Page 260 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

BAX IAN 221

more than five hundred years, from
the Later Han to the Tang dynasty,
before gaining immortality. Zhang
Guolao was Zhang Guo ~ Wo , a
*fangshi (master of methods) who
lived during the Tang dynasty, and his
biography is included in the fangshi
records in both versions of the His-
tory of the Tang Dynasty. He is said to
have been invited from his abode in
Hengzhou §JI'I (Hebei) to court by
Tang Xuanzong (r. 7I2- 56) and there
performed a number of magical arts.
His age is not known, and so he is
given the appellation Lao -;ff; (Elder).
Han Xiangzi is said by some to have
been Han Xiang ~ #Il, nephew of
the Tang literary figure, Han Yu ~
:®: (768-824; IC 397-40). The follow-
ing story is taken from the Qingsuo
Fig. 22. The Eight Immortals.
ji W $ ~ (Anthology of the Green
Latticed Window) in the "Divine Im-
mortals" ("Shenxian" :f$1W) section of the Shihua zonggui ~~ ~i5 ~@{j@, (General
Compendium of Poetry Criticism). One time, when Han Xiang was scooping
up earth in front of his uncle Han Yu and placing it in a tray, two beautiful
flowers suddenly bloomed, and between the two the following verse appeared
in golden letters:

Clouds veil the Qinling range:
where is your home?
Deep snow has closed the Lan Pass:
the horses will go no further.

It is said that this was used within a poem composed by Han Yu at the Lan Pass
(Languan !M.lUJ) after he had been demoted to Chaozhou WJ j'I'1 (Guangdong).
Cao Guojiu was the younger brother of Empress Cao (Cao huanghou Illi £
J§'), wife of Song Renzong (r. I022-{)3). Lii Dongbin was the second Quanzhen
patriarch after Zhongli Quan. Lan Caihe's biography can be found in Shen
Fen's tt1)} *Xu xianzhuan (Sequel to Biographies of Immortals). He dressed
in a tattered blue gown, and wore a boot on only one foot, leaving the other
bare. In summer he wore padding under his robe, and in winter slept in the
snow, while his body gave off steam. He was always drunk. He sang songs