often holds a sword that is understood to dispel evil.

Member of the Eight Immortals

Lü Dongbin is one of the illustrious Eight Immortals (Ba Xian), a group of Daoist/folk deities who play an important role in Chinese religion and culture. While they are famed for espousing and teaching Daoist philosophy and cultivation practices, they are also figures of popular myth and legend that are known for their devotion to the downtrodden and their collective lifestyle of “free and easy wandering.” Though they are most often depicted and described in the context of their group, each has their own particular set of tales, iconography, and areas of patronage. Each of these three elements will be elaborated on below.

Legends

Much like Zhongli Quan (a fellow immortal), Lü Yan's spiritual aptitude was presaged by various miraculous events surrounding his birth. As summarized by Yetts,

At the moment when his mother gave him birth an unearthly perfume pervaded the house, and strains of celestial music were wafted from the sky, and a white crane from heaven flew down between the curtains of her bed and was seen no more. Even when a newly-born infant his frame was strong as metal, and his muscles hard as wood. The crown of his head formed a high dome resembling a crane's; his back was arched like that of a tortoise; his eyes were as brilliant as those of a phœnix; and his eyebrows extended on either side to meet the hair round the temples.

Following the

One night when Lü Yan was in Chang'an or Handan (邯鄲 hán dān), he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking. He dreamed that he took the imperial exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice-minister (侍郎). He then married the daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again to be the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street, he woke up.

Although in dream, eighteen years passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhongli Quan in order to make him realize the emptiness of the human world. As a result, Lü went with Zhongli to discover the Dao. This dream is known as "Dream of the Yellow Millet" (黃粱夢 húang líang mèng) and is described in a writing compiled by Ma Zhiyuan (馬致遠 mă zhì yŭan) in Yuan Dynasty.

Lu Dongbin has a reputation as a womanizer and a heavy drinker, even after becoming immortal. His master Zhongli Quan was more evolved and realized the emptiness of existence. Lu Dongbin had mastered the five elements and yin and yang, and used his powers to his advantage to sleep with many beautful women. Eventually Lu Dongbin did attain a higher state and became enlightened.

In volume 82 of Song's Li Fang (李昉 lĭ făng)'s Extensive Records of Taiping (《太平廣記》), an earlier version of the story, Lü Dongbin was replaced by Student Lu (盧生 lú shéng), and Zhongli Quan by Old Man Lü (呂翁 lü wēng).

The kindness of Lü Dongbin is demonstrated in the Chinese proverb "dog bites Lu Dongbin" (狗咬呂洞賓 gŏu yăo~), which means an inability to recognize goodness and repay kindness with vice. The original saying proverb should actually be "苟杳呂洞賓，不識好人心", story orginating from the friendship between Gou Miao and Lu Dongbin, whom both did great favours to the other and yet it seems like a disservice initially, signifying the importance of having faith.

According to Richard Wilhelm, he was the founder of the Religion of the Golden Elixir of Life (Jin Dan Jiao), and originator of the material presented in the Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi, or The Secret of the Golden Flower.

Much like many of the other immortals (including Zhang Guo Lao and Lan Caihe), the legendary biography of Lü Dongbin contains an implicit critique of life in medieval China (especially when that life is evaluated through a Confucian lens). Though Lü was seen as an aspiring bureaucrat (and, in some versions, even became one), he realizes that the truest form of self-improvement and social betterment lay beyond this (apparently) limited perspective. This can be seen as an explicit critique of Confucian social mores, which stress hierarchy, conventional morality, and change within the existing cultural context. Likewise, parallels can be drawn between the immortal's drive to use his learning (and magical powers) in the service of all people and the bodhisattva doctrine inherited from Buddhism. Such a correspondence is likely a simple (and probably inadvertent) syncretism, as such ideas would have been an integral part of popular thought and worship when the tales of Lü Dongbin were attaining currency.

Iconographic Representation

In artistic works, Lü Dongbin is portrayed as a handsome, aristocratic man in the traditional robes of an imperial bureaucrat. He is often seen wielding a two-handed sword (thought to repel evil) or holding a fly-whisk (a common symbol for an individual with the power of flight).

Area of Patronage

As the most important of the Immortals (at least from a popular perspective), Lü Dongbin has become identified as an important patron of many people, places and things.

First, he is seen as an idealized doctor and is often referred to as the "King of Medicine." In historical times, peasants often relied on his oracles as their primary source of health care information. Somehow, this connection with doctors has also extended to barbers, to the extent that his image can be found in most traditional shops.

In contrast with the other immortals, Lü Dongbin (likely due to his historical association with the literate classes) is venerated by the Confucians and is seen as a patron of the literati. For this reason, he is often the subject of elite-level spirit-writing cults.

Much like Zhang Guo Lao, Lü Dongbin is also associated with the generation of progeny, with an especial talent for ensuring their success and prosperity. For this reason, he is often featured on charms that are hung in nurseries.

Finally, he is seen as a protector against all varieties of evil spirits, and is thought to be able to repel them with his demon-killing sword.

Popularity and influence

Lü Dongbin's significance is such that most Daoist temples and shrines contain at least one statue or image of him. However, “he is a complex personality because, besides being a popular sage, he is also venerated as one of the Complete Realization School patriarchs and became an important patron saint in modern automatic writing cults.” His general importance is further attested by Yetts, who notes that "he is portrayed more frequently than any other single member of the group; and, in addition to innumerable notices of him to be found in general Taoist literature, there are at least two large works entirely devoted to his life and doings."

References

ISBN 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.
• Goodrich, Anne S. Peking Paper Gods: A Look at Home Worship. Monumenta Serica Monograph Series XXIII. Nettetal: Steyler-Verlag, 1991. ISBN 3-8050-0284-X.
• Kohn, Livia. Daoism and Chinese Culture. Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press, 2001. ISBN 1-931483-00-0.
• Ling, Peter C. "The Eight Immortals of the Taoist Religion." Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society XLIX (1918). 58-75.
• Pas, Julian F. in cooperation with Man Kam Leung. “Lü Tung-pin/ Lü Dongbin” Historical Dictionary of Taoism. Lanham, M.D. & London: The Scarecrow Press, 1998. 214-215. ISBN 0-8108-3369-7.
• Schipper, Kristofer. The Taoist Body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993. ISBN 0-520-05488-1.
• Werner, E.T.C. "Pa-Hsien" in A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology. Wakefield, NH: Longwood Academic, 1990. 341-352. ISBN 0-89341-034-9.
• Wong, Eva. Tales of the Taoist Immortals. Boston & London: Shambala, 2001. ISBN 1-57062-809-2.
• Yetts, W. Perceval. "The Eight Immortals." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Britain and Ireland for 1916 (1916). 773-806. Accessed online at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/jras/1916-21.htm.

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