Illustrated by Chan Kok Sing Translated by Koh Kok Kiang

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 Let the Eight Immortals charm you all over again!

Here, the Eight Immortals once again go around teaching scoundrels a

lesson or two, and rendering aid to the kind-hearted.

In this volume, Zhang Guolao outwits the monks; Cao Guojiu gets
the better of a textile merchant; whilst Han Xiangzi tricks the
emperor, all to protect the welfare of the commoners. At the climax,
witness the enthralling battle scenes between the celestial beings
and the eight immortals. You will be treated to the magnificent
Celestial Palace where the Jade Emperor lives.

These fascinating stories will warm the cockles of your heart with their
simple plots, witty illustrations and adorable characters!

The Eight Immortals Series by Chan Kok Sing:

The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea
Uproar in the Celestial Palace
Rewarding the Honest
Miracle Makers

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 What you must know about the Eight Immortals
* The super 8 are popular figures of Chinese myths and legends.

* They are adored by the Chinese as they signify happiness. Remember:

for Chinese, the number eight represents good fortune.

* They are adopted by Taoist folk religion.

* They are closest to the hearts of the ordinary Chinese for the simple
reason that they look ordinary!

* They represent all conditions of life poverty, wealth, nobility,

plebeianism, age, youth, masculinity and femininity.

* Three are said to be historical figures: Zhongli Quan, Zhang Guolao

and L Dongbin.

* Five are mentioned in fables: Tieguai Li, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu,
Lan Caihe and He Xiangu.

* Stories about the lives of the Eight Immortals suggest that it is possible
for ordinary mortals to attain immortality and happiness through
selfless actions and good deeds.

Now are you

inspired to do
good?

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 Meet the Miracle Makers!

Iron Crutch Deity: Tieguai Li

Hot-tempered and unpredictable. His
gourd contains magic medicine.

Fan Deity: Zhongli Quan

Also known as Han Zhongli.
His fan can control the sea.

Prodigal Deity: Zhang Guolao

Eldest immortal. Often depicted riding his
magic donkey backwards.

Learned Swordsman:
L Dongbin
Most popular immortal. Healer of the
poor; subjugator of evil forces.

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 Royal Deity: Cao Guojiu
The uncle of Emperor Ying Zong of the
Song Dynasty.

Flute Fairy: Han Xiangzi

Loves solitude and represents the
ideal of a contented recluse.

Flower Boy: Lan Caihe

Strangest and youngest immortal; social misfit.
At times male and at times female.

Lotus Fairy: He Xiangu

Cures the sick with her lotus bloom,
the flower of open-heartedness.

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 Introduction

Among the popular figures of Chinese myths and legends, the Eight Immortals of
Taoist folk religion stand out.
The legend of the Eight Immortals as a group is not older than the time of the Yuan
Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) although its members had been celebrated as immortals in
Taoist tales as early as the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).
Most people see the Eight Immortals simply as the subject of charming stories
though they actually play a more significant role. This is in relationship to the Bagua, or
Eight Trigrams, of the Yijing (also known as the I Ching in English), the most popular
classic of traditional China.
Each of the Eight Immortals is associated with a certain direction of the Eight Trigrams.
In certain cases, this is based on their nature. He Xiangu, a woman, represents yin, the
female principle. She is associated with the south-west and the three broken lines of
trigram which represents yin is placed there. For his hot temper, Tieguai Li is situated in
the south while the calmer and the eldest of the Eight, Zhang Guolao, is in the north.
Zhongli Quan, whose fan stirs the seas, is in the east where the sea meets China. L
Dongbin, subjugator of the forces of the evil and the unknown, is on the west,
traditionally the dwelling place of the mysterious and magical due to the vastness of the
deserts and mountain ranges which lie in that direction.
Han Xiangzi defends the south-east while the last two, Lan Caihe and Cao Guojiu,
guard the north-west and north-east respectively.
Traditional China is said to embrace the San Jiao, or Three Religions, of Taoism,
Confucianism and Buddhism. Most ordinary Chinese felt closest to folk Taoism as
Confucianism appealed to the educated while Buddhism had been regarded as a foreign
religion since its advent in China.
Literacy was a privilege of a few as the vast majority of the people were unlettered.
Thus, not many people were familiar with Confucian or Buddhist teachings. Folk Taoism
had the greatest appeal to them because its teachings were often in the form of fables
which could be transmitted by story-tellers. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the
Eight Immortals are manifested in the form of stories rather than philosophical works.
Stories about the Eight Immortals appeared at a time when Buddhism was making
inroads into the Chinese world as the great teachers were able to popularise it among
the masses by simplifying Buddhist teachings. Followers of Taoism, Chinas native
philosophy, wanted to maintain its place in Chinese thought and a way of doing so was
to make it more accessible to the masses. Such stories had helped the Chinese to easily
assimilate Taoist teachings and the tradition has continued to this day.

Koh Kok Kiang

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 The Eight Immortals and the Bagua
(Eight Trigrams of the Yijing)
The Eight Trigrams are a series of three lines, which combine all
possible variations of either a broken line or a full line. They form
one of the most important sets of symbols in Chinese divination.

Each of the Eight Immortals is associated with a certain direction

of the Eight Trigrams. The Eight Immortals and their directions
along the Eight Trigrams are invoked in one of the most powerful
forms of magic in folk Taoism. This is the Bazhen Tu, the Battle
Chart of the Eight Trigrams, used to counter the work of
practitioners of black magic.

Zhang Guolao
Lan Caihe

Cao Guojiu

L Dongbin

Zhongli Quan

Han Xiangzi
He
Xiangu

Tieguai Li

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 1

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 Indulgence in
debauchery
The townspeople spent
their time on wine and
led a lustful life.

Dragon King,
unleash a flood of
water to drown the
townspeople!

There are good people

among the bad ones. When
the flood hits, the good All right,
people will be unjustifiably Tieguai Li,
harmed as well. go and look
out for good
people.

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 3

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 Oil for sale.
Ten coins for
one gourdful, five
coins for two
gourdfuls.

Dont
rush!
The oil jar was not big, but no matter
how much oil was sold, the supply was
not exhausted and they could not finish
selling the oil as demand was great.

The townspeople thought

that the oil vendors were
fools and everyone bought
two gourdfuls each time.
Im giving you 10
coins. Give me one
gourdful of oil.

Eventually, a young
girl approached.

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 Tieguai Li deliberately gave her two Before long ...
gourdfuls of oil for five coins.

Im giving
you 15
coins.

My grandfather said We have found

you counted wrongly. Now good people at last.
Im here to make up
the difference. Ha! Ha!

I must
inform my
grandfather.

This place will soon

be visited by disaster. When
you see blood dripping from
the eyes of the stone lion on
Ten Characters Street, you
must immediately flee to
the mountains.

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 She told her grandfather the matter. They
went back to look for the informants but
they were nowhere to be found.

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 The following
day, the old man
saw the
bleeding stone
lion.

The old man and his

granddaughter gathered
their belongings and took
their puppy with them up
to the mountains.

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 8

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 The entire town was
submerged in water.

Grandfather ,
Dear lass,
they are the ones
how are you?
who saved us.

This is the
consequence of
wickedness.

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