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Lü Dongbin
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Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin was a Daoist scholar and poet who lived during the Tang dynasty in China, and whose lifetime supposedly spanned two hundred and twenty years. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the Chinese cultural sphere by Daoists, he is one of the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals. Lü is also a historical figure and mentioned in the official history book History of Song. He is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of neidan, or internal alchemy. He is also depicted in art dressed as a scholar carrying a sword to dispel evil spirits.
Lü Dongbin is usually portrayed as a scholarly, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom/enlightenment and to learn the Tao. However, he is often portrayed as having some character "flaws," not an uncommon theme for the colorful Taoist immortals, all of whom in general have various eccentricities:
His name is Lü Yán, with Yán (巖 or 岩 or 喦) being the given name. Dòngbīn is his courtesy name. He is called "Master Pure-Yang" (純陽子; Chunyang Zi), and is also called "Lü the Progenitor" (呂祖; lü zŭ) by some Daoists, especially those of the Quanzhen School. He was born in Jingzhao Prefecture (京兆府) around 796 CE during the Tang dynasty. His birthday is said to be the 14th day of the fourth month of the Chinese calendar.
When he was born, a fragrance allegedly filled the room. He had been very intelligent since childhood and had many academic achievements. However, according to one story, still unmarried by the age of 20, Lü twice took the top-level civil service exam to become a government official, but did not succeed.
In the first year of Tang Baoli (825 CE), he was a scholar for a period of time. He served as a county magistrate twice. Soon he was ruined by officialdom, abandoned his official position and retired to the mountains. Once he went to a Chang'an wine store, met the real Zhongli Quan (鍾離權), passed ten trials, and Quan taught him the way to create the Golden pill; consequently he learned the way and became an immortal.
Legend has it that one night when Lü Yan was in Chang'an or Handan, he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking in a hotel. He dreamed that he took the imperial exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice minister (侍郎; shìláng). He then married the daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again and again, and finally became the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street in the dream, he woke up.
Although in the dream, eighteen years had passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhongli Quan in order to make him realize that one should not put too much importance on transient glory and success. As a result, Lü went with Zhongli to discover and cultivate the Tao. This dream is known as "Dream of the Yellow Millet" (黃粱夢; Huáng Liáng Mèng) and is described in a writing compiled by Ma Zhiyuan of the Yuan dynasty.
In volume 82 of Song dynasty scholar Li Fang's Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, an earlier version of the story, Lü Dongbin was replaced by Student Lu (盧生; Lú Shēng), and Zhongli Quan by Elder Lü (呂翁; Lǚ Wēng).
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Lü Dongbin
Lü Dongbin was a Daoist scholar and poet who lived during the Tang dynasty in China, and whose lifetime supposedly spanned two hundred and twenty years. Elevated to the status of an immortal in the Chinese cultural sphere by Daoists, he is one of the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals. Lü is also a historical figure and mentioned in the official history book History of Song. He is widely considered to be one of the earliest masters of neidan, or internal alchemy. He is also depicted in art dressed as a scholar carrying a sword to dispel evil spirits.
Lü Dongbin is usually portrayed as a scholarly, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom/enlightenment and to learn the Tao. However, he is often portrayed as having some character "flaws," not an uncommon theme for the colorful Taoist immortals, all of whom in general have various eccentricities:
His name is Lü Yán, with Yán (巖 or 岩 or 喦) being the given name. Dòngbīn is his courtesy name. He is called "Master Pure-Yang" (純陽子; Chunyang Zi), and is also called "Lü the Progenitor" (呂祖; lü zŭ) by some Daoists, especially those of the Quanzhen School. He was born in Jingzhao Prefecture (京兆府) around 796 CE during the Tang dynasty. His birthday is said to be the 14th day of the fourth month of the Chinese calendar.
When he was born, a fragrance allegedly filled the room. He had been very intelligent since childhood and had many academic achievements. However, according to one story, still unmarried by the age of 20, Lü twice took the top-level civil service exam to become a government official, but did not succeed.
In the first year of Tang Baoli (825 CE), he was a scholar for a period of time. He served as a county magistrate twice. Soon he was ruined by officialdom, abandoned his official position and retired to the mountains. Once he went to a Chang'an wine store, met the real Zhongli Quan (鍾離權), passed ten trials, and Quan taught him the way to create the Golden pill; consequently he learned the way and became an immortal.
Legend has it that one night when Lü Yan was in Chang'an or Handan, he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking in a hotel. He dreamed that he took the imperial exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice minister (侍郎; shìláng). He then married the daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again and again, and finally became the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street in the dream, he woke up.
Although in the dream, eighteen years had passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhongli Quan in order to make him realize that one should not put too much importance on transient glory and success. As a result, Lü went with Zhongli to discover and cultivate the Tao. This dream is known as "Dream of the Yellow Millet" (黃粱夢; Huáng Liáng Mèng) and is described in a writing compiled by Ma Zhiyuan of the Yuan dynasty.
In volume 82 of Song dynasty scholar Li Fang's Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, an earlier version of the story, Lü Dongbin was replaced by Student Lu (盧生; Lú Shēng), and Zhongli Quan by Elder Lü (呂翁; Lǚ Wēng).
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