China: The Daoist immortal Zhongli Quan, from the album of 18 Daoist Paintings by Zhang Lu (1464-1538), 16th century CE. Painting sprinkled with gold leaf, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai

Zhongli Quan, also known as Han Zhongli and whose courtesy name was Jidao, is a Chinese mythological character and one of the Eight Immortals. Zhongli Quan was believed to have been born in the Han Dynasty, in Yanjing.

It is said that during his birth, bright beams of light filled the labour room, and that after he was born he did not stop crying for seven full days. His distince features marked him out for greatness however, and he began speaking fluently either after seven days or seven years. He followed in his father's footsteps and became a member of the imperial court, becoming a general in the Han army. He fought and was defeated by the Tibetans, causing him to flee into the mountains, where he came across an old man in a spiritual sanctuary. From there he learned the ways of alchemy and immortality.

Armed with his alchemical knowledge and a magic fan, he began creating silver and gold coins from stones and saved people from famine and poverty. One story tells that his constant use of his magical fan eventually caused his descent into the clouds of immortality. The other story claims that he was meditating in his hermitage when one of the walls collapsed revealing a jade vessel that contained the elixir of immortality.

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