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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.
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Frequently
found adorniinese Artwork are the Eight Immortals of 
