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The
Eight Immortals - Pa Hsien
 Either
singly or in groups the Eight Immortals, Pa Hsien,
of the Taoist religion are one of the most popular
subjects of representation in China; their portraits
are to be seen everywhere—on porcelain vases,
teapots, teacups, fans, scrolls, embroidery, etc.
Images of them are made in porcelain, earthenware,
roots, wood, metals. The term ‘Eight Immortals’
is figuratively used for happiness. The number eight
has become lucky in association with this tradition,
and persons or things eight in number are graced
accordingly. Thus we read of reverence shown to the
‘Eight Genii Table’ (Pa Hsien Cho), the
‘Eight Genii Bridge’ (Pa Hsien Ch’iao),
‘Eight Genii Vermicelli’ (Pa Hsien Mien),
the ‘Eight Genii of the Wine-cup’ (Tin Chung
Pa Hsien)—wine-bibbers of the T’ang dynasty
celebrated by Tu Fu, the poet. They are favourite
subjects of romance, and special objects of
adoration. In them we see “the embodiment of the
ideas of perfect but imaginary happiness which
possess the minds of the Chinese people.” Three of
them (Chung-li Ch’üan, Chang Kuo, and Lü Yen)
were historical personages; the others are mentioned
only in fables or romances. They represent all kinds
of people—old, young, male, female, civil,
military, rich, poor, afflicted, cultured, noble.
They are also representative of early, middle, and
later historical periods.
The
legend of the Eight Immortals is certainly not older
than the time of the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960–1280),
and is probably to be assigned to that of the Yüan
dynasty (1280–1368). But some, if not all, of the
group seem to have been previously celebrated as
Immortals in the Taoist legends. Their biographies
are usually arranged in the order of their official
eminence or seniority in age. Here I follow that
adopted in Hsiu hsiang Pa Hsien tung yu chi1 in which they are described in the order in which they
became Immortals. |
Frequently
found adorning Chinese Artwork are the Eight
Immortals of 
