Immortal Woman He

Immortal Woman He

Named Hé Qióng (何瓊 Hé Qióng), Immortal Woman He or He Xiangu (何仙姑 Hé Xiān Gū in pinyin or Ho Hsien-ku in Wade-Giles, is the only female deity of the Eight Immortals. (The gender of her fellow Immortal Lán Cǎihé is somewhat ambiguous). She was from Yong Prefecture (永州 Yǒngzhōu) (today Linglin County (零陵縣 Líng Lín Xiàn), Hunan) in Tang Dynasty, or from a wealthy and generous family in Zēngchéng County (增城縣), Guangdong.

Legend

Ho Hsien-ku was the daughter of Ho T‘ai, of the town of Tsêng-ch‘êng, in the prefecture of Guangdong

At birth she had six long hairs on the crown of her head. When she was about 14 or 15, a divine personage appeared to her in a dream and instructed her to eat powdered mica, in order that her body might become etherealized and immune from death. So she swallowed it, and also vowed to remain a virgin.

Up hill and down dale she used to flit just like a creature with wings. Every day at dawn she sallied forth, to return at dusk, bringing back mountain fruits she had gathered for her mother.

Later on by slow degrees she gave up taking ordinary food.

The Empress Wu dispatched a messenger to summon her to attend at the palace, but on the way there, she disappeared.

One day during the Jīng Lóng (景龍) period (about 707 CE), she ascended to Heaven in broad daylight, and became a Hsien (Taoist Immortal).

"From Lieh Hsien Chuan, ii, 32, 33"

Depiction

Her lotus flower improves one's health, mental and physical. She is depicted holding a lotus flower, and sometimes with the musical instrument known as Shēng (笙), or a fènghuáng bird to accompany her. She may also carry a bamboo ladle or fly-whisk.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Immortal Rain — メテオ・メトセラ (Meteor Methuselah) Genre Action, Fantasy, Romance Manga Written by Kaori Ozaki …   Wikipedia

  • Immortal in Death — (1996) is the third book of the In Death series by J. D. Robb, following Glory in Death and preceding Rapture in Death . Plot introduction Eve must solve a case, save her best friend, deal with her past and prepare for a wedding before it s too… …   Wikipedia

  • Immortal (Highlander) — Immortals are a group of fictional characters seen in the movies and series of the Highlander franchise. Since they are immune to disease and stopped aging after becoming Immortal, they can live forever and they only die when they are beheaded.… …   Wikipedia

  • Immortal Beloved (film) — Infobox Film name = Immortal Beloved caption = Immortal Beloved theatrical poster director = Bernard Rose producer = Bruce Davey writer = Bernard Rose starring = Gary Oldman Jeroen Krabbé music = George Fenton Ludwig van Beethoven Gioacchino… …   Wikipedia

  • Immortal saga — The Immortal Saga is a series by author Keary Taylor. It is based around the life of William Colegrove, born in 1663 and through a series of events is seemingly cursed to live forever. The plot follows William as he looses everything he cares… …   Wikipedia

  • immortal — [[t]ɪmɔ͟ː(r)t(ə)l[/t]] immortals 1) ADJ Someone or something that is immortal is famous and likely to be remembered for a long time. ...the immortal Reverend Dr Spooner. ...Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte s immortal love story... Maybe my work is …   English dictionary

  • Immortal (film) — Infobox Film name = Immortal caption = director = Enki Bilal producer = Charles Gassot writer = Enki Bilal (comic books, scenario adaptation and dialogue) Serge Lehman (script) starring = Linda Hardy Thomas Kretschmann Charlotte Rampling music =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Mortal Immortal — Mary Shelley, painted by Richard Rothwell, 1839 40 The Mortal Immortal is a short story from 1833 written by Mary Shelley. It tells the story of a man who becomes immortal which, at first glance appears to work in his favour promising him eternal …   Wikipedia

  • List of Blade of the Immortal characters — This is a list of characters from the manga series Blade of the Immortal Main characters*: The immortal referred to in the title. While not lazy, he is very laid back, often seen sleeping. Manji also has a strange sense of honour that is in many… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Wonder Woman enemies — Termite Queen links here. For information on queens of the termite species, see Termite Queen. This is a list of fictional characters from DC Comics who are or have been enemies of Wonder Woman. Contents 1 Central rogues gallery 2 Foes of lesser… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”