He Xiangu is one of the eight immortals in folklore, and the only female immortal among them! According to the records of ancient Chinese legends, she, together with Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, TieQiu Li, Cao Guoshu, Lü Dongbin, Han Xiangzi, and Lan Caihe, all achieved the position of immortal through righteousness, goodness, and mingde.
He Xiangu currently has many believers in the Chinese-speaking area, there is the Eight Immortals Palace in Xi'an, and there are incense sticks on the Taishan side! Regarding how He Xiangu cultivated to become an immortal, there are two main theories as follows.
The first saying is to eat peaches into immortals
According to the Ming Dynasty Chen Tang's LuoFuzhi and the Records of the Immortals of the Past Dynasties, He Xiangu was the daughter of a family in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, who made a living selling tofu during the Tang Dynasty, and her name at that time was He Xiugu.
When he was thirteen years old, he went up to the mountain to pick tea, met a Taoist monk, got a peach, and after eating it, he was not hungry and often helped the local people.
However, after reaching the age of remarriage, her parents hurriedly found a mother-in-law for her, but He Xiugu refused to marry her, and was forced to commit suicide by throwing herself into a well, but the result was a strange resurrection, becoming a strange case in the local area, and finally ascended to heaven during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang.
The second theory is to eat mica into immortals
Similarly, in the second theory, He Xiangu is the daughter of a family in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, who sells tofu for a living, and when she was fourteen years old, she met Lü Dongbin, who traveled here, and ate some mica given by Lü Dongbin, and since then she has been able to understand the misfortunes of the world.
In the same way as the first theory, He Xiangu was forced to marry when she reached the age of marriage, and was resurrected after committing suicide by throwing herself into a well.
The villagers knew that she could predict the future, and after knowing the misfortunes and blessings of others, they specially built a small building for her, let her live in it, and told the villagers their fortunes. After spreading good deeds, he eventually ascended to heaven and became an immortal.