The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea
The Eight Immortals decide to cross the sea using their own magical objects. Their journey attracts the attention of a greedy prince in the Dragon-king’s palace.
Content warning: The story mentions kidnapping, imprisonment and war.
Harmony Between Gods and Men
The phrase Pa Hsien kuo hai, ‘the Eight Immortals crossing the sea,’ refers to the legend of an expedition made by these deities. They wanted to see the wonders of the sea that could not be found in heaven.Their object was to behold the wondrous things of the sea not to be found in the celestial sphere.
Lü Yen suggested that they should give up their usual heavenly transport: sitting on a cloud. Instead, they could show the endless variety of their talents by placing objects on the sea and stepping ontoThe usual mode of celestial locomotion—by taking a seat on a cloud—was discarded at the suggestion of Lü Yen who recommended that they should show the infinite variety of their talents by placing things on the surface of the sea and stepping on them.
Li T’ieh-kuai threw down his crutch, and scudded rapidly over the waves. Chung-li Ch’üan used his feather-fan, Chang Kuo his paper mule, Lü Tung-pin his sword, Han Hsiang Tzŭ his flower-basket, Ho Hsien Ku her lotus-flower, Lan Ts’ai-ho his musical instrument, and Ts’ao Kuo-chiu his tablet of admission to Court. The popular pictures often represent most of these articles changed into various kinds of sea-monsters. The musical instrument was noticed by the son of the Dragon-king of the Eastern Sea. The greedy prince thoughtThis avaricious prince conceived the idea of stealing the instrument and imprisoning its owner. The Immortals then declared war. Chinese writers describe it at length; it ended in the Dragon-king’s utter defeat.thereupon declared war, the details of which are described at length by the Chinese writers, the outcome being that the Dragon-king was utterly defeated. After this, the Eight Immortals continued their underwater exploits for an indefinite time, encountering numberless adventures. But here the author travels far into the fertile region of romance, beyond the boundaries of our present subject.this the Eight Immortals continued their submarine exploits for an indefinite time, encountering numberless adventures; but here the author travels far into the fertile region of romance, beyond the frontiers of our present province.