Eight Immortals of Huainan
Encyclopedia
The Eight Immortals of Huainan (淮南八仙; pinyin
: Huáinán bāxiān), also known as the Eight Gentlemen (八公 bāgōng), were the eight scholars under the patronage of Liu An
(劉安 Liú Ān), the prince of Huainan
during the Western Han Dynasty. They are not deified in any religion
s and the xian "immortal" is used metaphor
ically to describe their talent. Together, they wrote the philosophical collection Huainanzi
(淮南子, Huáinánzǐ, literally "The Philosophers of Huainan").
They are:
The "Bagong Mountain" ("Eight Gentlemen Mountain") in China is named after them.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Huáinán bāxiān), also known as the Eight Gentlemen (八公 bāgōng), were the eight scholars under the patronage of Liu An
Liu An
Líu Ān was a Chinese prince and advisor to his nephew, Emperor Wu of Han of the Han Dynasty in China and the legendary inventor of t'ai chi...
(劉安 Liú Ān), the prince of Huainan
Huainan
Huainan is a prefecture-level city with 2,334,000 inhabitants in central Anhui Province, People’s Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu’an to the southwest, Fuyang to the west, Bozhou to the northwest, Bengbu to the northeast and Chuzhou to the east.Its...
during the Western Han Dynasty. They are not deified in any religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s and the xian "immortal" is used metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ically to describe their talent. Together, they wrote the philosophical collection Huainanzi
Huainanzi
The Huáinánzǐ is a 2nd century BCE Chinese philosophical classic from the Han dynasty that blends Daoist, Confucianist, and Legalist concepts, including theories such as Yin-Yang and the Five Phases. It was written under the patronage of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, a legendarily prodigious author...
(淮南子, Huáinánzǐ, literally "The Philosophers of Huainan").
They are:
- Jin Chang (晉昌 jǐn chāng),
- Lei Bei (雷被 leí beì),
- Li Shang (李尚 lǐ shàng),
- Mao Bei (毛被 máo beì),
- Su Fei (蘇非 sū feì),
- Tian You (田由 tián yoú),
- Wu Bei (伍被 wǔ beì), and
- Zuo Wu (左吳 zǔo wú).
The "Bagong Mountain" ("Eight Gentlemen Mountain") in China is named after them.