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''Xian'' () refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of ''xian'' has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word ''xian'' is translatable into English as:
* (''in
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
philosophy and cosmology'') spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being
* (''in Daoist religion and pantheon'') physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint
* (''in
Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy is an ancient Chinese scientific and technological approach to alchemy, a part of the larger tradition of Taoist / Daoist body-spirit cultivation developed from the traditional Chinese understanding of medicine and the body. Accor ...
'') alchemist; one who seeks the
elixir of life
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...
; one who practices longevity techniques
** (''or by extension'') alchemical, dietary, or
qigong
''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation
used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
methods for attaining
immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
* (''in
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
'') wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer
* (''in popular
Chinese literature'') genie; elf, fairy; nymph; (''xian jing'' is fairyland,
faery
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
)
* (''based on the
folk etymology
Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
for the character , a compound of the characters for ''person'' and ''mountain) sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse
* (''as a metaphorical modifier'') immortal
alent
Alent plc is a supplier of surface treatment plating chemicals and electronics assembly materials. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Platform Specialty Products ...
accomplished person; celestial
eauty marvelous; extraordinary
*(In
new-age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
conception) seeker who takes refuge in immortality (longevity for the realization of divinity); transcended person
elf
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being
''Xian'' semantically developed from meaning spiritual "immortality; enlightenment", to physical "immortality; longevity" involving methods such as alchemy, breath meditation, and
tai chi chuan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
, and eventually to legendary and figurative "immortality".
Victor H. Mair
Victor Henry Mair (; born March 25, 1943) is an American sinologist. He is a professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania. Among other accomplishments, Mair has edited the standard '' Columbia History of Chinese Literature'' and the ''C ...
describes the ''xian'' archetype as:
They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ''ṛṣi
''Rishi'' () is a term for an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or ...
'' who possessed similar traits.
The word ''xian''
The most famous Chinese
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
of ''xiān'' is ''Bāxiān'' ( "the
Eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''xian'' ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight ...
"). Other common words include ''xiānrén'' (
sennin
''Xian'' () refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of ''xian'' has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural ...
in Japanese, "immortal person; transcendent", see ''
Xiānrén Dòng''), ''xiānrénzhăng'' ( "immortal's palm;
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...
"), ''xiānnǚ'' ( "immortal woman; female celestial; angel"), and ''shénxiān'' ( "gods and immortals; divine immortal"). Besides humans, ''xiān'' can also refer to supernatural animals. The mythological
''húlijīng'' (lit. "fox spirit") "fox fairy; vixen; witch; enchantress" has an alternate name of ''húxiān'' (lit. "fox immortal").
The
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of ''xiān'' remains uncertain. The circa 200 CE ''
Shiming
The ''Shiming'' (), also known as the ''Yìyǎ'' (逸雅; ''I-ya''; ''Lost Erya''), is a Chinese dictionary that employed phonological glosses, and "is believed to date from ''c''. 200 E.
This dictionary is linguistically invaluable because it ...
'', a
Chinese dictionary
Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Han dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for the Chinese language, and this article discusses some of ...
that provided word-pun "etymologies", defines ''xiān'' () as "to get old and not die," and explains it as someone who ''qiān'' ( "moves into") the mountains."
Edward H. Schafer
Edward Hetsel Schafer (23 August 1913 – 9 February 1991) was an American historian, sinologist, and writer noted for his expertise on the Tang Dynasty, and was a professor of Chinese at University of California, Berkeley for 35 years. Sc ...
defined ''xian'' as "transcendent, sylph (a being who, through alchemical, gymnastic and other disciplines, has achieved a refined and perhaps immortal body, able to fly like a bird beyond the trammels of the base material world into the realms of aether, and nourish himself on air and dew.)" Schafer noted ''xian'' was cognate to ''xian'' "soar up", ''qian'' "remove", and ''xianxian'' "a flapping dance movement"; and compared Chinese ''yuren'' "feathered man; ''xian''" with English
peri
In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...
"a fairy or supernatural being in
Persian mythology
Persian mythology or Iranian mythology (Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origi ...
" (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
pari from ''par'' "feather; wing").
Two linguistic hypotheses for the etymology of ''xian'' involve
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Sino-Tibetan languages
Sino-Tibetan, also cited as Trans-Himalayan in a few sources, is a family of more than 400 languages, second only to Indo-European in number of native speakers. The vast majority of these are the 1.3 billion native speakers of Chinese languages. ...
. Wu and Davis suggested the source was ''
jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...
'', or ''jinni'' "genie" (from Arabic ''جني'' ''jinnī''). "The marvelous powers of the ''Hsien'' are so like those of the ''jinni'' of the Arabian Nights that one wonders whether the Arabic word, ''jinn'', may not be derived from the Chinese ''Hsien''." Axel Schuessler's etymological dictionary suggests a Sino-Tibetan connection between ''xiān'' (Old Chinese *''san'' or *''sen'') "'An immortal' ... men and women who attain supernatural abilities; after death they become immortals and deities who can fly through the air" and
Tibetan
Tibetan may mean:
* of, from, or related to Tibet
* Tibetan people, an ethnic group
* Tibetan language:
** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard
** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
''gšen'' < ''g-syen'' "shaman, one who has supernatural abilities, incl
ding
Ding may refer to:
Bronze and ceramics
* Ding (vessel), a bronze or ceramic cauldron used in ancient and early imperial China
* Ding ware, ceramics produced in Dingzhou in medieval China
People
* Ding (surname) (丁), a Chinese surname and lis ...
travel through the air".
