Xian (Taoism)


A xian is any manner of immortal or mythical being within the Taoist pantheon or Chinese folklore. has often been translated into English as "immortal" or "wizard".
Traditionally, xian refers to entities who have attained immortality and supernatural or magical abilities later in life, with a connection to the heavenly realms inaccessible to mortals. This is often achieved through spiritual self-cultivation, alchemy, or worship by others. This is different from the gods in Chinese mythology and Taoism.
Xian is also used as a descriptor to refer to often benevolent figures of great historical, spiritual and cultural significance. The Quanzhen School of Taoism defined xiān in various ways, including a metaphorical sense meaning a good or principled person.
Xian have been venerated from ancient times to the modern day in a variety of ways across different cultures and religious sects in China.
In China, gods and xian are often mentioned together as shenxian.

Description

describes the archetype as:
They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as rishi who possessed similar traits.

Xiān were regarded as "personal gods" who had been human and ascended through ascetics, scholarship, or martial arts. Taoists would venerate them, and emulate their example in everyday life.
The Eight Immortals are examples of xiān who became folk heroes believed to assist worthy followers and mediate between the living and the dead. Sometimes, they and other were viewed as similar in nature to ghosts, rather than deities. The Eight Immortals and other xian were believed to possess powers connected to their symbolic tools, which could extend or shorten human lifespans depending on their use.
Some Taoists regarded xian as inner gods of the body, capable of troubling mortals but countered through martial virtue and discipline. They were considered capable of both benevolent and malevolent actions. Not all xiān originated within Taoist practice but they are most often associated with Taoist adepts who achieved immortality through spiritual cultivation.
Besides enlightened humans and fairy-like beings, can also refer to supernatural animals, including foxes, fox spirits, and Chinese dragons. Xiān dragons were believed to serve as mounts for Deities or as manifestations of Taoist sages such as Laozi in celestial realms sometimes called "the Heavens".
The mythological huli jing.
Akira Akahori, the author of Drug Taking and Immortality, gives this description:
Legends of so-called immortals were widely accepted by the ancient Chinese. Although the concept of immortals was not exactly the same through the ages, some general images persisted. Immortals usually live in clean and pure places such as high mountains; they do not eat cereals; they appear only to people who perform the proper religious practices or have the right kind of destiny. Some immortals also live in grottoes underneath the sacred mountains. They can freely change their appearance: sometimes they appear in the everyday world looking like ordinary men, to test young immortal aspirants. They move very swiftly and fly through the air, sometimes using wings.

Types of ''xian'' and levels of achievement

''Zhongli Chuandao ji''

The is a Song dynasty Taoist compendium, following the textual tradition of internal alchemy, which lists five classes of immortals:
  • —"Ghost Immortals": A person who cultivates too much yin energy. These immortals are likened to Vampires because they drain the life essence of the living, much like the fox spirit. Ghost immortals do not leave the realm of ghosts.
  • —"Human Immortals": Humans have an equal balance of yin and yang energies, so they have the potential of becoming either a ghost or immortal. Although they continue to hunger and thirst and require clothing and shelter like a normal human, these immortals do not suffer from aging or sickness. Human immortals do not leave the realm of humans. There are many sub-classes of human immortals.
  • — "Earthly Immortals": When the yin is transformed into the pure yang, a true immortal body will emerge that does not need food, drink, clothing or shelter and is not affected by hot or cold temperatures. Earth immortals do not leave the realm of earth. These immortals are forced to stay on earth until they shed their human form.
  • —"Spirit Immortals" also known as "Divine Immortals": The immortal body of the earthbound class will eventually change into vapor through further practice. They have supernatural powers and can take on the shape of any object. These immortals must remain on earth, acquiring merit by teaching mankind about the Tao. Spirit immortals do not leave the realm of spirits. Once enough merit is accumulated, they are called to heaven by a celestial decree.
  • —"Celestial Immortals" also known as "Heavenly Immortals" : Spirit immortals who are summoned to heaven are given the minor office of water realm judge. Over time, they are promoted to oversee the earth realm and finally become administrators of the celestial realm. These immortals have the power to travel back and forth between the earthly and celestial realms.

    ''Baopuzi''

The 4th century CE Baopuzi, written by Ge Hong, gives some highly detailed descriptions of xian, listing three classes:
  • – "Celestial Immortals" or "Heavenly Immortals" - The highest level.
  • – "Earthly Immortals" - The middle level.
  • - "Escaped-by-means-of-a-stimulated-corpse-simulacrum Immortal"- The lowest level. This is considered the lowest form of immortality since a person must first "fake" their own death by substituting a bewitched object like a bamboo pole, talisman, or a shoe for their corpse. Mortals who choose this route have to protect themselves from heavenly retribution by enacting the.
However, this is not a true form of immortality. For each misdeed a person commits, the Director of Allotted Lifespans subtracts days and sometimes years from their allotted lifespan. This method allows a person to live out the entirety of their allotted lifespan and avoid the agents of death. But the body still has to be transformed into an immortal one, hence the phrase – "The 'death' is apparent, the sloughing off of the body's mortality remains to be done."
There are three levels of Shījiě immortals:
– "Agents Beneath the Earth" – in charge of keeping the peace within the Chinese underworld. They are eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality after 280 years of faithful service.

– "Agents Above the Earth" – given magic talismans which prolong their lives and allow them to heal the sick and exorcize demons and evil spirits from the earth. This level was not eligible for promotion to earthbound immortality.

– "Lords Who Control the Earth" – a heavenly decree ordered them to "disperse all subordinate junior demons, whether high or low , that have cause afflictions and injury owing to blows or offenses against the Motion of the Year, the Original Destiny, Great Year, the Kings of the Soil or the establishing or breaking influences of the chronograms of the tome. Annihilate them all." This level was also not eligible for promotion to immortality.

These titles were usually given to humans who had either not proven themselves worthy of or were not fated to become immortals. One such famous agent was Fei Changfang, who was eventually murdered by evil spirits because he lost his book of magic talismans. Some accounts describe immortals using this method to escape execution.

Translations

The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as:
  • spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being
  • physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint, one who is aligned with Heaven's mandate and does not suffer earthly desires or attachments.
  • alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques by turning Shen to Jing.
  • * alchemical, herbal, shi liao, or qigong methods for attaining immortality
  • wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer
  • genie; elf, fairy; nymph; xian jing is fairyland.
  • sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse
  • immortal ; accomplished person; celestial ; marvelous; extraordinary
  • seeker who takes refuge in immortality ; transcended person recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being
  • immortal being part of a small spiritual cabal who had immortal lifespans and supernatural powers, and were enlightened to the works of heaven, which assigned everyone else to "gloomy underworld jails", "a fiery underworld", and/or a mundane role in the afterlife depending on how positively one viewed the afterlife
  • a Daoist who was blessed to become immortal from death onwards and/or a guardian of a village
  • a kind of deity or spiritual person imported from Taoism
  • an ideal existence often associated with cult images made from bronze and with "everlasting life" that is synonymous with and a part of tian or an afterlife that combines elements of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, a higher reality, the Tao and the forces of nature, or existence itself or a being that a deceased person's soul should become
  • a boddhisatva, a person who is on the path like Gautama Buddha or a being of comparable holiness and power over nature to one, or a type of god worshipped in temples
  • a being subservient to heaven that helps humans