The Lan Caihe 蓝采和

The Lan Caihe 蓝采和

Paul Peng
Lan Caihe is one of the Eight Immortals in Taoism, with a flower basket as his magic weapon. According to legend, Lan Caihe often wore a tattered blue shirt, held a big clapper, begged in busy markets, sang while drunk, and wandered around the world. Later, in a restaurant, he heard the sound of Sheng and Xiao in the air and suddenly ascended to the sky to become an immortal.


There is another saying that Lan Caihe's original name was Xu Jian. He sang operas in the brothel. When he was celebrating his 50th birthday, he was severely beaten forty times by the government officials. Later, he was guided to become an immortal by Zhongli Quan (Han Zhongli).

Stories about Lan Caihe are recorded in books such as Continued Biographies of Immortals, History of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Que Qian Classified Books. Yuan Dynasty operas like Lan Caihe Locking the Heart and Monkey Intent, Zhongli Quan Converting Lan Caihe, and Lan Caihe's Farce in Chang'an also have different sayings about Lan Caihe's name.
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Paul Peng — Zhengyi Taoist Priest, Longhu Mountain

About the Author

Paul Peng

Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is the curator of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.

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