• Dr Lynne Myer

    Research Paper

    11/22/06

    The Pa-Hsien



    The Pa-Hsien or Eight Immortals are a fundamental part of Chinese culture. For more than two-thousand years, myths of immortals have existed in Chinese culture. The stories are both sacred and secular, they exist as much to entertain as educate, and the best known are the stories of the Eight Immortals (Ho, Kwok Man).

    Both as individuals and as a group a large body of mythology surrounds the Pa-Hsien. Each has a story of how they changed from mortals to immortals, via either alchemy, accident, or the cultivation of the mind and body according to Taoism. Each also has a body of myths that surrounds their adventures as an individual. As a group they have many adventures as well.

    The History of Taoism

    According to mythology Lao-Tzu, the "Old Man", founded Taoism about 500 BCE Debate exist as to whether Lao-Tzu was real or simply mythological, and if his book on Taoism, the Tao te Ching was written by one man or a group of scholars. He is also an immortal, he is considered a living embodiment of the Tao. Taoism is about as far from the ideas of Confucianism as possible. Instead of insisting that people follow rights and rituals it wants people to find the Way, or Tao, that they are born with. The Tao manifest differently for all people so it becomes difficult to set the Tao as one definable thing. The Tao of a fox is different from the Tao of a king, and both are different from the Tao of a river.

    Taoism and Confucianism have a unique relationship. The teachings of Confucius or Kong Fu Tse stress following the rules, the rights and rituals. Being obedient is the most vital part of Confucianism, be it lord to serf, and parent to child, obedience should be total. Confucius was usually the court religion of the Chinese empire. Taoism offers people a way to live more simply, and doesn't stress following any given set of rules. The fact that in Taoism the common person has as much importance and value as kings has a large appeal to the common people. In the Taoist work the Chuang-Tzu the followers of Kong are often the subject of jokes. However, Kong Fu Tse often remains above reproach (Hamill, Sam).

    Taoism and Immortality

    Myths of immortality predate Taoism, though they have become a part of Taoist mythology. Taoist adepts have sought many paths to immortality over the centuries. For the common person living to the tenets of Taoism is considered to promote health and give them the chance to become lesser immortals, that is to say they would be youthful for a long period of time, centuries according to some stories (Wong, Eva).

    Other more esoteric approaches to the path of immortality exist. The cultivation of the mind and body in accordance to the Tao is often a common path. Sexuality was also considered a path to immortality. While most of the text on seeking immortality via sex have been destroyed or lost, they imply that men could gain immortality by reabsorbing their own sperm during intercourse. Another path followed seeking immortality revolved around the primal breath of life and how to preserve it in the human body. Practices included not eating foods that would cause indigestion as they detract for the amount of breath a person has (Ho).

    Alchemy was also a common path to immortality. In stories, herbs and pills of immortality abound. The Yellow Emperor and even some of the Eight Immortals gained immortality by ingesting a pill of immortality (Wong). Many adepts have labored to produce such a pill, and while this has lead to advancements in natural healing, it has at times proven to be dangerously toxic and even fatal (Ho).

    Kwok Man Ho compares the search for immortality with the promise of salvation. That the spirit and just as importantly the body would exist forever would mean that the soul of the given person would always exist. The idea being that the soul could not exist without the body, and thus it is the body that must be made immortal to escape the loss of one's soul. This would explain why the body is as important to cultivate as the spirit if one wishes to become immortal. (Ho). However, this is contradictory to the fact that in many of the myths of immortals the person who obtains immortality gives up his body to ascend to Heaven (Wong).

    Not all of the immortals are human, or started out as human. Some immortals are sprits of animals or of a particular star; others are humans who found a special medicine so powerful it would allow them to live forever; others are humans who have cultivated their minds and bodies to become immortal. Typically, the Pa-Hsien gained their immortality through cultivation of the mind and body, or the ingestion of an herb or pill of immortality. In gaining immortality though cultivation of the body and mind the Eight Immortals put themselves closer to the ideal for Taoism.

    There are four basic types of immortals, this is divided according to the cultivation of the person, and to what they are able to accomplish in life. The lowest of the four would be human immortals. While they live for an extended period, and usually remain youthful in appearance and action they are not different from normal humans. Earth immortals live for vast stretches of time, far longer than that of the average person, at times even for centuries, but are otherwise human. Spirit immortals live forever in celestial lands, some leave their bodies behind, and others take them with them. Sprit immortals have no status in the celestial court. The highest are the celestial immortals who are deified, they often have titles of celestial lord, or empress. Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu are considered to have been living manifestations of the Tao and thus fall into this category. The Eight Immortals also belong in this category (Wong).

    The Eight Immortals.

