Zhongli of the Han Leads Lan Caihe to Enlightenment

Zhongli of the Han Leads Lan Caihe to Enlightenment
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Drama plays played and formed a significant part of the Chinese community especially during the era of the imperial dynasties. Social, cultural, and political representations of imperial China came alive through the wide range of theatrical performances by the equally diverse troupes. The performing troupes would consist of members of the same family or composition of talented individuals dedicated to entertaining and educating the masses. Most of the plays built on some of the societal or cultural beliefs of the community and thus receiving the massive following from people across the social hierarchies. One of the most common themes for these drama plays was the community’s religiosity or its spiritual orientation, its meaning, and its impact on the society as a whole. The drama play, Zhongli of the Han Leads Lan Caihe to Enlightenment, showcases the societal values of the Eight Immortals through an integration of the cultural and religious beliefs of the society.
According to most of the drama plays of the imperial era, the Eight Immortals refers to a group of former members of the Chinese community who overcame the inhibitions of nature to become supernatural beings with divine powers. The divine beings tasked themselves with delivering the common from evil or other forms challenges deemed limiting to the ability of the latter to acquire the divinity status. Human beings in their natural states can only live a complete life if they attain or rather ascend to the divinity status. It was the responsibility of the supernatural beings to guide the mortal beings towards discovering their eternal fates. The Eight Immortals consisted of Zhang Guo lao, Zhongli Quan, Lu Dongbin, Tieguai Li, He Xiangu, Cao Guojiu, Han Xiangzi, and Lan Caihe. Each of the immortals served a divine purpose with a symbolic representation, which the society respected and revered. The depiction of each of the immortals in West and Idema’s, Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals, provide insight into the roles played or purposes served in the Chinese cultural society. Zhang Guo lao, for instance, was often depicted riding a donkey while carrying a fish drum. According to the Chinese culture he was deemed to have supernatural powers of giving life to his mule whenever he needed it for to travel and exercised power over nature as seen in his ability to snatch birds from the sky. Han Xiangzi, the only female member of the eight and depicted as carrying or playing a flute represented the piousness of immortality as she transcended while still unblemished from sexual interactions. The rest of the Immortals also have unique depictions of themselves, but perhaps it is the role played by Zhongli Quan, Lu Dongbin, and Lan Caihe that reveal with certainty the role or purposes played by the three.[Clart, Philip. The Eight Immortals between Daosim and Popular Religion: Evidence from a New Spirit-Written Scripture, Foundations of Daoist Ritual 1-24, 2009.] [West, Stepehen and Wilt Idema. Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese Play, Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company, 2010.] [Clart, Philip. The Eight Immortals between Daosim and Popular Religion: Evidence from ...