The character and its variants
![仙-bw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/%E4%BB%99-bw.png)
The word ''xiān'' is written with three characters
僊,
仙, or
仚, which combine the logographic "
radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
" ''rén'' ( or "person; human") with two "phonetic" elements (see
Chinese character classification
All Chinese characters are logograms, but several different types can be identified, based on the manner in which they are formed or derived. There are a handful which derive from pictographs () and a number which are ideographic () in origin, inc ...
). The oldest recorded ''xiān'' character has a ''xiān'' ("rise up; ascend") phonetic supposedly because immortals could "ascend into the heavens". (Compare ''qiān'' "move; transfer; change" combining this phonetic and the motion radical.) The usual modern ''xiān'' character , and its rare variant , have a ''shān'' ( "mountain") phonetic. For a character analysis, Schipper interprets "'the human being of the mountain,' or alternatively, 'human mountain'. The two explanations are appropriate to these beings: they haunt the holy mountains, while also embodying nature."
The ''
Classic of Poetry
The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...
'' (220/3) contains the oldest occurrence of the character , reduplicated as ''xiānxiān'' ( "dance lightly; hop about; jump around"), and rhymed with ''qiān'' (). "But when they have drunk too much, Their deportment becomes light and frivolous—They leave their seats, and [] go elsewhere, They keep [] dancing and capering." (tr.
James Legge
James Legge (; 20 December 181529 November 1897) was a Scottish linguist, missionary, sinologist, and translator
who was best known as an early translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. Legge served as a representative of the London ...
)
Needham and
Wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thailand ...
suggest ''xian'' was cognate with ''
wu'' "shamanic" dancing. Paper writes, "the function of the term ''xian'' in a line describing dancing may be to denote the height of the leaps. Since, "to live for a long time" has no etymological relation to ''xian'', it may be a later accretion."
The 121 CE ''
Shuowen Jiezi
''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the '' Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give ...
'', the first important dictionary of Chinese characters, does not enter except in the definition for ( "name of an ancient immortal"). It defines as "live long and move away" and as "appearance of a person on a mountaintop".
Textual references
![Li sao illustré (crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Li_sao_illustr%C3%A9_%28crop%29.png)
This section chronologically reviews how Chinese texts describe ''xian'' "immortals; transcendents". While the early ''Zhuangzi'', ''Chuci'', and ''Liezi'' texts allegorically used ''xian'' immortals and magic islands to describe spiritual immortality, later ones like the ''Shenxian zhuan'' and ''Baopuzi'' took immortality literally and described esoteric Chinese alchemical techniques for physical longevity.
On one the hand, ''
neidan
Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...
'' ( "internal alchemy") techniques included ''taixi'' ( "embryo respiration") breath control, meditation, visualization, sexual training, and
Tao Yin
Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate ''Jing (Chinese medicine), jing'' (essence) and direct and refine ''qi'', the internal energy of the bod ...
exercises (which later evolved into
qigong
''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation
used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
and
tai chi chuan
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
).
On the other hand, ''
waidan
, translated as 'external alchemy' or 'external elixir', is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances in a luted crucible. The later bran ...
'' ( "external alchemy") techniques for immortality included alchemical recipes, magic plants, rare minerals, herbal medicines, drugs, and dietetic techniques like
inedia
Inedia (Latin for 'fasting') or breatharianism () is the claimed ability for a person to live without consuming food, and in some cases water. It is a deadly pseudoscience and several adherents of these practices have died from starvation or deh ...
.
The word ''yuren'' "feathered person" later meant "Daoist").
Besides the following major Chinese texts, many others use both graphic variants of ''xian''. ''Xian'' () occurs in the ''
Chunqiu Fanlu
The ''Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is one of the works attributed to Dong Zhongshu that has survived to the present, though its compilation might have continued past his lifetime into the 4th century. It is 82 chapters long ...
'', ''
Fengsu Tongyi
''Fengsu Tongyi'' (), also known as ''Fengsu Tong'', is a book written about 195 AD by Ying Shao, who lived during the later Eastern Han period. The manuscript is similar to an almanac
An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is ...
'', ''
Qian fu lun
The ''Qianfu Lun'' ( zh, , ''Qiánfū lún'', "Comments of a Recluse"), also known by its Wade-Giles romanization ''Ch'ien-fu Lun'', is a political-metaphysical text by the Later Han philosopher Wang Fu. It contains criticisms of contemporary s ...
'', ''Fayan'', and ''Shenjian''; ''xian'' () occurs in the ''Caizhong langji'', ''Fengsu Tongyi'', ''Guanzi'', and ''Shenjian''.
''Zhuangzi''
Two circa 3rd century BCE "Outer Chapters" of the ''
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to:
* ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism
**Zhuang Zhou
Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
'' ( "
ook of
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
Master Zhuang") use the archaic character ''xian'' . Chapter 11 has a parable about "Cloud Chief" () and "Big Concealment" () that uses the ''Shijing'' compound ''xianxian'' ("dance; jump"):
Big Concealment said, "If you confuse the constant strands of Heaven and violate the true form of things, then Dark Heaven will reach no fulfillment. Instead, the beasts will scatter from their herds, the birds will cry all night, disaster will come to the grass and trees, misfortune will reach even to the insects. Ah, this is the fault of men who 'govern'!"
