Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master. By Deng Ming-Dao. Harper One, 1993, 476 pages. VSCL. Biography of Kwan Sai Hung. (1920-...) A fictional Taoist Master/Immortal.
"Some of the Masters of Mount Huashan were already addressed as "Immortal." These were highly regarded individuals, agless in appearance. Their titles meant "realized persons," signifying that the Masters has fulfilled, as a minimum requirement, the completion of internal alchemy for the sake of longevity, liberation from the cycle of transmigration, enlightened perception of the nature of life, astral travel, and the total memorization of the hundreds of volumes comprising the Taoist Canon." - Chronicles of Tao, p. 69
Bat Immortal, Yin-Yan Immortals, Frog Immortal ...
Eight Immortals - Wikipedia
Xian (Chinese: 仙/仚/僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of xian has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as:
- (in Daoist philosophy and cosmology) spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being
- (in Daoist religion and pantheon) physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint
- (in Chinese alchemy) alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques
- (or by extension) alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality
- (in Chinese mythology) wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer
- (in popular Chinese literature) genie; elf, fairy; nymph; 仙境 (xian jing is fairyland, faery)
- (based on the folk etymology for the character 仙, a compound of the characters for person and mountain) sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse
- (as a metaphorical modifier) immortal [talent]; accomplished person; celestial [beauty]; marvelous; extraordinary
- (In new-age conception) seeker who takes refuge in immortality (longevity for the realization of divinity); transcended person [self] recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being
Xian semantically developed from meaning spiritual "immortality; enlightenment", to physical "immortality; longevity" involving methods such as alchemy, breath meditation, and tai chi chuan, and eventually to legendary and figurative "immortality".
Victor H. Mair describes the xian archetype as:
