The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''
xian (immortals)'' in
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...
. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight Immortals" (). Most of them are said to have been born in the
Tang or
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
. They are revered by the
Taoist
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
s and are also a popular element in secular
Chinese culture
Chinese culture () is one of the Cradle of civilization#Ancient China, world's earliest cultures, said to originate five thousand years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia called the Sinosphere as a whole ...
. They are said to live on a group of five islands in the
Bohai Sea
The Bohai Sea ( zh, c=渤海, p=Bó Hǎi, l=Bo Sea) is a gulf/inland sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects via the Bohai Strait. It ...
, which includes
Mount Penglai.
The Immortals are:
*
He Xiangu (), in modern context generally seen as the only female of the group, often depicted holding a lotus flower.
*
Cao Guojiu (), related to a
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
emperor before he became an immortal.
*
Li Tieguai (), considered to be mentally disturbed and associated with medicine and easing the suffering of the sick and needy, identified by his iron crutch and
calabash bottle.
*
Lan Caihe (), originally pictured as female; later developed an ambiguous or (more accurately) a "transformative" gender and is considered the patron of
florists[National Geographic Society (U.S.). ''National Geographic Essential Visual History of World Mythology.'' National Geographic Books, 2008. Page 340.][Dorothy Perkins. ''Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture.'' Page 140.] and gardeners.
[Valery M. Garrett. ''A Collector's Guide to Chinese Dress Accessories.'' Times Books International, 1997. Page 32.]
*
Lü Dongbin (), a scholar and poet considered to be the leader of the Eight Immortals.
*
Han Xiangzi (), a flute artist.
*
Zhang Guolao (), a ''
fangshi'' symbol of longevity.
*
Zhongli Quan
Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Jidao, is a Chinese mythology, Chinese mythological figure and one of the Eight Immortals in the Taoism, Taoist pantheon. He is also known as Han Zhongli because he was said to have been born in the Han dynasty. In leg ...
(), associated with death and the power to create silver and gold, often depicted holding a fan.
In literature before the 1970s, they were sometimes translated as the Eight
Genie
GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...
s. Some stories had them all "cheerfully addicted to wine", so they were called the "Jiu-zhong Ba Xian" or "Eight Drunken Immortals".
First described in the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
, they were probably named after the
Eight Immortal Scholars of the Han.
In art
200px, left, ''The Eight Immortals'' ( )">Walters Art Museum)
While cults dedicated to various Taoist immortals date back to the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
, the popular and well-known Eight Immortals first appeared in the
Jin dynasty. The wall murals and sculptures in the Jin tombs, created during the 12th and 13th centuries, depict a group of eight Taoist immortals. The term "Eight Immortals" became commonplace after the popularization of the Taoist group of writers and artists known as the Complete Realization (Quanshen). The most famous art depiction of the Eight Immortals from this period is a mural of them in the Eternal Joy Temple (Yongle Gong) at Ruicheng.
The Eight Immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient and medieval art. They were frequent adornments on
celadon
Celadon () is a term for pottery denoting both wares ceramic glaze, glazed in the jade green Shades of green#Celadon, celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, ...
vases. They were also common in sculptures owned by the nobility. Many silk paintings, wall murals, and wood block prints remain of the Eight Immortals. They were often depicted either together in one group, or alone to give more homage to that specific immortal.
An interesting feature of early Eight Immortal artwork is that they are often accompanied by jade hand maidens, which are commonly depicted as servants of the higher ranked deities, and depictions commonly include other images showing their great spiritual power. During the
Ming and
Qing dynasties, the Eight Immortals were frequently associated with other prominent spiritual deities in artwork. There are numerous paintings with them and the
Three Stars (the gods of longevity, prosperity, and good fortune) together. Also, other deities such as the
Queen Mother of the West
The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...
are commonly seen in the company of the Eight Immortals and she is also popularly thought to have blessed them with their
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
abilities.
Artwork inspired by and about the Eight Immortals is not limited to paintings or other visual arts. They are quite prominent in written works as well. Authors and playwrights have written numerous stories and plays on the Eight Immortals. One famous story that has been rewritten many times and turned into several plays (the most famous written by Mu Zhiyuan in the Yuan Dynasty) is
The Yellow-Millet Dream, which is the story of how Lǚ Dòngbīn met Zhongli Quan and began his path to immortality.
In literature

The Immortals are the subject of many artistic creations, such as
painting
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
s and
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
s. Examples of
writing
Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...
s about them include:
* ''The
Yueyang Tower'' by
Ma Zhiyuan
* ''The Bamboo-leaved Boat'' () by Fan Zi'an ()
* ''The Willow in the South of the City'' () by Gu Zijing ()
* The most significant is ''The Eight Immortals Depart and Travel to the East'' () by Wu Yuantai () in the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
.
* There is another work, also made during the Ming (c. 14th–15th centuries), by an anonymous writer, called ''The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea'' (). It is about the Immortals on their way to attend the Conference of the
Magical Peach () when they encounter an
ocean
The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...
