Eight Immortals of Chinese Mythology NameDescription Li T'ieh-kuaiLI TieGuai李铁拐"Iron-crutch Li", who always carries a crutch and a gourd; he is the emblem of the sick. Chungli Ch'uanZhongli Quan钟离权Usually shown with a fan; he represents the military man Lan Ts'ai-hoLAN CaiHe蓝采和 The strolling singer, either a woman or a young boy, shown with a flower-basket; patron deity of florist. Chang Kuo-laoZHANG GuoLao张果老 Said to have lived in the 7-th or early 8-th century, shown as a rule with his mule, and carrying a bamboo tube-drum with iron sticks; he is the emblem of old men. Ho Hsien-kuHE XianGu何仙姑 A woman, said to have lived in the late 7-th century, shown with a lotus blossom or flower basket, and occasionally with a peach and sheng reed-organ. Lu Tung-pinLU DongBin吕洞宾Born c. 755 AD, died 805 AD, shown with a fly-whisker, is dressed as a scholar, and honored as such. He also had a magic sword with which he performed freak feats, for which reason he is also the patron deity of barbers. Han Hsiang-tzuHAN XiangZi韩湘子 Said to be the nephew of the Tang Dynasty statesman and scholar Han Yu, is often shown with a flute, and patron deity of musicians. Ts'ao Kuo-ch'iuCAO GuoJiu曹国舅 Said to have been connected with the Sung Imperial family, and is generally shown with castanets or a jade tablet of admission to court; patron deity of actors.
|
