Speaking of the Eight Immortals, everyone is very familiar with it, and the story of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea is even more well-known. Legend has it that the Eight Immortals were drunk on the Penglai Pavilion and each carried a treasure vessel across the ocean. So where did these eight immortals come from, and why are they so loved by people?
In fact, as early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, there was already the theory of the Eight Immortals. There are also records of the Eight Immortals in the Song Dynasty's Taiping Guangji, but at that time there were many versions of the combination of the Eight Immortals, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty, after Wu Yuantai's novel "The Eight Immortals Origin journey to the East" came out, that the story of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea was widely circulated, forming the current fixed group of eight immortals.
Among the many immortal stories in mainland folklore, the story of the Eight Immortals is the most widely circulated, why is this? In fact, these eight immortals are a group of free immortals, their dress, their stories are so close to the vast masses, in today's words, it is very grounded.
For example, we are familiar with stories such as "dog skin plaster" and "Dongbin play peony". There are also some stories that have been given new meanings in the process of circulation, just like "the dog bites Lü Dongbin, does not know the good heart", we think that Lü Dongbin was bitten by the "dog", in fact, Gou is a person's name, Gou is a meticulous Gou, and It is a person who has no news. He and Lü Dongbin are good friends, the two misunderstood each other because of some things, and later because of the homophony of "Gou Ji" and "dog bite", it became "the dog bites Lü Dongbin, does not know the good heart". However, this is closer to the lives of ordinary people.
The stories and footprints of the Eight Immortals have spread in all corners of the Chinese land. For example, in the song "Little Cow Herding", there is such a passage: Who built the Zhaozhou Bridge? Who keeps the jade railing? Who rides on a donkey bridge? Who pushed the cart to roll a ditch? Zhao Zhou Bridge Lu Ban Xiu, jade railing sage left, Zhang Guo old riding on the donkey bridge to walk, Chai Wang Ye push cart rolled a ditch. It is said that to this day, there are still hoof prints on this Zhao Zhou Bridge that Zhang Guo's old donkey has stepped on.
The combination of these eight immortals seems to have several amazing places today: First, they did not distinguish between dynasties. Lü Dongbin was a Tang Dynasty man, but Cao Guo's uncle was a Song Dynasty man. Second, they are young and old. Zhang Guo is always a white-haired old man, while Lan Caihe is still a lively little fresh meat. Third, they are gender-neutral. There are seven males in the Eight Immortals, and there is a goddess named He Xiangu. Fourth, they do not distinguish between honor and inferiority. Han Zhongli and Lü Dongbin have a teacher-student friendship, and Lü Dongbin is the head of the Eight Immortals. Not to mention that they did not distinguish between nobles and lowly, Cao Guo's uncle was a relative of the emperor and the state, while Tie Quan Li was a beggar with a disability. Such equality was difficult to achieve in a feudal society that emphasized imperial power and class. Therefore, the eight immortals actually represent all levels of society, pinning on the aspirations of the broad masses of people for freedom and a better life, how can it not be loved?
It can be said that the convergence of the Eight Immortals transcends the boundaries of time, longevity, gender, dignity and inferiority, and nobility, and the appearance is the natural freedom of Taoism, but the inner conveys the spiritual connotation of Confucian "harmony".
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Recitation: Huang Yue Illustration Design: Baoyu Editor: Cat Cat
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