    1: The guest of the cavern: Lu tung-pin

    Lu tung-pin is the unofficial head of the Pa-Hsien. He's the only member of the Eight Immortals to merit his own shrines (Yetts, W. Perceval). His symbol is a magic sword that he uses to capture demons and evil sprits. It is considered the most powerful charm in Taoist magic. He is represented in art as a noble with a two edged sword on his back.

    Born Lu Yen his parents were government officials. He grew up studying the Confucian classics, the martial arts, and poetry. Like most born into the noble class he to thought to pursue his future in the government.

    From a young age he also had an interest in the Tao. When he was twenty, a Taoist told him that he had the makings of an immortal. That he should be a hermit, not living in grandeur. In addition, he told Lu Yen that if he should meet Chungli Ch'uan, another one of the Eight Immortals, that he should seize the opportunity.

    Over the course of years, Lu Yen failed at the exams needed to get a position in the government twice. On the way for his third exam, he met a stranger while drinking wine at an inn. Yen confessed to the man that he was likely never to get a place in the government and was ready to spend his life cultivating the Tao. When told this the stranger tells Yen that he is Chungil Ch'uan, the "Hermit of the Cloud Chamber" and wanted to teach Lu Yen about Taoism.

    Lu Yen was reluctant to go with him. When night fell Chungli Ch'uan gave him a pillow and told Lu Yen that he wouldn't force him to do anything. That night Lu Yen's dreams showed him passing the test and becoming a high official in the government, but this came at a price. He became lost in the politics of the court and would, in the end be the only surviving member of his family, wondering in exile for the rest of his life.

    When he awoke from this nightmare Chungli told Yen that he had lived 20 years of his life in that dream. The dream dissuaded Yen from the path of power and prestige, from that day forward he would be known as Lu tung-pin, the guest of the cavern, as we are all guest of the world. He would surpass Chungli, his teacher to become one of the greatest of the immortals.
    2: Hermit of the cloud chamber: Chungli Ch'uan

    Chungli Ch'uan is represented in art as a half nude, bearded man with a fan made of feathers and is occasionally known to carry a sword. His symbol in art and Taoist magic is his fan.

    His birth was quite unusual. At the moment of his birth towering shafts of sunlight danced around him, and he was quite the sight to see. His facial features would seem more in place on a cave man, and his arms were the length of a boy three years old. He was mute until he was seven days old then he cried out that his name was "Recorded by the Jade Emperor."

    Chungil Ch'uan was born a minor prince and ruled a small fiefdom; however fortune was not with him. His commission from the Emperor to wage war with desert nomads did not go well. His defeat in battle made him a fugitive. He spent much time lost and alone, on the run from the Empire that he once served.

    After he had spent some time in the woods, avoiding predators, but human and animal Chungil Ch'una met a strange priest in the woods. The priest led Chungil to a hermit who was a master of the Tao, and on meeting him Chungil turned his eyes to the Tao. It was there that he learned the true nature of things, swordsmanship, and the secrets of alchemy. Ultimately, he created the pill of immortality before leaving for the celestial world (Wong).
    3:The patron of the female Taoists: Ho Hsien-Ku

    In art she is represented as a young woman with a ladle with things that represent immortality. Her symbol is a lotus blossom (Yetts).

    Little is known about this immortal. What is perhaps more surprising is that a woman is among the most powerful and respected groups in Chinese mythology. Few women have become immortal, and women were often seen as a hindrance to the path of immortality.

    Born of a wealthy family Ho Hsien-Ku decided at an early age to cultivate herself with the Taoist arts. Following advice she received in her dreams she quickly lost the need to eat, or to keep warm in cold weather. After the death of her parents she was called upon by the Empress, but not interested in material things Ho Hsien-Ku would escape to the celestial lands (Wong).
    4: The Bat spirit: Chang Kua Lao

    In art Chang Kua Lao is represented in stories and art as an elderly man who rides a white donkey backwards.

    Myths don't always agree on his origins. Most also don't agree on why he rides a donkey backwards. They do all agree that the donkey is magical in nature, able to run thousands of miles a day. When the donkey is not needed he can just fold it up and put it in is pocket. Some would say that it was a gift given to him to get him off the family farm, others would say that it ate the herb of immortality with him, yet another claim it was a charm given to him by a blacksmith, but most agree that his preferred method is to ride it backwards. In one myth the fact that he rides his donkey backwards is explained by the fact that it's the only way he knows how to ride it.

    In some stories, he is a bat spirit who gained human form by absorbing the essences of the sun and the moon (Wong). In others, he was an inquisitive child who shared the herb of immortality with his donkey, giving them both immortality. A third story would suggest that the donkey was a magic charm he needed to capture a unicorn and prove his worthiness to become immortal (Ho).
    5: The immortal with the iron crutch: T'ieh-kuai Li

    Li T'ieh-kuai is represented in art as a hideous beggar with an iron crutch. His symbol is a smoking gourd.