. Instead of relying on their clouds to get them across, Lü Dongbin suggested that they each should exercise their unique powers to get across. Derived from this, the
Chinese proverb "The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals its divine powers" () indicates the situation that everybody shows off their skills and expertise to achieve a common goal.
In qigong and martial arts
The Eight Immortals have been linked to the initial development of ''
qigong
Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
'' exercises such as the
Eight Piece Brocade. There are also some
Chinese martial arts styles named after them, which use fighting techniques that are attributed to the characteristics of each immortal. Some
drunken boxing styles make extensive use of the Eight Immortals archetypes for conditioning, qigong/meditation and combat training.
One subsection of ''ba ying quan()'' drunken fist training includes methodologies for each of the eight immortals.
Worship
Established in the
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
, the
Xi'an
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
temple Eight Immortals Palace (), formerly Eight Immortals Nunnery (), has a collection of statues depicting the Immortals in what is called the Hall of Eight Immortals (). There are many other shrines dedicated to them throughout China and Taiwan. In
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, the Xian'gu Temple () is dedicated to the Immortal Lady He from the group as its focus of devotion.
Overall though, in the
Sinosphere
The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...
, the Eight Immortals are depicted as
deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
who are very often not seen as such, being more like
folk heroes and
saints
In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
to most who venerate them.
However, to these people, the Immortals often "represent ... the close ties between the living and the deceased, since the spirits of the deceased are always within reach when help in needed" in some branches of
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
and their existence is seen as being similar to
ghosts
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
as well.
Depictions in popular culture

The Immortals are the subject of many depictions in popular culture, including:
* In
Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...
's films ''
Drunken Master'' and ''
Drunken Master II
''Drunken Master II'' () is a 1994 Hong Kong action-comedy kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Jackie Chan as Chinese martial arts master and a Cantonese folk hero, Wong Fei-hung. It was Chan's first traditional style mart ...
'', there are eight "drunken"
Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
forms that are said to be originated from the Eight Immortals. At first, the protagonist did not want to learn the
Immortal Lady He form because he saw it as feminine, but he eventually created his own version of it.
* The 1998–99 Singaporean television series ''
Legend of the Eight Immortals'' was based on stories of the Eight Immortals and adapted from the novel ''Dong You Ji''.
* The Eight Immortals play an important part in the plot of the video game ''
Fear Effect 2''.
* In the
Andy Seto graphic novel series ''Saint Legend'', the Eight Immortals reappear to protect the Buddhist faith from evil spirits set on destroying it.
* In the ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
'' comic book, the Eight Immortals appear to protect China along with the
Collective Man when the mutant
Xorn
Xorn is the alias of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''New X-Men (2001 series), New X-Men Annual 2001'' (September 2001). He was created by Grant Morrison and Frank Qui ...
caused a massacre in one small village.
* In the ''
Immortal Iron Fist'' comic book, there are seven supreme kung fu practitioners, called the Seven Immortal Weapons. They each hail from other-dimensional cities and must fight for their city's chance to appear on Earth. Aside from being named the "Immortal" Weapons, the most overt reference to the Eight Immortals is that one Immortal Weapon, Fat Cobra, hails from and represents a city called "Peng Lai Island".
* In the roleplaying game ''
Feng Shui
Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...
'', the Eight Immortals appear in the sourcebook ''Thorns of the Lotus''.
* The Eight Immortals played a role in the animated show ''
Jackie Chan Adventures''. In the show, the Immortals were said to be the ones who defeated the Eight Demon Sorcerers and sealed them away in the netherworld using items that symbolized their powers. They then crafted the Pan'ku box as a key to opening the portals that lead into the demons' prison. Later on in the series, the items the Immortals used to seal away the demons the first time are revealed to have absorbed some of the demons' chi and become the targets of Drago, the son of Shendu (one of the Demon Sorcerers), to enhance his own powers.
* In ''
The Forbidden Kingdom'',
Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...
plays the character
Lu Yan, who is supposed to be one of the Eight Immortals, as revealed by the director in the movie's special feature, ''The
Monkey King and The Eight Immortals''.
* In the Tales of the Dragon expansion for ''
Age of Mythology
''Age of Mythology'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 31, 2002 in North America and on November 14, 2002 in Europe.
A spin-off from the ''A ...
'', the Eight Immortals are hero units for the Chinese.
* In ''
The Iron Druid Chronicles,'' Zhang Guolao joins the party journeying to
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
to slay
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
in vengeance for the Norse gods crimes. Zhang Guolao's grudge stems from Thor killing his donkey in a trick.
References
Further reading
* Lai, T. C., ''The Eight Immortals'' (Swindon Book Co., 1972).
* Mantak Chia, Johnathon Dao, ''The Eight Immortal Healers: Taoist Wisdom for Radiant Health'' (Simon and Schuster).
External links
*
Stories and Myths of Eight Immortals. A collection of Eight Immortals stories
{{Authority control
Chinese deities
Chinese art
Taoist art
Taoist immortals
Chinese iconography