5G THE EIGHT IMMORTALS OF THE TAOIST RELIGION 



these is preserved. It has even been asserted that more 

 than 100,000 had reached this goal."* 



These are the words of Dr. Faber who ranks foremost 

 among eminent Chinese scholars. "They contain in a nut- 

 shell, all that are essential in the belief of an immortal 

 existence, as embodied in the genii; and show in what 

 important relation this belief stands to the Taoist religion." 



While we admit that the idea of genii existence was the 

 sole contibution of Taoism, it is well for us to investigate 

 as to the time when the idea took its incipience. Confucius 

 was conspicuously silent on the question of death and the' 

 future. Once, being asked about the state of man after 

 death, he gave the reply: "Not knowing life, how can we 

 know death?" But it is interesting to note that neither was 

 this idea contemplated by Lao-tzu the reputed founder of 

 the Taoist religion. All that we know of this miraculous 

 personage is that he wrote the Tao Te Ching a philoso- 

 phical treatise of 5,000 characters. 



The idea really germinated after Lao-tzu. "Instead of 

 limiting itself to the mysticism of its master, and pursuing 

 his reasonable speculation, it gave itself up, at an early date, 

 to the magical side of Chinese philosophy and practice. . . . 

 Even in Chuang-tzu, and still more so in his supposed pre- 

 decessor, Lieh-tzu, we find elements of the bizarre, men who 

 could walk through the solid rock, leap down terrifying 

 precipices unharmed, pass through fire unsinged, travel 

 thousands of miles through the air, absenting themselves 

 for many days, such men did not die, but were translated 

 and so on. Whether they intended their statements to be' 

 accepted literally, or metaphysically, we know not. At least 

 we know that subsequent generations took them literally, 

 and for hundreds of years y nay, even to the present day, 

 men have sought the elixir of immortality, and the philoso- 

 pher's stone. "J t 



The earliest historical intimation we can find treating of 

 the magic of ever-continuing life was in Shih Hwang Ti of the 

 Ts'in Dynasty which flourished in the latter part of the third 

 century, B.C. This emperor, having been crowned by 

 success after a Napoleonic career of conquest, sought to 

 dominate over his empire for ever, by taking some elixir of 

 immortality. At this opportune moment, Taoist professors 

 found a favourable time for publishing their art, in order to 

 gain royal reward. Among these was one Hsu Shih f£ Ifc 

 who memorialized the emperor, asking for permission to 



* J. Dyer Ball : Things Chinese. 



f W. E. Soothill : The Three Felif/ions of China. 



