Zhongli Quan,
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China
China, officially the People's R ...
Jidao, is a
Chinese mythological figure and one of 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 ...
in the
Taoist
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 '' Ta ...
pantheon. He is also known as Han Zhongli because he was said to have been born in the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. In legend, he wields a large
fan which can resurrect the dead and transform stones into silver or gold.
Life

Zhongli was born in
Yanjing
Ji or Jicheng was an ancient city in northern China, which has become the longest continuously inhabited section of modern Beijing. Historical mention of Ji dates to the founding of the Zhou dynasty in about 1045BC. Archaeological finds in sout ...
. According to legend, bright beams of light filled the labour room during his birth. After he was born, he did not stop crying until seven full days had passed. He was destined for greatness from the day he was born by showing features such as a broad forehead, thick ears, long eyebrows, deep eyes, red nose, square mouth, high cheeks, and scarlet lips. Stories depict that either seven days or seven years later, he began to speak, and the first sentence he uttered was, "my feet have wandered in the purple palace of the
mmortals my name is recorded in the capital of the jade emperor." Later Taoists celebrate his birthday on the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the
Chinese calendar. Following his father's example, he became a member of the court, advancing to be general of one of the armies of the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. During his time as a general, his army fought against Tibet. In his last battle he was beaten by the Tibetans, forcing him to flee into the mountainous areas surrounding him. There he came across an old man who led him to a spiritual sanctuary where he was welcomed in and told that he could stay as long as was needed. There he learned the ways of the immortal rituals and extensive amounts of alchemy. After three hard days of teaching, he was dismissed and told to use his newfound powers to serve his people. When he turned back to talk to the man, he and his home had vanished. Using his power of alchemy and his magical fan, he created silver and gold coins from stones and saved people from poverty and famine.
There are two stories that depict how he became one of the immortals. In the first, it was in his continuous use of the immortal powers and his magical fan that eventually caused his descent into the shimmering cloud of the immortals. In the second, he was meditating near a wall of his hermitage when all of a sudden it collapsed. Behind the wall was a jade vessel that took him as an immortal to the shimmering cloud.
In Taoism, he is known as "Zhengyang Zushi" (), literally "True-
Yang
Yang may refer to:
* Yang, in yin and yang, one half of the two symbolic polarities in Chinese philosophy
* Korean yang, former unit of currency of Korea from 1892 to 1902
* YANG, a data modeling language for the NETCONF network configuration p ...
Ancestor-Master". He is also called "Master of the Cloud-Chamber" () in accounts describing his encounter with
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 ...
before achieving immortality.
Depiction
Usually depicted with his chest and belly bare and holding a fan made of feathers or horse hair,
Zhongli is often set apart from the other immortals in pictures by wisps of hair on his temples and a beard down to his navel. He is known for his pleasing disposition, and is often painted or drawn drinking wine.
Modern depiction
In the television show ''
Jackie Chan Adventures
''Jackie Chan Adventures'' is an American animated television series, created by John Rogers, Duane Capizzi and Jeff Kline, and produced by Sony Pictures Television (originally as Columbia TriStar Television for the first three seasons). T ...
'', Zhongli was eventually revealed to be the Immortal who sealed away
Xiao Fung, The Wind Demon, even though he was initially depicted as having sealed away
Dai Gui, The Earth Demon.
See also
References
{{Reflist
Health gods
Eight Immortals