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

Lu Dongbin, whose birth name was Lu Yan and courtesy name Dongbin, is a Chinese historical character and one of the most famous of the Eight Immortals, considered by many to be the de facto leader. He is officially mentioned in the history book 'History of Song', and was often portrayed as a clever and scholarly man with a genuine desire to help people marred by flaws such as his philandering, his bouts of drunkenness and his short temper.

Lu Dongbin was born during the Tang Dynasty, some time around 796 CE, and was said to have been very intelligent even as a child, though he twice failed the top-level civil service exam to become a government official. He one day dreamed of getting all he had wanted, only to lose it all in the end and dying in the street alone, a dream caused by Zhongli Quan to make Lu Dongbin realise the dangers of placing too much importance on success and transient glory.

Lu Dongbin subsequently left to become Zhongli Quan's disicple, passing ten trials before he was deemed worthy of becoming immortal. Since then, Lu Dongbin has embarked on various adventures and stories with his fellow immortals. He is still worshipped to this day, though not by people with romantic problems, and is considered one of the earliest masters of 'neidan', or internal alchemy.

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