Eight Immortals - in Literature

In Literature

The Immortals are the subject of many artistic creations, like paintings and sculptures. Examples of writings about them include:

  • The Yueyang Tower by Ma Zhiyuan
  • The Bamboo-leaved Boat (竹葉船 zhú yè chuán) by Fan Zi'an (范子安 fàn zǐ ān)
  • The Willow in the South of the City (城南柳 chéng nán liǔ) by Gu Zijing (谷子敬 gǔ zǐ jìng)
  • The most significant of the folktale is The Eight Immortals Depart and Travel to the East (八仙出處東游記 bā xiān chū chù dōng yoú jì) by Wu Yuantai (吳元泰 wú yuán taì) in the Ming Dynasty.
  • There is another work, also made during the Ming (ca. 14-15th cent.), by an anonymous writer, called The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea (八仙過海 bā xiān guò hǎi). It is about the Immortals on their way to attend the Conference of the Magical Peach (蟠桃會 pán taó huì) and encountered an ocean. Instead of relying on their clouds to get them across, Lü Dongbin suggested that they each should exercise their unique powers to get across. Derived from this, the Chinese proverb "The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each reveals its divine power" (八仙過海，各顯神通 ~, gè xiǎn shén tōng) indicates the situation that everybody shows off their skills and expertise to achieve a common goal.

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