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Baxian
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Qing dynasty: porcelain Baxian
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Qing dynasty: porcelain
Qing dynasty: porcelain One of the Baxian, or Eight Immortals, porcelain from China, Qing dynasty, c. 1700; in the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio. Height 30.8 cm.

Baxian

Daoism
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Also known as: Eight Immortals, Pa Hsien
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Wade-Giles:
romanization Pa Hsien
English:
Eight Immortals
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Baxian, heterogeneous group of holy Daoists, each of whom earned the right to immortality and had free access to the Peach Festival of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West. Though unacquainted in real life, the eight are frequently depicted as a group—bearing gifts, for instance, to Shouxing, god of longevity, to safeguard their immortality.

Baxian
BaxianBaxian, the Eight Immortals, Chinese painting, 18th century; in the Guimet Museum, Paris.

In Chinese art they sometimes stand alone or appear in smaller groups. Four of them, for example, may be depicted reclining beneath a pine tree—with Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin drinking wine heated by Li Tieguai while Lan Caihe entertains them on a flute. Lists vary, but the other four immortals are usually identified as Zhang Guolao, Han Xiang, Cao Guojiu, and He Xiangu.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.