"Then what should I do?" said Cloud Chief.
"Ah," said Big Concealment, "you are too far gone! [] Up, up, stir yourself and be off!"
Cloud Chief said, "Heavenly Master, it has been hard indeed for me to meet with you—I beg one word of instruction!"
"Well, then—mind‑nourishment!" said Big Concealment. "You have only to rest in inaction and things will transform themselves. Smash your form and body, spit out hearing and eyesight, forget you are a thing among other things, and you may join in great unity with the deep and boundless. Undo the mind, slough off spirit, be blank and soulless, and the ten thousand things one by one will return to the root—return to the root and not know why. Dark and undifferentiated chaos—to the end of life none will depart from it. But if you try to know it, you have already departed from it. Do not ask what its name is, do not try to observe its form. Things will live naturally end of themselves."
Cloud Chief said, "The Heavenly Master has favored me with this Virtue, instructed me in this Silence. All my life I have been looking for it, and now at last I have it!" He bowed his head twice, stood up, took his leave, and went away. (11)
Chapter 12 uses ''xian'' when mythical
Emperor Yao
Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Ancestry and early life
Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...
describes a ''shengren'' ( "sagely person").
The true sage is a quail at rest, a little fledgling at its meal, a bird in flight who leaves no trail behind. When the world has the Way, he joins in the chorus with all other things. When the world is without the Way, he nurses his Virtue and retires in leisure. And after a thousand years, should he weary of the world, he will leave it and [] ascend to [] the immortals, riding on those white clouds all the way up to the village of God. (12)
Without using the word ''xian'', several ''Zhuangzi'' passages employ ''xian'' imagery, like flying in the clouds, to describe individuals with superhuman powers. For example, Chapter 1, within the circa 3rd century BCE "Inner Chapters", has two portrayals. First is this description of Liezi (below).
Lieh Tzu could ride the wind and go soaring around with cool and breezy skill, but after fifteen days he came back to earth. As far as the search for good fortune went, he didn't fret and worry. He escaped the trouble of walking, but he still had to depend on something to get around. If he had only mounted on the truth of Heaven and Earth, ridden the changes of the six breaths, and thus wandered through the boundless, then what would he have had to depend on? Therefore, I say, the Perfect Man has no self; the Holy Man has no merit; the Sage has no fame. (1)
Second is this description of a ''shenren'' ( "divine person").
He said that there is a Holy Man living on faraway [] Ku-she Mountain, with skin like ice or snow, and gentle and shy like a young girl. He doesn't eat the five grains, but sucks the wind, drinks the dew, climbs up on the clouds and mist, rides a flying dragon, and wanders beyond the Four Seas
The Four Seas () were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the East China Sea, the North Sea is ...
. By concentrating his spirit, he can protect creatures from sickness and plague and make the harvest plentiful. (1)
The authors of the ''Zhuangzi'' had a lyrical view of life and death, seeing them as complementary aspects of natural changes. This is antithetical to the physical immortality (''changshengbulao'' "live forever and never age") sought by later Daoist alchemists. Consider this famous passage about accepting death.
Chuang Tzu's wife died. When Hui Tzu went to convey his condolences, he found Chuang Tzu sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Hui Tzu. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But pounding on a tub and singing—this is going too far, isn't it?"
Chuang Tzu said, "You're wrong. When she first died, do you think I didn't grieve like anyone else? But I looked back to her beginning and the time before she was born. Not only the time before she was born, but the time before she had a body. Not only the time before she had a body, but the time before she had a spirit. In the midst of the jumble of wonder and mystery a change took place and she had a spirit. Another change and she had a body. Another change and she was born. Now there's been another change and she's dead. It's just like the progression of the four seasons, spring, summer, fall, winter."
"Now she's going to lie down peacefully in a vast room. If I were to follow after her bawling and sobbing, it would show that I don't understand anything about fate. So I stopped. (18)
Alan Fox explains this anecdote about Zhuangzi's wife.
Many conclusions can be reached on the basis of this story, but it seems that death is regarded as a natural part of the ebb and flow of transformations which constitute the movement of Dao. To grieve over death, or to fear one's own death, for that matter, is to arbitrarily evaluate what is inevitable. Of course, this reading is somewhat ironic given the fact that much of the subsequent Daoist tradition comes to seek longevity and immortality, and bases some of their basic models on the ''Zhuangzi''.
''Chuci''
The 3rd-2nd century BCE ''
Chuci
The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...
'' ( "Lyrics of Chu") anthology of poems uses ''xian'' once and ''xian'' twice, reflecting the disparate origins of the text. These three contexts mention the legendary Daoist ''xian'' immortals
Chi Song ( "
Red Pine
''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America.
Description
Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...
", and Wang Qiao (, or Zi Qiao ). In later Daoist hagiography, Chi Song was Lord of Rain under
Shennong
Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerat ...
, the legendary inventor of agriculture; and Wang Qiao was a son of
King Ling of Zhou
King Ling of Zhou (), personal name Ji Xiexin, was the twenty-third king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the eleventh of Eastern Zhou. He died in 545 BC.
In the twenty-first year of his reign, Confucius was born.
His successor was his son Kin ...
