The legend of the Eight Immortals:

The Eight Immortals of Taoism widely circulated among the people. There were different views on the names of the Eight Immortals before the Ming Dynasty. There are eight immortals in Han Dynasty, eight immortals in Tang Dynasty and eight immortals in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the listed immortals are different. In the Ming Dynasty, Wu Yuantai's Travel Notes of Eight Immortals to the East was defined as six people: Han Zhongli (), Zhang, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu (He Xiaoyun), Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu (Cao).

The mythical novel "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" borrows the five elements of gossip and uses personification to express it:

Lv Dongbin is a symbol of dry gold. Ganbu is pure yang, so it is called the ancestor of pure yang, and the sword used is also called pure yang sword. Also told He Xiangu love, reluctant to go, which means that Gankun is in harmony. Tie Guai Li belongs to the image of exchanging gold. Iron is enough, and iron is gold. Under the shadow of its subordinates, it shows the image of soft gold, which is different from hard gold.

He Xiangu belongs to the image of Kuntu and is the only woman among the Eight Immortals. She is a soft soil and wants to marry Lv Dongbin, which shows the image of Gan Kun having sex with Thailand.

Cao Guojiu belongs to the image of the earth. The book says that his brother's underground soul is attached to his body, evil, and his own soul is imprisoned underground. Underground is a place of dirt, but it is only dirt, because he finally defeated evil through a duel with evil spirits, which is a symbol of restoring his spirit and light.

The image that Zhang belongs to is shocking. Because Zhang cut down the rafters in the moon palace, this kind of tree is rigid and different from cork.

Lan Caihe is the image of Xun Mu, with bluegrass as the hand and cork as the herb.

Han Xiangzi belongs to the elephant of Kanshui. There is a civil drought in the novel, and Han Xiangzi plays the flute to pray for rain for the people.

Han Zhongli belongs to the image of being away from fire. Han Zhongli's temperament is fierce, and Bao Fan makes a fire, burning the Dragon Palace and so on.

Legend has it that the Eight Immortals represent men, women, old people, young people, rich people, rich people, poor people and poor people respectively. Because all the Eight Immortals are ordinary people, their personalities are close to those of the people, and they are very important representatives of immortals in Taoism recently. Many places in China have the Eight Immortals Palace, and the Eight Immortals are also essential places to worship God. As we all know, eight things held by the Eight Immortals, such as sandalwood boards, fans, crutches, flutes, swords, gourds, dusting and orchids, are "eight treasures" and represent the products of the Eight Immortals. Among literary and artistic works, the most famous is Eight Immortals Crossing the Ocean and Offering Birthdays. In today's Xi 'an, there is the Eight Immortals Palace (formerly known as the Eight Immortals Temple). Its main hall is the Eight Immortals Temple, which enshrines the statue of the Eight Immortals.

1. The Eight Immortals of Taoism in folklore. Namely Li Tie Guai Li, Han Zhongli, Zhang, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu. The stories about the Eight Immortals are recorded in the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, and their images are also found in the Yuan Zaju, but their names have not yet been determined. In Wu Yuantai's Journey to the East from the Origin of the Eight Immortals in the Ming Dynasty, they were identified as the above eight people. See Textual Research on Pujiang in Qing Dynasty by Eight Immortals.

2. Refers to Rong Chenggong, Li Er, Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Daoling, Zhuang Junping, Li Babai, Fan Changsheng and Mr. Jules. Jin Qiaoxiu's Ji Shu thinks that all eight people in Shu are immortals, so it is called the Eight Immortals.

3. Li Bai, He, Li, Ruyang, Cui Zongzhi, Zhang Xu, Jiao Sui. Eight people all like drinking and writing poems, and they are called "Eight Immortals in Wine". See Biography of Li Bai in the New Tang Dynasty. Du Fu wrote the Song of the Eight Immortals while drinking in the Tang Dynasty.

4. It refers to the eight most famous clients of Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, namely Su Fei, Lu Shang, Zuo Yuan, Tian You, Baylor, Mao Bei, Wu Bei and Jinchang. According to legend, Liu An and other eight people became immortals after taking the elixir. Therefore, later generations called these eight men "Eight Heroes" or "Eight Immortals".

origin

The legend of the Eight Immortals originated very early, but there are many versions of characters.

For example, the Eight Immortals in Huainan refer to the Eight Immortals who helped Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, write Huainan Zi. King Huainan was a good immortal, an elixir, and later generations called him an immortal. The theory of the Eight Immortals in Huainan may be related to this matter. During the Five Dynasties, Taoist painters painted in Shu, including Rong Chenggong, Li Er, Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Daoling, Yan Junping, Li Babai, Fan Changsheng and Mr.

The Song of Drinking Eight Immortals written by Du Fu in Tang Dynasty refers to Li Bai and eight literati who are good at poetry and drinking. Today's so-called Eight Immortals were formed in the Yuan Dynasty, but their personalities are different.

By the time Wu Yuantai wrote Travel Notes of the Eight Immortals in the East in the Ming Dynasty, the stories of Tie Guai Li and other Eight Immortals crossing the sea had been circulated day by day, and the Eight Immortals characters had also stabilized in the circulation. The Eight Immortals have different origins and different times. Zhang Guo, a Taoist priest in the early Tang Dynasty, first appeared in Historical Records and was a real person.

In the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty, fairy tales about Lv Dongbin were very popular, which contributed to the spread of Taoist inner alchemy. In the Song Dynasty, the "Golden Deer Single Knife" was widely circulated. Quanzhen religion rose in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. In order to respond to folk beliefs and legends to promote their teaching methods, Zhong Liquan and Lv Dongbin are regarded as the five great ancestors of the North. Folklore and drama are developed with Taoist immortals as the carrier, and the stories of the Eight Immortals are widely spread and rich in content. Lv Dongbin was the central figure in the formation of the Eight Immortals, and Taoism called him Lv Zu. Taoist temples everywhere, especially Quanzhen Taoist temple, offer sacrifices in an endless stream.

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

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