THE EIGHT IMMORTALS OF THE TAOIST RELIGION 65 



' ' Ye men of the world ! 



Now are ye born, and soon ye die. 

 Yesterday, ye were twice eight, 

 And your valour puffed from your breast. 



To-day ye are as seventy years' old, 

 Looking feebly and without strength. 

 Ye are like flowers of the spring day, 

 Which blossom in the morning, but fade in the 

 evening. " 

 In the ££ J5f 15 is preserved the following ballad. 

 "I, Lan Ts'ai-ho, sing while I ramble. 

 What is it in the world? 

 The ruddy face is even like a spring plant, 

 The fleeting time is even like a shuttle. 

 The ancients passed by in confusion, without return- 

 ing, 

 The moderns come by in ever increasing numbers, 

 In the morning they ride on the royal phoenix until 



sunset, 

 In the evening white mists are seen in the mulberry 

 fields." 



4. Chang Kuo 31 H . 



This is the old man of the category and has the epithet 

 of "old" 5g attached to his name. He lived in the reign of 

 Yuan Tsung of the Tang dynasty. Nothing is known of his 

 ^earliest life except that he became a hermit in 'II 'M *j» & tfJ 

 There he received instructions from Wan Ch'iu % $5 and 

 Tieh-kuai concerning Tao. 



Hearing of the fame of this recluse the Empress Wu Hou 

 sent to invite him to court, but when her messenger arrived 

 he was already dead. Ere long he was once more seen alive, 

 and in 723 A.D. the Emperor Ming Huang despatched 

 another messenger to fetch him, but in the presence of the 

 latter his spirit was exhaled. The messenger therefore, 

 burned incense before him and declared the intention of the 

 emperor. Then he revived, but the messenger did not 

 •dare to urge him to go. A third despatch was sent bearing 

 an autograph letter from the Emperor, and seeing the 

 sincerity of the men, he accompanied them to the Capital. 

 He entertained the Emperor with a variety of magical tricks, 

 such as rendering himself invisible, drinking off a cup of 

 aconite, and felling birds or flowers by pointing at them. 

 He refused the hand of an Imperial princess, and also de- 

 clined to have his portrait placed in the Hall of Worthies 

 'ife Hl ^ He was allowed to return to his seclusion with an 