(r. 571–545 BCE), who flew away on a giant white bird, became an immortal and was never again seen.
''Yuan You''
The "''
Yuan You
"Yuanyou" or Far-off Journey (; Pinyin: Yuǎnyóu; en, Far Roaming) is a short work anthologized in the Chuci (楚辭 ''Songs of Chu'', sometimes called ''The Songs of the South''). "Yuanyou" is a poetic conceit involving a shamanic/Daoist flight ...
''" ( "Far-off Journey") poem describes a spiritual journey into the realms of gods and immortals, frequently referring to Daoist myths and techniques.
My spirit darted forth and did not return to me,
And my body, left tenantless, grew withered and lifeless.
Then I looked into myself to strengthen my resolution,
And sought to learn from where the primal spirit issues.
In emptiness and silence I found serenity;
In tranquil inaction I gained true satisfaction.
I heard how once Red Pine had washed the world's dust off:
I would model myself on the pattern he had left me.
I honoured the wondrous powers of the [] Pure Ones,
And those of past ages who had become [] Immortals.
They departed in the flux of change and vanished from men's sight,
Leaving a famous name that endures after them.
''Xi shi''
The "''
Xi shi
Xi Shi (Hsi Shih; , ) was, according to legends, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue.
In traditional st ...
''" ( "Sorrow for Troth Betrayed") resembles the "''Yuan You''", and both reflect Daoist ideas from the Han period. "Though unoriginal in theme," says Hawkes, "its description of air travel, written in a pre-aeroplane age, is exhilarating and rather impressive."
We gazed down of the Middle Land hina
Hina may refer to:
People and deities
* Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Hina (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii
* Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...
with its myriad people
As we rested on the whirlwind, drifting about at random.
In this way we came at last to the moor of Shao-yuan:
There, with the other blessed ones, were Red Pine and Wang Qiao.
The two Masters held zithers tuned in perfect concord:
I sang the Qing Shang air to their playing.
In tranquil calm and quiet enjoyment,
Gently I floated, inhaling all the essences.
But then I thought that this immortal life of [] the blessed,
Was not worth the sacrifice of my home-returning.
''Ai shi ming''
The "''Ai shi ming''" ( "Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast") describes a celestial journey similar to the previous two.
Far and forlorn, with no hope of return:
Sadly I gaze in the distance, over the empty plain.
Below, I fish in the valley streamlet;
Above, I seek out [] holy hermits.
I enter into friendship with Red Pine;
I join Wang Qiao as his companion.
We send the Xiao Yang in front to guide us;
The White Tiger runs back and forth in attendance.
Floating on the cloud and mist, we enter the dim height of heaven;
Riding on the white deer we sport and take our pleasure.
''Li Sao''
The "''
Li Sao
"''Li Sao''" (; translation: "Encountering Sorrow") is an ancient Chinese poem from the anthology ''Chuci'' traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan. ''Li Sao'' dates from the late 3rd century BCE, during the Chinese Warring States period.
Backgrou ...
''" ( "On Encountering Trouble"), the most famous ''Chuci'' poem, is usually interpreted as describing ecstatic flights and trance techniques of Chinese shamans. The above three poems are variations describing Daoist ''xian''.
Some other ''Chuci'' poems refer to immortals with synonyms of ''xian''. For instance, "''Shou zhi''" ( "Maintaining Resolution), uses ''
zhenren
Zhenren () is a Chinese term that first appeared in the ''Zhuangzi'' meaning "Taoist spiritual master", roughly translatable as "Perfected Person". Religious Taoism mythologized ''zhenren'' to rank above ''xian'' "transcendent; immortal" in the ce ...
'' ( "true person", tr. "Pure Ones" above in "''Yuan You''"), which Wang Yi's commentary glosses as ''zhen xianren'' ( "true immortal person").
I visited Fu Yue, bestriding a dragon,
Joined in marriage with the Weaving Maiden,
Lifted up Heaven's Net to capture evil,
Drew the Bow of Heaven to shoot at wickedness,
Followed the 人Immortals fluttering through the sky,
Ate of the Primal Essence to prolong my life.
''Liezi''
The ''
Liezi
The ''Liezi'' () is a Taoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, a c. 5th century BC Hundred Schools of Thought philosopher. Although there were references to Lie's ''Liezi'' from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, a number of Chinese and Western schola ...
'' ( "
ook of
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
Master Lie"), which Louis Komjathy says "was probably compiled in the 3rd century CE (while containing earlier textual layers)", uses ''xian'' four times, always in the compound ''xiansheng'' ( "immortal sage").
Nearly half of Chapter 2 ("The
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
") comes from the ''Zhuangzi'', including this recounting of the above fable about Mount Gushe (, or Guye, or Miao Gushe ).
The Ku-ye mountains stand on a chain of islands where the Yellow River enters the sea. Upon the mountains there lives a Divine Man, who inhales the wind and drinks the dew, and does not eat the five grains. His mind is like a bottomless spring, his body is like a virgin's. He knows neither intimacy nor love, yet [] immortals and sages serve him as ministers. He inspires no awe, he is never angry, yet the eager and diligent act as his messengers. He is without kindness and bounty, but others have enough by themselves; he does not store and save, but he himself never lacks. The Yin and Yang are always in tune, the sun and moon always shine, the four seasons are always regular, wind and rain are always temperate, breeding is always timely, the harvest is always rich, and there are no plagues to ravage the land, no early deaths to afflict men, animals have no diseases, and ghosts have no uncanny echoes.
