 thumb|the eight immortals  the eight immortals () are a group of legendary xian ("immortals; transcendents; saints") in chinese mythology. each immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool (æ³å¨) that can bestow life or destroy evil. together, these eight tools are called the "covert eight immortals" (æå«ä» Ã n ~). most of them are said to have been born in the tang or song dynasty. they are revered by the taoists and are also a popular element in the secular chinese culture. they are said to live on a group of five islands in the bohai sea, which includes penglai mountain-island. the immortals are: * he xiangu * cao guojiu * li tieguai * lan caihe * lÃ¼ dongbin * han xiangzi * zhang guolao * zhongli quan in literature before the 1970s, they were sometimes translated as the eight genies. first described in the yuan dynasty, they were probably named after the eight immortal scholars of the han. ==in art== the tradition of depicting humans who have become immortals is an ancient practice in chinese art, and when religious taoism gained popularity, it quickly picked up this tradition with its own immortals. while cults dedicated to various taoist immortals date back to the han dynasty, the popular and well-known eight immortals first appeared in the jin dynasty. the art of the jin tombs of the 12th and 13th centuries depicts a group of eight taoist immortals in wall murals and sculptures. they officially became known as the eight immortals in the writings and works of art of the taoist sect known as the complete realization (quanshen). the most famous art depiction of the eight immortals from this period is a mural of them in the eternal joy temple (yongle gong) at ruicheng. the eight immortals are considered to be signs of prosperity and longevity, so they are popular themes in ancient and medieval art. they were frequent adornments on celadon vases. they were also common in sculptures owned by the nobility. their most common appearance, however, was in paintings. many silk paintings, wall murals, and wood block prints remain of the eight immortals. they were often depicted either together in one group, or alone to give more homage to that specific immortal. an interesting feature of early eight immortal artwork is that they are often accompanied by jade hand maidens, commonly depicted servants of the higher ranked deities, or other images showing great spiritual power. this shows that early on, the eight immortals quickly became eminent figures of the taoist religion and had great importance{{citation needed|d
Chinese_art Chinese_deities Quantified_human_groups Taoism