Eight Immortals of Chinese Mythology
Name
Description
Li T'ieh-kuai
LI TieGuai
李鐵拐
"Iron-crutch Li",who always carries a crutch and a gourd; he is the emblem of the sick.
Chungli Ch'uan
Zhongli Quan
鐘離權(quán)
Usually shown with a fan; he represents the military man
Lan Ts'ai-ho
LAN CaiHe
藍采和
The strolling singer,either a woman or a young boy,shown with a flower-basket; patron deity of florist.
Chang Kuo-lao
ZHANG GuoLao
張果老
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-ku
HE 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-pin
LU DongBin
呂洞賓
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-tzu
HAN XiangZi
韓湘子
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'iu
CAO GuoJiu
曹國舅
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.