Chapter 5 uses ''xiansheng'' three times in a conversation set between legendary rulers
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
() of the
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
and Ji () of the
Xia Dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
.
T'ang asked again: 'Are there large things and small, long and short, similar and different?'
—'To the East of the Gulf of Chih-li, who knows how many thousands and millions of miles, there is a deep ravine, a valley truly without bottom; and its bottomless underneath is named "The Entry to the Void". The waters of the eight corners and the nine regions, the stream of the Milky Way, all pour into it, but it neither shrinks nor grows. Within it there are five mountains, called Tai-yü, Yüan-chiao, Fang-hu, Ying-chou and P'eng-Iai. These mountains are thirty thousand miles high, and as many miles round; the tablelands on their summits extend for nine thousand miles. It is seventy thousand miles from one mountain to the next, but they are considered close neighbours. The towers and terraces upon them are all gold and jade, the beasts and birds are all unsullied white; trees of pearl and garnet always grow densely, flowering and bearing fruit which is always luscious, and those who eat of it never grow old and die. The men who dwell there are all of the race of [] immortal sages, who fly, too many to be counted, to and from one mountain to another in a day and a night. Yet the bases of the five mountains used to rest on nothing; they were always rising and falling, going and returning, with the ebb and flow of the tide, and never for a moment stood firm. The [] immortals found this troublesome, and complained about it to God. God was afraid that they would drift to the far West and he would lose the home of his sages. So he commanded Yü-ch'iang to make fifteen [] giant turtles carry the five mountains on their lifted heads, taking turns in three watches, each sixty thousand years long; and for the first time the mountains stood firm and did not move.
'But there was a giant from the kingdom of the Dragon Earl, who came to the place of the five mountains in no more than a few strides. In one throw he hooked six of the turtles in a bunch, hurried back to his country carrying them together on his back, and scorched their bones to tell fortunes by the cracks. Thereupon two of the mountains, Tai-yü and Yüan-chiao, drifted to the far North and sank in the great sea; the [] immortals who were carried away numbered many millions. God was very angry, and reduced by degrees the size of the Dragon Earl's kingdom and the height of his subjects. At the time of Fu-hsi and Shen-nung, the people of this country were still several hundred feet high.'
Penglai Mountain
Penglai () is a legendary land of Chinese mythology. It is known in Japanese mythology as Hōrai. McCullough, Helen. ''Classical Japanese Prose'', p. 570. Stanford Univ. Press, 1990. .
Location
According to the ''Classic of Mountains and Sea ...
became the most famous of these five mythical peaks where the
elixir of life
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...
supposedly grew, and is known as
Horai in Japanese legends. The first emperor
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
sent his court alchemist
Xu Fu
Xu Fu (Hsu Fu; ) was a Chinese alchemist and explorer. He was born in 255 BC in Qi, an ancient Chinese state, and disappeared at sea in 210 BC. He served as a court sorcerer in Qin Dynasty China. Later, he was sent by Qin Shi Huang to the eas ...
on expeditions to find these plants of immortality, but he never returned (although by some accounts, he discovered Japan).
Holmes Welch analyzed the beginnings of Daoism, sometime around the 4th-3rd centuries BCE, from four separate streams: philosophical Daoism (Laozi, Zhuangzi, Liezi), a "hygiene school" that cultivated longevity through breathing exercises and yoga, Chinese alchemy and
Five Elements philosophy, and those who sought Penglai and elixirs of "immortality". This is what he concludes about ''xian''.
It is my own opinion, therefore, that though the word ''hsien'', or Immortal, is used by Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu, and though they attributed to their idealized individual the magic powers that were attributed to the ''hsien'' in later times, nonetheless the ''hsien'' ideal was something they did not believe in—either that it was possible or that it was good. The magic powers are allegories and hyperboles for the ''natural'' powers that come from identification with Tao. Spiritualized Man, P'eng-lai, and the rest are features of a ''genre'' which is meant to entertain, disturb, and exalt us, not to be taken as literal hagiography. Then and later, the philosophical Taoists were distinguished from all other schools of Taoism by their rejection of the pursuit of immortality. As we shall see, their books came to be adopted as scriptural authority by those who did practice magic and seek to become immortal. But it was their misunderstanding of philosophical Taoism that was the reason they adopted it.
''Shenxian zhuan''
The ''
Shenxian zhuan'' ( Biographies of Spirit Immortals") is a
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
of ''xian''. Although it was traditionally attributed to
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...
(283–343 CE), Komjathy says, "The received versions of the text contain some 100-odd hagiographies, most of which date from 6th-8th centuries at the earliest."
According to the ''Shenxian zhuan'', there are four schools of immortality:
''
Qì'' (—"energy"): Breath control and meditation. Those who belong to this school can
"...blow on water and it will flow against its own current for several paces; blow on fire, and it will be extinguished; blow at tigers or wolves, and they will crouch down and not be able to move; blow at serpents, and they will coil up and be unable to flee. If someone is wounded by a weapon, blow on the wound, and the bleeding will stop. If you hear of someone who has suffered a poisonous insect bite, even if you are not in his presence, you can, from a distance, blow and say in incantation over your own hand (males on the left hand, females on the right), and the person will at once be healed even if more than a hundred li away. And if you yourself are struck by a sudden illness, you have merely to swallow pneumas in three series of nine, and you will immediately recover.
