Page 261 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

accompanying himself on castanets, begging his way through the town. His
sex is obscure and in later times he was portrayed on the stage as a woman.
Tales of He xiangu are found in many places; according to Zhao Daoyi's Jl1j
J!! -- *Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Im-
mortals and Those Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages; Houji 1& ~,
5.8a-b), she was the daughter of He Tai M ~ of Zengcheng .t\'~WZ in Guang-
zhou (Canton). She was instructed by a divine person in a dream to prepare
a "Powder of mica" (yunmu fen ~ ffl: 7t) and ingest it; in the reign of Tang
Zhongzong Cr. 684. 705-IQ) she gained immortality.
Probably contributing greatly to the renown of this particular group of
Eight Immortals was the devotion extended to Zhongli Quan and Lii Dongbin
as patriarchs of the Quanzhen order, and the depiction of He xiangu as a stu-
dent of Lii Dongbin. As the Eight Immortals became more and more popular,
they were featured in plays. novels, and paintings; stories such as 'The Eight
Immortals Crossing the Sea" CBaxian guohai" )\ 1W i&l iftf) and "The Eight
Immortals of Turquoise Pond Assembly Celebrate Longevity" CYaochi hui
baxian qingshou" ~ it!!. W! ) \. 1W m If) became widely known.
YOSHIKAWA Tadao

lID ling Anning 1996; Lai T'ien-ch'ang 1972; Little 2000b, 319-34; Maspero 1981.
161-64; Ho and O'Brien 1990; Yang R. F. S. 1958; Yetts 1916; Yetts 1922

~ Lii Dongbin; Zhang Guolao; Zhongli Quan; HAGIOGRAPHY; TAOISM AND
POPULAR RELIGION

Beidi

Northern Emperor

When Taoists elaborated their mythical geography during the first centuries
CE, they placed Beidi, the Northern Emperor, at the head of Mount *Fengdu
and made him the supreme sovereign of the kingdom of the dead. In this role,
Beidi runs a giant administration including judges, officials, henchmen. and
all the dead who have repented and are enrolled in the infernal bureaucracy
according to their former status and prestige in the world of the living.
For *Tao Hongjing, Beidi is similar to Yanluo I~~ *iJl (Yama, the king of the
Buddhist hells; *Zhengao, 15.2a), but he also is associated with the Northern
Dipper (*beidou). Beidi plays. therefore. essential roles as director of destiny at
both extremities of the axis mundi, heaven and hell. Otherwise his identity is