Taoist immortal of Chinese mythology
Zhang Guo Lao
Zhang Guo Lao is one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism, revered as an ancient, eccentric sage. According to legend, he lived in the Tang dynasty, travelled on a folding mule and defied emperors.
The myth
According to the stories, Zhang Guo lived as a hermit on a mountain in Heng Prefecture and claimed to be several hundred years old, once serving as a grand minister to the mythical Emperor Yao. When Empress Wu Zetian wanted him at court, he feigned death: his body seemed to rot and fill with worms, only for him to be seen alive again on his mountain. He also refused offices offered by Emperor Xuanzong.
Tradition credits him with extraordinary powers. He could travel great distances on a mule he folded like paper and kept in a box, reviving it by spraying water from his mouth. He played a bamboo drum with iron rods, brewed herbal liquor that the other immortals enjoyed, and practised qigong so intensely that he could go without food for days.
At Xuanzong's court, the mage Ye Fashan revealed Zhang's nature by calling him a white spiritual bat born from primeval chaos, and dropped dead on the spot. Zhang forgave Ye after the emperor's pleas, sprinkling water on his face. Eventually he fell ill and returned to his mountain to die, but his disciples found his tomb empty.
Worship and religion
Revered by Taoists as one of the Eight Immortals, Zhang Guolao is associated with longevity. His image is often placed in the homes and bedrooms of elderly people to encourage a long life and a peaceful death, and he appears in Taoist wedding chapels, where he is shown bringing a descendant to newlyweds.
Legacy
He appears frequently in Chinese painting and sculpture, often alongside the other immortals, and on everyday objects. In the television series Jackie Chan Adventures, he is the immortal who seals away Po Kong, the mountain demon.
In art
Literature and theatre
- Continued Lives of Immortals · Shen Bin