What do the Eight Immortals stand for?

The Eight Immortals are the Taoist Eight Immortals widely circulated in China folklore. The names of the Eight Immortals are the Eight Immortals in Han Dynasty, the Eight Immortals in Tang Dynasty and the Eight Immortals in Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the listed immortals are also different. The names of the Eight Immortals in the Ming Dynasty were determined in Wu Yuantai's Journey to the East, including Tie Guai Li, Han Zhongli, Zhang Lao Guo, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Lv Dongbin, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu. Later, there was a famous saying that "the Eight Immortals showed their magical powers when crossing the sea".

1. The Eight Immortals of Taoism in Han folklore.

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.

The characters in Wu Yuantai's The Journey to the West are Zhang, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu.

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.

[Gold] Xiu Xiu's "Ji Shu" thinks that eight people in Shu became 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 public figures of Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, namely Su Fei, Lu Shang, Zuo Yuan, Tian You, Baylor, Mao Pi, 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".

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.

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. She is the only female among the Eight Immortals. She is soft soil.

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 of Zhang belongs to Zhenmu, which lives in the east. 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.

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

According to the legend of the Han nationality, 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 mortal, their personalities are close to the people. Recently, they are very important representatives of immortals in Taoism. 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 items of the Eight Immortals, such as sandalwood boards, fans, flutes, fishing drums, swords, gourds, lotus flowers and flower baskets, are "eight treasures", representing 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.