The Eight Daoist (Taoist) Immortals and Their Emblems

The Eight Immortals is a group of legendary, semi-historical beings in both religious Daoism and popular religion, said to have obtained immortality through the elixir of life produced by alchemy or by the eating of magic fruits and acording to outher sources; through studying the secrets of nature which to some extent could be the same thing.

The Immortals, seven male and one female, might have originated already in the Han dynasty, though they were not represented in art until the Yuan dynasty when they seems to first have been depicted on Longquan (Celadon) ware.

The figures are usually recognizable by their attributes. They are:

1. Zhongli Quan. A military. He is characterized by his bearded face and his attribute is a fan. He makes his appearance whenever there is a message from the heavens to be conveyed to the mortal world. He is sometimes portrayed beside a tiger, a force of good and the defender against terrestrial chaos. Tigers represents strength, military prowess and is one of the four animals symbolizing Power and Energy. Tigers also represent wealth and power; in addition, legends tell of tigers carrying heroes to the heavens.

2. Zhang Guo or Zhang Guolao, an elderly magician famous for his mule, which can travel great distances without rest. After a journey, this immortal simply folds up the mule and places it in his pocket. He is the patron of happy marriages and numerous offspring, two goals which need the help of magic. His attribute is a fish-shaped musical instrument.

3. Lü Dongbin. Lü Dongbin, patron of barbers is also worshipped by the sick. His attribute is a sword and a fly-whisk. The sword is known as chan yao kuai, the Devil-slaying sabre, and was presented to him by the Fire Dragon. The fly-brush is called yun chou, the cloud sweeper. It empowers him to fly at will and to walk on the clouds as he traverses the earth, slaying dragons and ridding the world of evil. He is also worshipped by scholars who credit him with writing the kong kuo ge, a table or code of merits and demerits, which serve as a guide for morality. For this, he is known as the god of the Inkmakers, Lu zu.

4. Cao Guojiu. Patron of the theatrical profession. Brother of the Empress Cao always depicted wearing an imperial court dress. Another brother’s crimes led him to seek a holy life; it was because of his diligent pursuit and dedication to this that the other seven immortals selected him to join them. His attribute is a pair of tablets resembling castanets.

5. Li Tieguai, The Chinese "Tie" stands for iron, and "Guai" stands for crutch. He was a vital and handsome man when his soul once left his body to seek wisdom with the gods. In the meantime his caretaker mistakenly cremated his body. Having no body to return to, his soul thus entered the lame, crippled body of a beggar who had just died. It is in this form that he performs his good deeds. A dispenser of medicine and assistance, Li Tieguai wears a gourd across his shoulder in which he stores his cures. A bat often flutters nearby. The word for bat in Chinese is fu, which also means happiness and explains the benevolent symbolism of the bat. His attribute is an iron staff or crutch.

6. Han Xiang. Nephew of the great scholar and statesman Han Yu. Han Xiang surpassed his learned uncle's accomplishments and was able to predict the future. Often seen carrying a basket of peaches to promote longevity. His attribute is a flute.

7. Lan Caihe. It is uncertain whether Lan Caihe is a man or a woman; often he/she wears women’s clothing but speaks with a man’s voice. A strolling singer and flutist, patron of the indigent. All the money Lan Caihe receives while performing on the earth are given to the poor. Lan Caihe's attribute is a flower basket.

8. He Xiangu. A pure maiden who floats on clouds and eats only mother-of-pearl and moonbeams. Carrying the lotus, a symbol of compassion and longevity, she travels with the feng huang (the phoenix) which originates from the sun and is an omen of prosperity.

Stories of the Eight Immortals were popularized in folklore, drama, novels, and wood block prints besides occurring on all kinds of ceramic and decorative objects. The eight figures represent the spectrum of Chinese society: young and old, rich and poor, civil and military, men and women. The most famous legend recounts the immortals' adventures and conquests while exploring the sea to behold its wonders. In order to demonstrate the range of their powers, they floated down to the surface of the sea on lotus leaves for their journeys. They are identified with the onset of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and it is a possibility that the sea wave borders of early Chinese porcelain is to some extent referring to this fundamental story.

To the right is a lotus shaped dish, decorated with early Famille rose enamels and likely to be of the Yongzheng period (1723-35). The decoration on this early dish is entirely in Chinese taste and based on the The Eight Daoist (Taoist) Immortals and their attributes.

Each of these attributes belongs to one of the Eight Immortals.

The male central figure is Zhongli Quan, head of the Eight Immortals. He is the one who got the "Elixir of Life", the power of transmutation. He is also a symbol of longevity in himself and on this dish, he carries a peach in his hands - the symbol of immortality. The peaches are believed by the Daoists to grow on the fabled peach-tree which grows near the palace of Xi Wang Mu - The Queen mother of the West, and which blossoms only every 3,000 years. These peaches grants immortality to anyone who eats them.

Behind Zhongli Quan we can see a person carrying a flower basket. This is Lan Caihe, the patron of florists and a symbol of delusive pleasure, often depicted as a dancing boy in front of a long lady (Lange Lijsa) in decorations of the Kangxi period.

Behind Lan Caihe we can also see the iron crutch of Li Tieguai, the dispenser of medicine who also have a gourd as his emblem. He is sometimes depicted standing on a crab or next to a deer.

In the border panels we also find many other symbols among other we find the sword of Lu Dongbin - the Patron Saint of scholars and barbers - worshipped by the sick, with which he slays dragons and rids the world of evils.

All in all a quite interesting decoration, filled with symbols and mysteries where also the over-all shape of this dish - a lotus - besides being the Buddhist symbol of purity also is the symbol of He Ziangu, the female sage who gives assistance in house keeping.

See also: Hundred Antiques and the Eight Daoist Emblems

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© Jan-Erik Nilsson, Gothenburg, Sweden 1998-2007