But the most essential thing mong such artsis fetal breathing. Those who obtain he technique offetal breathing become able to breathe without using their nose or mouth, as if in the womb, and this is the culmination of the way f pneumatic cultivation"
''Fàn'' (—"Diet"): Ingestion of herbal compounds and abstention from the ''Sān Shī Fàn'' (—"Three-Corpses food")—Meats (raw fish, pork, dog,
leeks
The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
, and
scallions
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
) and
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s. The ''Shenxian zhuan'' uses this story to illustrate the importance of ''
bigu'' "grain avoidance":
"During the reign of Emperor Cheng of the Han, hunters in the Zhongnan Mountains saw a person who wore no clothes, his body covered with black hair. Upon seeing this person, the hunters wanted to pursue and capture him, but the person leapt over gullies and valleys as if in flight, and so could not be overtaken. Qin_Qin_may_refer_to:
_Dynasties_and_states
*_Qin_(state)_(秦),_a_major_state_during_the_Zhou_Dynasty_of_ancient_China
*_Qin_dynasty_(秦),_founded_by_the_Qin_state_in_221_BC_and_ended_in_206_BC
*_Daqin_(大秦),_ancient_Chinese_name_for_the_Roman_Emp_...
_Ziying_of_Qin.html" ;"title="Qin_(state).html" "title="ut after being surrounded and captured, it was discovered this person was a 200 plus year old woman, who had once been a concubine of Qin (state)">Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
Ziying of Qin">Emperor Ziying. When he had surrendered to the 'invaders of the east', she fled into the mountains where she learned to subside on 'the resin and nuts of pines' from an old man. Afterwards, this diet 'enabled [her] to feel neither hunger nor thirst; in winter [she] was not cold, in summer [she] was not hot.']
The hunters took the woman back in. They offered her grain to eat. When she first smelled the stink of grain, she vomited, and only after several days could she tolerate it. After little more than two years of this
iet __NOTOC__
IET can refer to:
Organizations
* Institute of Educational Technology, part of the Open University
* Institution of Engineering and Technology, a UK-based professional engineering institution
** Institute of Engineers and Technicians, wh ...
her body hair fell out; she turned old and died. Had she not been caught by men, she would have become a transcendent."
''Fángzhōng Zhī Shù'' (—"Arts of the Bedchamber"):
Sexual yoga. According to a discourse between the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
and the immortaless ''Sùnǚ'' (—"Plain Girl"), one of the three daughters of
Hsi Wang Mu
The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...
,
"The sexual behaviors between a man and woman are identical to how the universe itself came into creation. Like Heaven and Earth, the male and female share a parallel relationship in attaining an immortal existence. They both must learn how to engage and develop their natural sexual instincts and behaviors; otherwise the only result is decay and traumatic discord of their physical lives. However, if they engage in the utmost joys of sensuality and apply the principles of yin and yang to their sexual activity, their health, vigor, and joy of love will bear them the fruits of longevity and immortality.
The ''White Tigress (Zhuang Li Quan Pure Angelic Metal Ajna Empress "Toppest") Manual'', a treatise on female sexual yoga, states,
"A female can completely restore her youthfulness and attain immortality if she refrains from allowing just one or two men in her life from stealing and destroying her exualessence, which will only serve in aging her at a rapid rate and bring about an early death. However, if she can acquire the sexual essence of a thousand males through absorption, she will acquire the great benefits of youthfulness and immortality."
''Dān'' (丹—"
Alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
", literally "
Cinnabar
Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and ...
"):
Elixir of Immortality
The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...
.
''Baopuzi''
The 4th century CE ''
Baopuzi'' ( "
ook of
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
Master Embracing Simplicity"), which was written by
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...
, gives some highly detailed descriptions of ''xian''.
The text lists three classes of immortals:
*''Tiānxiān'' (—"Celestial Immortal"): The highest level.
*''Dìxiān'' (—"Earth Immortal"): The middle level.
*''
Shījiě xiān'' (—"Escaped-by-means-of-a-stimulated-corpse-simulacrum Immortal", literally "
Corpse
A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stu ...
Untie Immortal"): The lowest level. This is considered the lowest form of immortality since a person must first "fake" their own death by substituting a bewitched object like a bamboo pole, sword,
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
or a shoe for their corpse or slipping a type of
Death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
into the coffin of a newly departed paternal grandfather, thus having their name and "allotted life span" deleted from the ledgers kept by the ''
Sīmìng'' (—"Director of allotted life spans", literally "Controller of Fate").
Hagiographies
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
and folktales abound of people who seemingly die in one province, but are seen alive in another. Mortals who choose this route must cut off all ties with family and friends, move to a distant province, and enact the ''Ling bao tai xuan yin sheng zhi fu'' (—"Numinous Treasure Talisman of the Grand Mystery for Living in Hiding") to protect themselves from heavenly retribution. However, this is not a true form of immortality. For each misdeed a person commits, the Director of allotted life spans subtracts days and sometimes years from their allotted life span. This method allows a person to live out the entirety of their allotted lifespan (whether it be 30, 80, 400, etc.) and avoid the agents of death. But the body still has to be transformed into an immortal one, hence the phrase ''Xiānsǐ hòutuō'' (—"The 'death' is apparent,
utthe sloughing off of the body's mortality remains to be done."). Sometimes the ''Shījiě'' are employed by heaven to act as celestial peace keepers. Therefore, they have no need for hiding from retribution since they are empowered by heaven to perform their duties. There are three levels of heavenly ''Shījiě'':
**''Dìxià zhǔ'' (—"Agents Beneath the Earth"): Are in charge of keeping the peace within the
Chinese underworld. They are eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality after 280 years of faithful service.