    Li was a handsome man who was seeking the Tao. He spent much of his time out living as a hermit in the woods. One day he preformed a ritual that would move his spirit so he could talk with Lao-Tzu. Despite leaving explicit instructions to his pupil that his body was not to be burned for seven days, in the event that Li did not return. His apprentice left because his mother was deathly ill and deiced that since his master had not returned it would be safe to burn it on the sixth day.

    Having lost his body Li found home in the nearest body that had died near his house. Unfortunately, it was a lame beggar who had died of starvation. While this does represent some challenges to Li's ability to get around his inhabitation of a dead body gave him the chance to continue his cultivation of his mind and body until he became one of the Eight Immortals.
    6: A faithful nephew: Han Hsiang

    Han Hsiang is often depicted in art under the peach tree that some myths say that gave him immortality playing his symbol a jade flute (Yetts).

    Han Hsiang learned the arts of immortality from Lu tung-pin while wondering the woods playing his flute. He would become known as one of the greatest poets and artist in China before he obtained immortality and joined the Eight Immortals.
    7: The wandering Minstrel: Lan Ts'ai-ho

    It is unknown if Lan Ts'ai-ho is male or female, and is often depicted in art with only one boot, dressed in tatters and caring a basket of flowers. It is common for him to be depicted as a transvestite (Yetts).

    Little is known about this immortal. Lan Ts'ai-ho was a street performer known for having an amazing singing voice and for his charity. One day a white crane visited Lan with the message that it was time to depart for the immortal realm (Wong).
    8: The hermit Aristocrat: Ts'ao Kuo-chiu

    Depicted as a member of the imperial court his symbols are a set of Chinese maracas.

    Little is known about this member of the Pa-Hsien. Some stories say that he is a reformed murderer who was chosen to become a part of the Eight Immortals because he looked useful (Ho). Other stories say that he became so distressed about life in his nephew, the emperor's court, that he became a Taoist hermit, and when he met a few of the Pa-Hsien they offered him immortality (Wong).

    Myths of the Eight Immortals.

    There are a large number of myths that deal with the Eight Immortals, some myths as individuals and some as a group. These are often lighthearted adventures. The Eight Immortals are as much pranksters as heroes and deities. In one story, "The Jade Emperor's Birthday" the Eight Immortals play a trick on the highest member of the Celestial Court.

    Many of the myths that deal with a single immortal are often the tale of how they gained their immortality. However, some of the stories focus on the actions or domain of a single immortal. For instance in the story, "The Punishment of K'uang Tzu Lein" it is Li of the Iron Crutch, offended at Lein's waste of food and treatment of beggars who ultimately brings about Lein's downfall (Ho).

    Chinese Culture and the Eight Immortals

    The Pa-Hsien have a huge cultural significance in China. They are seen in art, plays, opera, statues, and stories (Wong, Eva). They are in both Buddhist and Taoist churches, though the ways they are represented are often different in the two religions. The effect of the myths of the Pa-Hsien can be seen in everything from art, to philosophy, and even the martial arts (Ho, Kwok Man).

    The number eight is also significant in China. In Chinese numerology eight is one of the most important numbers. Instead of the four winds, they have eight. They also have eight directions, and the eight trigrams. The eight trigrams are used in a traditional from of fortune telling, but they can also be used in traditional Taoist magic (Ho). This may be one of the fundamental factors as to why they have Eight Immortals rather than four, seven or some other number.

    In Taoist temples the Pa-Hsien are represented by having their symbols placed on poles to help ward off evil. In Buddhist temples the Eight Immortals are often seen in murals on the walls that depict them performing some heroic deed (Ho). Also, art of all types can be found that depict one or more of the Pa-Hsien in countless places in the secular world as well (Ho).

    The influence of the Pa-Hsien can be seen in countless areas of Chinese life. The myths of the Eight Immortals have taught and entertained countless people over the centuries. While many things about the Eight Immortals may never be known, the stories will continue to endure generation to generation, and continue to be a significant influence on Chinese culture.




    Works Cited.

    Chuang-Tzu. The Essential Chuang Tzu. Translated and edited by Hamill, Sam and Seaton, J.P. Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boston Massachusetts. 1998.



    Confucius. The Analects. Translated by David Hinton. Counterpoint. Washington, D.C. 1998

    The Eight Immortals of Taoism. Translated and edited by Ho, Kwok Man and O'Brien, Joanne. Intro by Palmer, Martin. Penguin Books. New York, New York. 1991.

    Wong, Eva. Tales of the Taoist Immortals. Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boston, Massachusetts. 2001.

    Yetts, W. Perceval. "The Eight Immortals." The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland for 1916. London, 1916. Reduced to HTMY by Weimer, Chrisopther M. August 2002. Sacredtext.com. 11/20/06