448 KEPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888, 



172-175. Plates (4 small) of white Ming dynasty porcelaiu, decorated iuside, the 

 geuius of longevity accompanied by the spotted stag, amid waves and clouds 

 in deep blue npou brick-red waves. On the outside are the eight immortals 

 venerated by the Taoist sect, in blue or vermilion waves. Mask as on 

 last. The decoration shows them to have been intended to hold sweetmeats 

 during birthday ceremonies. 



The eight immortals venerated by the Taoists are Chung-li Ch'iian, Chang 

 Kuo, Lii Tung-pin, Ts'as Kuo-ch'iu, Li Tieh-kuai, Han Hsiaug-tz'u, 

 Lan Ts'ai-ho, and Ho Hsien-ku. Though some, if not all, of these 

 personages had been previously venerated as immortals in Taoist 

 legends, it would appear from the K'e-yii is'ung-lc'ao (ch. 34) that 

 their defined assemblage into a group of immortalized beings cannot 

 claim a higher antiqnity than the Yiian dynasty, i. e.,the end of the 

 thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century. 

 Chuug-li Ch'iian is reputed to have lived under the Chou dynasty (B. C. 

 1122 to 256). Many marvelous particulars are narrated respecting 

 his birth and career, in the course of which he met Tung HuaKung, 

 the patriarch of the Genii, " who revealed to him the mystic formula 

 of longevity and the secret of the power of transmutation and of 

 magic craft." He was eventually permitted to join the Genii, and 

 has appeared from time to time as the messenger of Heaven. He is 

 usually represented as a martial figure with a sword. 

 Chang Kuo is said to have flourished towards the close of the seventh and 

 middle of the eighth century. Leading au erratic life, he performed 

 wonderful feats of necromancy. His constant companion w as a white 

 mule which could carry him thousands of miles in a single day, and 

 which, when he halted, he folded up and hid away in his wallet. 

 When he again required its services, he spurted water upon the packet 

 from his mouth and the animal at once resumed its proper shape. Ac- 

 cording to Taoist legend, the Emperor Hsiian Tsung, of the T'ang 

 dynasty, repeatedly urged him to visit his court and assume a 

 priestly office there, but the ascetic wanderer rejected every offer. 

 He is reputed to have entered immortality about 740 A. D. without 

 suffering bodily dissolution. He is usually represented conjuring his 

 mule from a wallet or gourd, or holding an instrument of music. 

 Lii Tung-pin said to have been born A. D. 755. While holding office at 

 Te-hua, in modern Kiangsi province, he is reputed to have met 

 Chung-li Ch'iiau (see ante) among the Lu mountains, and was instruc- 

 ted by him in the mysteries of alchemy and the magic formula of the 

 elixir of life. Having expressed a desire to convert his fellow-men to 

 the true belief, a series of temptations, ten in number, was imposed 

 upon him as a preliminary. These he successfully overcame, and 

 was thereupon invested with the formulas of magic and a sword of 

 supernatural power, with which he traversed the Empire during a 

 period of four hundred years, slaying dragons and ridding it of vari- 

 ous kinds of evils. In the twelfth century temples were erected to 

 him under the title of Ch'un Yang. Like Chung-li Ch'iian, he is usu- 

 all}-^ depicted as of martial bearing, armed with a sword. 

 Of Ts'as Kuo-ch'in little is known. He is reputed to have been the son 

 of Ts'ao Pin, the great military commander, who largely contributed 

 to the establishment of the Sung dynasty upon the throne of China, 

 and the brother of the Empress Ts'ao of the same dynasty. He would 

 thus have lived in the eleventh century. He is usually represented 

 as a military officer, holding a pair of castanets. 