**''Dìshàng zhǔzhě'' (—"Agents Above the Earth"): Are given magic talismans which prolong their lives (but not indefinitely) and allow them to heal the sick and exorcize demons and evil spirits from the earth. This level was ''not'' eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality.
**''Zhìdì jūn'' (—"Lords Who Control the Earth"): A heavenly decree ordered them to "disperse all subordinate junior demons, whether high or low
n rank
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
that have cause afflictions and injury owing to blows or offenses against the Motion of the Year, the Original Destiny, Great Year, the Kings of the Soil or the establishing or breaking influences of the chronograms of the tome. Annihilate them all." This level was also ''not'' eligible for promotion to immortality.
These titles were usually given to humans who had either not proven themselves worthy of or were not fated to become immortals. One such famous agent was Fei Changfang, who was eventually murdered by evil spirits because he lost his book of magic talismans. However, some immortals are written to have used this method in order to escape execution.
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...
wrote in his book ''The Master Who Embraces Simplicity'',
The mmortalsDark Girl and Plain Girl compared sexual activity as the intermingling of fire ang/maleand water in/female claiming that water and fire can kill people but can also regenerate their life, depending on whether or not they know the correct methods of sexual activity according to their nature. These arts are based on the theory that the more females a man copulates with, the greater benefit he will derive from the act. Men who are ignorant of this art, copulating with only one or two females during their life, will only suffice to bring about their untimely and early death.
''Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji''
The ''Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji'' ( "Anthology of the Transmission of the Dao from Zhong
i Quanto Lü
ongbin) is associated with
Zhongli Quan
Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Jidao, is a Chinese mythological figure and one of the Eight Immortals in the Taoist pantheon. He is also known as Han Zhongli because he was said to have been born in the Han dynasty. In legend, he wields a large fa ...
(2nd century CE?) and
Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin (796 CE – 1016 CE) is a legendary Chinese scholar and poet said to have lived during the Tang Dynasty. Whether he actually lived the two hundred and twenty years cannot be determined. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the C ...
(9th century CE), two of the legendary Eight Immortals. It is part of the so-called "Zhong-Lü" () textual tradition of internal alchemy (''neidan''). Komjathy describes it as, "Probably dating from the late Tang (618–906), the text is in question-and-answer format, containing a dialogue between Lü and his teacher Zhongli on aspects of alchemical terminology and methods."
The ''Zhong Lü Chuan Dao Ji'' lists five classes of immortals:
*''Guǐxiān'' (—"Ghost Immortal"): A person who cultivates too much
yin
Yin may refer to:
*the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
*Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty
**Yinxu or Yin, the S ...
energy. These immortals are likened to
Vampires
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...
because they drain the life essence of the living, much like the
fox spirit
Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charac ...
. Ghost immortals do not leave the realm of ghosts.
*''Rénxiān'' (—Human Immortal"): Humans have an equal balance of yin and yang energies, so they have the potential of becoming either a ghost or immortal. Although they continue to hunger and thirst and require clothing and shelter like a normal human, these immortals do not suffer from aging or sickness. Human immortals do not leave the realm of humans. There are many sub-classes of human immortals, as discussed above under ''#Baopuzi, Shījiě xiān''.
*''Dìxiān'' (—"Earth Immortal"): When the yin is transformed into the pure yang, a true immortal body will emerge that does not need food, drink, clothing or shelter and is not affected by hot or cold temperatures. Earth immortals do not leave the realm of earth. These immortals are forced to stay on earth until they shed their human form.
*''Shénxiān'' (—"Spirit Immortal"): The immortal body of the earthbound class will eventually change into vapor through further practice. They have supernatural powers and can take on the shape of any object. These immortals must remain on earth acquiring merit by teaching mankind about the Tao. Spirit immortals do not leave the realm of spirits. Once enough merit is accumulated, they are called to heaven by a celestial decree.
*''Tiānxiān'' (—"Celestial Immortal"): Spirit immortals who are summoned to heaven are given the minor office of water realm judge. Over time, they are promoted to oversee the earth realm and finally become administrators of the celestial realm. These immortals have the power to travel back and forth between the earthly and celestial realms.
''Śūraṅgama Sūtra''
![WuXianGuan-Immortals-footprint-0519](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/WuXianGuan-Immortals-footprint-0519.jpg)
The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'', a mahayana Buddhist manuscript, in an approach to Taoist teachings, discusses the characteristics of ten types of ''xian'' who exist between the world of Deva (Buddhism), devas ("gods") and that of human beings. This position, in Buddhism, Buddhist literature, is usually occupied by Asura (Buddhism), asuras ("Titan (mythology), Titans", "antigods"), but these beings are of another type. These ''xian'' are not considered true cultivators of ''samadhi'' ("unification of mind"), as their methods differ from the practice of ''Dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna'' ("meditation").
*''Dìxiān'' (, "earth-travelling immortals") – ''Xian'' who constantly ingest special food called ''fuer'' ().
