Baxian Gong
The Baxian Gong (八仙宫Eight Immortals Palace) is located in Dongguan district of Xi'an. The site is said to be the location of Xingqing Palace during the Tang (618-907) Dynasty. In the Jin and Yuan dynasties, the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) doctrine prevailed. A large building was constructed here and called the Eight Immortals Temple. The temple had become a famous Daoist (Taoist) site by the Ming Dynasty.
The palace’s main hall is the Eight Immortals Hall. On the gate hangs a horizontal board inscribed with Qing Emperor Guangxu’s handwriting and saying “precious records passed on by immortals” (baolu xian chuan). Imperial Sovereign Donghua sits in the middle of the hall, with the Eight Immortals on either side. Daoist scriptures relate that Imperial Sovereign Donghua’s name was originally Wang Xuanfu. He was the master of Zhongli Quan, one of the Eight Immortals, and was the leader of the Quanzhen northern lineage’s five patriarchs (Wang Xuanfu, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Liu Haichan and Wang Chongyang). The Eight Immortals are all household names but few people would be able to give a clear outline of the true backgrounds of the eight.
Legends about the Eight Immortals began to spread in the Tang Dynasty but it was a long time before a final conclusion was reached as to whom the eight individuals were. It was not until Wu Yuantai wrote Journey to the East, Where the Eight Immortals Came from (Baxian Chuchu Dongyou Ji 八仙出处东游记) during the Ming Dynasty that the Eight Immortals were established as being Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Li Tieguai, Zhang Guolao, Cao Guojiu, Han Xiangzi, Lan Caihe, and He Xiangu.
Zhongli Quan, who styled himself Yunfang, was from Xianyang in Shaanxi Province. He lived during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. He used to call himself “Zhongli, the freest tramp under heaven” and therefore people of later generations mistook his name as being Han Zhongli. He was a senior general in his early days. He once commanded his army on an expedition to a tribe in northwest China when suddenly there was thunder and lightning, and the sky became so dark that it was difficult for them to see where they were going. Zhongli Quan wandered away from his troops and got lost in a valley. He went up a steep mountain and met the supreme immortal Wang Xuanfu, who gave him a golden elixir pill and told him some magic spells. These later helped Han Zhongli to attain enlightenment and become an immortal.
Lü Dongbin was originally called Lü Yan and he was also known as Chunyangzi. He twice sat and failed the highest-level civil-service recruitment examination during the Tang Dynasty’s Wuzong reign period (841-846). On the way back home after his failure, he visited Mount Huashan to relax. After resting in a tavern, he met a man with blue eyes and a long beard. They both regretted not having known each other before. Then the long-bearded man went to cook their meal, while Lü Dongbin lay under the sun to rest. Without noticing, Lü Dongbin fell asleep and had a dream. In the dream, he excelled in the examination and later had many influential official posts. However, as the saying goes, something unexpected might happen at any time, and he was demoted to a low-ranking post south of the Yangtze River. On the way to his new job, he was unfortunate enough to run into a raging snowstorm. His servant and horses all died and he became helpless.
As Lü Dongbin sighed in his dream, he suddenly woke up. The long-bearded man, who was Zhongli Quan, said: “The dream you just had shows that it is not worth rejoicing in wealth and honor, while it is not worth worrying about poverty and humble origin. Without exception, everything in the world is a mere dream, from ancient times to the present. Wealth and honor are like an empty reputation and evil fire, gold and jewelry are merely worldly possessions, and your descendants are other people. When you cannot breathe, all these will disappear.” Lü Dongbin suddenly became clear-minded. He then gave up his plan to study Confucian classics and engage in politics, and formally acknowledged Zhongli Quan as his master, concentrating on self-cultivation. He eventually attained enlightenment and became an immortal.
It is said that the tavern where Lü Dongbin met Zhongli Quan was situated in front of the Eight Immortals Palace.
Li Tieguai was originally called Li Xuan and used to be handsome and highly esteemed. Once when his Yang spirit went out traveling, his students cremated Li’s human body. Therefore, when Li’s Yang spirit returned, it had no human body to which to attach itself. So, Li had to be reincarnated in the body of a man who had just starved to death. Li consequently became an ugly man with disheveled hair and a dirty face, a bare belly and one lame leg. He always carried a big gourd on his back, and it was said this had been sent to him by an immortal. The gourd was full of a panacea that could drive out seasonal fevers and cure people.
Zhang Guolao was famous in the Tang Dynasty for his skill in making immortality elixirs and his knowledge to stay healthy. People added Lao to his name to express respect for him. His most obvious characteristic was that he often rode a white donkey backwards. After reaching his destination, he would change his donkey into a piece of paper that could be folded up and put in a box. Whenever he needed to ride the donkey, he would spray water on the paper and it would become a living one.
Cao Guojiu, according to legend, was originally called Cao Jingxiu. He was a grandson of the Song Dynasty General Cao Bin and also one of Empress Dowager Cao’s brothers. He was determined to practice Daoism and never admired glory or wealth. However, his brother always took advantage of their relationship with Empress Dowager Cao to do evil and did not accept Cao Guojiu’s advice. Cao Guojiu was ashamed of his brother’s deeds and did not want to associate with him, so he fled to a faraway mountain to concentrate on practicing Daoism. Later he encountered Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, who taught him Daoist arts and guided him into the immortal world.
Han Xiangzi is said to be the grandnephew of the Tang Dynasty literary giant Han Yu. He was adept at playing the xiao (a vertical bamboo flute) and also good at magical arts and transformations. Unconventional and unconstrained, he was excessively fond of drinking.
Lan Caihe was an itinerant Daoist who always wore a shabby gown of blue cloth and a belt of black wood. He would wear one shoe, with his other foot bare. He carried clapper castanets to attract attention as he begged along busy streets. As he walked, he would sing: “Lan Caihe, how much can the world go through? The lifetime of beauty is that of trees in spring, and time flies by like a shuttle that has been thrown. The ancients who drifted through life will never come back, while more and more new people come into the world.” It is said that he was drinking in a tavern one day when he heard music and singing in the sky, then he suddenly ascended into heaven.
He Xiangu is the only female among the Eight Immortals. She was from Yunmuxi in the city of Zengcheng in Guangdong Province. When she was 15 years old, she dreamed that an immortal taught her to eat mother-of-pearl powder. From then on, she became as light as a swallow in flight when she climbed mountains every day to collect wild fruit for her mother.
