The legend of the Eight Immortals originated very early, but there are many versions of the characters, and the "Eight Immortals" widely spread in the modern world are not unified with another "Eight Immortals", and they are also different, but they are also called the "Eight Immortals". ”

"Such as the Huainan Eight Immortals, referring to the eight princes who helped Liu An, the king of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty, to write "Huainan Zi", the king of Huainan is a good elixir, and later generations will pass it on as immortals, and the eight immortals of Huainan may be attached to this matter. In the five dynasties, the Taoist priest painted the eight immortals in Shu, and the characters painted were Rong Chenggong, Li Er, Dong Zhongshu, Zhang Daoling, Yan Junping, Li Babai, Fan Changsheng, and Mr. Erzhu. ”

Liu Yu wrinkled every day, "Huainan Eight Immortals?" I couldn't help but sigh with doubts in my heart, the same name as the Eight Immortals, the characters have changed, and now the most popular Eight Immortals in China are still "Tie Guan Li, Zhong Liquan, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Lu Dongbin, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guo's Uncle Eight people, the eight of them are quite famous, and the first and final circulation is still this "Eight Immortals". ”

Looking at Liu Yu frowning every day, the old man under the black robe waved his hand and said, "Okay, you haven't learned about it before, and now it's inevitable to feel a little surprised.

Liu Yu also agreed with his master's statement, nodded emphatically, and said, "This is already the second type of "Eight Immortals" compared to Lu Dongbin's and other Eight Immortals, is there a third or fourth in the future?"

Why did he have such an idea? Because Liu Yu originally thought that the "Eight Immortals" were just the "Eight Immortals" composed of eight people, namely "Tie Gui Li, Zhong Liquan, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Lu Dongbin, Han Xiangzi, and Uncle Cao Guo." Now that his master has spoken this knowledge, he has broken his own cognition, and there will actually be a second group of "Eight Immortals." According to his master, there are many ways to say it? After thinking about it, will there be a third and fourth group?

When Liu Yu asked, Liu Yu's master nodded "um", and Liu Yu said, "Master, what other characters can be called "Eight Immortals", especially aroused my interest. ”

The old man under the black robe smiled and said, "Next is," Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty wrote "The Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking", referring to Li Bai, He Zhizhang and other eight literati who were good at poetry and drinking. Today's so-called Eight Immortals were formed in the Yuan Dynasty, but the characters are not the same, and they are all called "Eight Immortals". ””

Liu Yu asked: "The second group of 'Eight Immortals' and the third group of 'Eight Immortals' are actually literati? Although culture is very useful, how can it be called "immortals"? The word "immortal" obviously appears to be a sacred existence, and even if it calls itself "immortal," it naturally has something extraordinary, right?"

The master said, "Good boy, this time I have a long head, and I know how to think about this problem." ”

The earliest Eight Immortals appeared in the Han Dynasty, and they were the eight literary scholars known as the "Eight Immortals of Huainan", which were called "Eight Princes" at that time. "Elementary School Zhu" records: "Huainan Eight Princes: Zuo Wu, Li Shang, Su Fei, Tian You, Mao Phi, Lei Quilt, Jin Chang, Wu Quilt. ””

Originally called "Eight Princes", it can be seen that the Huainan Eight Immortals are only eight literati, not immortals. But later, because of the legend that King Huainan became an immortal, the eight princes who were attached to him in later generations also became immortals, called "eight immortals". This is also the first combination of "Eight Immortals", although the "Eight Immortals" of the Han Dynasty are a little less famous than Lu Dongbin's generation, but they can be called "Eight Immortals", and they are also famous in contemporary times. ”

The deeds of the Eight Immortals are mostly scattered in the books of the Tang and Song dynasties, but there was no such group as the "Eight Immortals" at that time. The real collection of eight people collectively called the "Eight Immortals" is in the miscellaneous dramas created by Yuan Ren. These miscellaneous dramas are all called the eight immortals, but the names of the people are different, and each family is different. Hearing this, Liu Yu secretly asked in his heart, is it actually formed through miscellaneous dramas and then respected and circulated by the ancient people?

At the end of the fourth fold of the miscellaneous drama "Lu Dongbin Three Drunken Yueyang Tower", "Water Fairy", in the tone of Lu Dongbin, introduces the eight immortals in turn: "The first one is Han Zhong Liquan, now holding a group of immortal urns; this one is Tie Guan Li, with messy combs; this one is Lan Caihe, Ban Withdraw Yunyang Mu; this one is Zhang Guolao, Zhaozhou Bridge rides down a donkey; this one is Xu Shenweng, carrying a gourd; this one is Han Xiangzi, Han Yu's nephew; this one is Uncle Cao Guo, a dependent of the Song Dynasty; then I am Lu Chunyang, who loves to play Jian Zi foolish drums. "The above eight immortals are all male, and there is no He Xiangu among the eight immortals that was later transmitted, but there is an additional Xu Shenweng. ”

Liu Yu took a breath and said, "There is no He Xiangu, then how did He Xiangu get ranked among the "Eight Immortals" later?", Liu Yu's master pressed his hand and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, listen to me." ”

Liu Yu was embarrassed and apologized and said, "Master, you say, you say, I don't intervene." He smiled and continued to put on a particularly serious attitude to listen to his master explain the "Eight Immortals" to himself.

Master Liu Yu let out a laugh and smiled, this is also the first time Liu Yu heard his master laugh, and said, "Since the book "Journey to the East" by Wu Yuantai in the Ming Dynasty came out, the "Eight Immortals of Shangdong" has been selected. Wu Yuantai arranged the order of the eight immortals: first, Tie Guan Li, second, Zhong Liquan, third, Lan Caihe, fourth, Zhang Guolao, fifth, He Xiangu, sixth, Lu Dongbin, seventh, Han Xiangzi, eighth, Uncle Cao Guo. The composition and ranking order of these eight immortals are completely consistent with the eight immortals that were later handed down, indicating that most people accepted Wu's statement. ”