*''Fēixiān'' (, "flying immortals") – ''Xian'' who constantly ingest certain herbs and plants.
*''Yóuxiān'' (, "roaming immortals") – ''Xian'' who "transform" by constantly ingesting metals and minerals.
*''Kōngxiān'' (, "void-travelling immortals") – ''Xian'' who perfect their ''qi'' and essence through unceasing movement and stillness (''dongzhi'' ).
*''Tiānxiān'' (, "heaven-travelling immortals") – ''Xian'' who constantly practice control of their fluids and saliva.
*''Tōngxiān'' (, "all-penetrating immortals") – ''Xian'' who constantly practice the inhalation of unadulterated essences.
*''Dàoxiān'' (, "immortals of the Way") – ''Xian'' who achieve transcendence through unceasing recitation of spells and prohibitions.
*''Zhàoxiān'' (, "illuminated immortals") – ''Xian'' who achieve transcendence through constant periods of thought and recollection.
*''Jīngxiān'' (, "seminal immortals") – ''Xian'' who have mastered the stimuli and responses of intercourse.
*''Juéxiān'' (, "absolute immortals") – ''Xian'' who "have attained the end" and perfected their awakening through constant transformation.
In art and culture
According to Michael Loewe, the earliest artistic and textual evidence of ''xian'' transcendents dates from the fifth or fourth centuries BCE. They were depicted as avian and serpentine Mythological hybrid, hybrids who could fly through the universe, typically either combinations of a bird's body and a human face, or a human with wings sprouting on their back, i.e., a ''yuren'' (羽人, "feathered person"). In tomb reliefs from the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE), ''xian'' are often bird-human and reptile-human hybrids, depicted as "liminal but spiritually empowered figures" who accompanied a deceased person's soul to paradise, "transient figures moving through an intermediate realm" where they are often joined by deer, tigers, dragons, birds, heavenly horses (''tianma'' 天馬), and other animals. These avian, serpentine, and human hybrid ''xian''s are frequently depicted with "secondary characteristics" including androgyny, large ears, long hair, exaggerated nonhuman faces, tattoo-like markings, and nudity; many of these traits also appear in depictions of foreigners, who also lived outside the Chinese cultural and spiritual sphere.
In Japan, ''sennin'' image was perpetuated in many legends, art, miniature sculpture (netsuke). Below is a wooden netsuke, made in the 18th century. It represents a perplexed old man with one hand based on the curve of a snag, and the other hand is rubbing his head with concern. He is looking somewhere in the sky and tucked up the right leg. This position betrayed him as Sennin Tekkay, whose soul has found the second life in the body of the lame beggar. In shape the beggarly old man this legendary personality portrayed prominent carver of the early period Jobun.
''Sennin'' is a common Japanese character name. For example, ''Ikkaku Sennin'' (一角仙人 "One-horned Immortal") was a Noh play by Komparu Zenpō (金春禅鳳, 1454–1520?). The Japanese legend of Gama Sennin (蝦蟇仙人 "Toad Immortal") is based upon Chinese Liu Haichan, Liu Hai, a fabled 10th-century alchemist who learned the secret of immortality from the Chan Chu ("Three-legged Money Toad").
See also
* Shen (Chinese religion)
* Zhenren
*
Eight Immortals
The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary ''xian'' ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight ...
* Eight Immortals from Sichuan
* Sanxing (deities), Fu Lu Shou
* Old Man of the South Pole
* Magu (deity), Magu
* Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West)
* Temples of the Five Immortals in China:
** Temple of the Five Immortals (Shiyan), In Shiyan, (Hubei)
** Temple of the Five Immortals (Guangzhou), In Guangzhou
* Kunlun Mountain (mythology), Kunlun Mountain in mythology
* Peaches of Immortality
* Xianxia (genre)
* Sansin
* Yama-no-Kami
* Rishi
* Weizza
References
*Akahori, Akira. 1989. "Drug Taking and Immortality", in ''Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques'', ed. Livia Kohn. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, pp. 73–98. .
*Blofeld, John. 1978. ''Taoism: The Road to Immortality''. Boston: Shambhala. .
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*DeWoskin, Kenneth. 1990. "''Xian'' Descended: Narrating ''Xian'' among Mortals." ''Taoist Resources'' 1.2:21–27.
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*Loewe, Michael. 1978. "Man and Beast: The Hybrid in Early Chinese Art and Literature", ''Numen (journal), Numen'' 25.2, pp. 97-117.
*Robinet, Isabel. 1986
"The Taoist Immortal: Jesters of Light and Shadow, Heaven and Earth" ''Journal of Chinese Religions'' 13/14:87–106.
*Wallace, Leslie V. 2001. "BETWIXT AND BETWEEN: Depictions of Immortals (''Xian'') in Eastern Han Tomb Reliefs", ''Ars Orientalis'' 41: 73-101.
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*Wong, Eva. 2000. ''The Tao of Health, Longevity, and Immortality: The Teachings of Immortals Chung and Lü.'' Boston: Shambhala.
Footnotes
External links
"Transcendence and Immortality" Russell Kirkland, The Encyclopedia of Taoism
Gregory Smits, Topics in Premodern Chinese History
Xian Encyclopedia of Religion
{{Authority control
Chinese mythology
Life extension
Mythological powers
Taoist philosophy