Although Ba Xian (八仙) are capable of superhuman feats and possess many magical secrets in the legends, they are no gods. They were people who renounced worldly ambitions and learned to live in the harmony with the laws of the universe and nature. They received their immortality (or rather the ability to live forever) as a gift from the gods, but they are still "just" humans. Their home is said to be the islands of Peng Lai, Fangchang and Yingzhou, located in Bohai Sea. They have a weakness for wine, which is why they are also sometimes called the "eight drunken saints". They travel together very often, do good deeds and accept new disciples. They are considered a sign of good luck and longevity, and as such you will find them among the motifs on ceramic vessels, serving trays, embroideries, bronze and porcelain statues, fans, paintings or carved ornaments.
Now let's check their personal stories...
Li Tieguai reached the immortality among them as the very first. He studied Taoism and the laws of nature under the guidance of Laozi himself. He was able to leave his body with his soul, wander the world, and return again without difficulty. However, this proved fatal for him in the end. Once, during a similar trip, he had the body guarded by a student, to whom he told that if he did not return within seven days, he reached nirvana and the body should be burned and buried. But the student burned the body already on the sixth day because he wanted to visit his dying mother. Li's ghost had to search for a replacement vessel and all he found nearby was the comically ugly body of a beggar lame on one leg. Since then, he has been limping and has to lean on an iron crutch to walk. It is said that the first act after his transformation was to heal the mother of the disciple that failed him. His hair is tied with a golden ribbon given to him by the gods, and around his neck he wears a gourd container with a cure for hundreds of diseases (and in which he can hide if necessary). He is the patron saint of doctors, pharmacists, the sick and physically disabled.
According to some, Zhang Guolao is the embodiment of the original chaos that existed before the creation of the world, while others believe that he originally lived as an old man mastering life-extending alchemy in the sixth century BC. It is said that once while passing near the palace, he caught the attention of the emperor. He then asked his Taoist master who it was. The master knew that if he revealed the name of the saint he would die immediately, but in the end he agreed under a condition that the emperor will go barefoot to apologize to Zhang for the betrayal. And so it happened. Zhang accepted the emperor's explanation and apology with a smile and let the soulless master's body come back to life. He appears as an elderly man with a long gray beard and a hat on his head. He travels on a mule that can go hundreds of miles without a break and sits facing backwards on it. When he spends night somewhere, he simply rolls up the mule like a paper and hides it in his pocket. When he wants to use it again, he spits water on it and it gains volume again. He is the most eccentric of the eight - evidenced by the form of kung fu named after him - in which you will see a backflip kick or a backward bow where the shoulder touches the ground. He can make himself invisible and is the patron of newlyweds and childless couples and can help them with the birth of a son.
According to one version, Zhongli Quan was a general who, after the defeat of his army in the battle, had to hide in the mountains. There he met a Taoist alchemist, who shared with him his knowledge, saying that he should go out among the people and help those in distress - and he did. Later, thanks to this and through meditations, he became the immortal. But there is a far more interesting and also quite morbid version. It is said he used to be a philosopher and lived with his beautiful wife in the countryside. One day he saw a woman fanning fresh dirt on a new grave. When he asked about the reason, he learned that her husband had made her promise not to remarry until the dirt at the place where he would be buried was dry. However, she has already found a new man, so she tries to fulfill her promise this way. Zhongli helped her, struck the grave with a fan, and the clay immediately dried up. At home, however, his wife scolded him and called the widow a characterless monster. The next day, Zhongli feigned his death and assumed the form of a handsome man to test his wife. She behaved just like the woman with the fan and even agreed to retrieve the brain from her deceased husband's grave for her suitor. When she opened the coffin at night, a living Zhongli appeared beside her and the shocked wife committed suicide out of shame. Zhongli burned down his house and found in its ashes a scroll containing guidance to immortality. Since then, he appears as a bald, bearded, fat man wearing baggy clothes with his navel exposed. He always holds a fan made of palm leaves in his hand, with which he is able to bring the dead back to life and control the sea. He is often referred to as the messenger of the gods and is the patron saint of soldiers.
Lu Dongbin used to be a poet and scholar during the Tang Dynasty, but he decided to devote his life to Taoism after meeting Zhongli Quan in a village tavern. While his host warmed the wine, Li fell into a strange sleep in which he had a vivid dream about his future—for fifty years he would be lucky in everything, he will be promoted to a high office, but in the end he will be betrayed by his wife, his descendants will be murdered by bandits, and abandoned by all, he will die in the street as a pauper. When he awoke, he found that the dream was summoned by Zhongli Quan to show him the impermanence of things. On the spot, he decided to reject worldly ambitions and become a student of Taoism - although he reportedly had to pass ten different tests before Zhongli officially accepted him as a disciple. He appears with a fly-whisk symbolizing the ability to fly and two-handed sword slung over his shoulder. He received this magical sword from a dragon to fight against evil beings and human ignorance - and it makes him a very powerful exorcist. We could call him the leader of the Ba Xien from a certain point of view, although he is neither the first nor the oldest of them. His weakness is women, and the legendary concubine White Peony gained immortality thanks to an intimate relationship with him (yes, yes... she draw his immortal energy during sexual adventures). He is the patron saint of scholars, ink makers, and you can also pray to him for the success of your children.
