The Complete Eight Immortals

Name: The Complete Eight Immortals
ISBN: 9787806653715

无垢道人Hunan Yuelu Publishing House Co., Ltd.2004

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Chapters: 26
ISBN: 9787806653715

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Summary

The Complete Eight Immortals, originally titled The Eight Immortals Attain the Way (also known as The Tale of the Eight Immortals Attaining the Way), is a vernacular full-length supernatural novel in one hundred chapters by the Qing-dynasty Wugou Daoren, completed in 1868 (the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign). The author, orphaned and adrift in Chengdu in his youth, studied for twenty-eight years under Master Zhiyuan of the Qingyun Abbey, became well versed in Daoist texts, and later settled at the Baiyun Abbey in the capital, where he wrote and lectured on the Way; this book was written there. The novel takes the Eight Immortals' attainment of the Way as its main thread, beginning with the descent of the Supreme Lord Laozi into the world in the Xia-Shang era and the transformation of the filial son Pinghe into a dragon, and continuing all the way to the early Northern Song, when the Eight Immortals complete their work and return together to the heavenly realm—a span of several thousand years. The overt thread is Iron Crutch Li, Laozi's disciple and the first to become immortal, seeking out and awakening the other seven; the covert thread is the entanglement of grievance between a dragon spirit and the Eight Immortals. One by one it recounts the origins, trials, and attainment of Li Tieguai, Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Zhang Guolao, Lan Caihe, He Xiangu, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu. Skillfully using the doctrine of reincarnation, the author interweaves folk legends such as Meng Jiangnü weeping at the Great Wall, White Snake flooding Jinshan, Chang'e fleeing to the moon, Dongfang Shuo stealing peaches, and Fei Changfang capturing ghosts, weaving once-independent immortal tales into a complete, well-structured novel. With Daoist metaphysical thought at its core, the novel uses immortal trials, karmic retribution, and master-disciple transmission to dramatize the theme that "immortals were once ordinary people," blending battles of gods and demons with the salvation of the world, in fluent and vivid language with neatly parallel chapter titles. Among novels on the Eight Immortals it is the most complete in story and the richest in plot.

Editor's review

八仙的故事人人会说，但真正把八位仙人从出身到得道完整讲一遍的书，并不多。这部《八仙全传》原名《八仙得道》，是清代无垢道人在白云观中写就的一百回长篇，在众多八仙题材小说里被公认故事最全、情节最富、文字最流畅，岳麓书社正是据此整理，并改题为今名。本书最耐读的地方，是它把散落民间的零碎传说缝成了一部完整的“神仙成长史”：孟姜女哭长城、白娘子水漫金山、嫦娥奔月、东方朔偷桃，这些耳熟能详的桥段在书中都有了来龙去脉，读来常有“原来如此”的会心。作者以太上老君弟子铁拐李寻仙、度仙为明线，暗线则是一条蛟龙精与八仙数十年的恩怨，明暗交织，环环相扣。语言是白话章回体，回目对仗工整，叙事干净利落，没有太多古奥的障碍，今天的读者也能顺畅读完。书中反复申说的“神仙本是凡人做”，把修仙写成一场关于心性与德行的修炼，读故事之外，也可见清代道教观念与民间伦理的样貌。若想系统了解八仙，或喜欢神魔章回小说，这一部值得放在手边。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢《西游记》《封神演义》一类神魔章回小说的读者
对八仙传说、道教神仙体系与民间信仰感兴趣的读者
想系统了解孟姜女、白娘子等传说源流的传统文化爱好者
有一定文言和白话阅读基础的中学生及以上读者

Not a good fit for

偏好节奏紧凑、篇幅短小的现代小说读者
期待考据严谨的学术研究著作的专业研究者
对神怪斗法、因果报应等传统叙事不感兴趣的人

Reading tips

先读原序与前二十回，理清八仙出场的先后顺序，再顺着铁拐李寻仙的线索往下读。
留意贯穿全书的蛟龙精暗线，它是串联八仙历劫的关键，读到后半程会更清楚。
遇到民间传说桥段（如孟姜女、白娘子）可对照其他版本互参，体会作者改写的手法。
全书一百回篇幅较长，可每次读十回左右，回目本身即是情节提要，可先浏览回目再读正文。

About the publisher

Hunan Yuelu Publishing House Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1982

Hunan Yuelu Publishing House Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for collating and issuing Chinese classical literature and traditional cultural works, with its catalogue centering on classical literature, philosophical readings, Eastern philosophy, military studies, and social culture. Representative titles include illustrated collector's editions of A Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, as well as Socrates' Dialogues, Confucius and the Analects, and War: Humanity, Society, and Shaped History. Its authors range from classical writers such as Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Wu Cheng'en, Pu Songling, and Shi Nai'an to Chinese and foreign figures including Xenophon, Zhu Zheng, and Kwong Kin-hang. The press emphasizes collated texts paired with illustrated collector's editions, balancing scholarship and general reading, and has formed a publishing profile featuring popular editions of classics alongside philosophical and sociocultural topics. Given limited public information, this description focuses on the publishing directions reflected in its catalogue.

Chapter 1: Borrowing the Dragon Elixir, an Immortal Helps a Filial Son; Arousing Greed, a Corrupt Official Demands the Divine Pearl
Chapter 2: Two Dragon Tears Fall and Become the Wave-Gazing Shoal; A Single Immortal Sword Pierces the Bamboo Dragon's Eye
Chapter 3: Testing the Daoist Heart, a Dragon-Welcoming Gate Is Specially Built; Releasing the Mortal Body, He Enters the Womb of a Filial Girl
Chapter 4: Slandered, She Is with Child but No Wife; Proving Her Innocence, She Leaves Her Daughter and Enters the River
Chapter 5: A Dragon Roams the Qiantang River, Leaving Antiquities; on the Eastern Shore a Disciple Seeks His Master
Chapter 6: Contending in Pride, Two Dragons Fight over a Pearl; Disturbing the Upper Realm, the Jade Emperor Seeks the Worthy
Chapter 7: Pleading on Behalf of Another, a Famous Master Saves a Promising Disciple; Recalling the Past, a Mouse Becomes a Bat
Chapter 8: The Old Dragon Comes Ashore and Destroys the Shrine of Virtue; the Moon Elder Descends to the Sea as Dragon Matchmaker
Chapter 9: Granted Heavenly Favor, He Is Truly Appointed Dragon King; to Please His Household, He Falsely Prepares Snail Meat
Chapter 10: The Widowed Fish Is Dazzled; the River Snail Repays a Kindness
Chapter 11: Venting Wrath, the Dragon Spirit Bewitches the Crowd; Publicly Disgraced, the Ritual Master Captures the Demon
Chapter 12: Wenmei Takes Form to Drive Out Evil Spirits; Xianci Is Seized and Taken into the Imperial Garden
Chapter 13: Testing the Heart's Field, the Youth Resolves His Will; Fulfilling Filial Duty, the Third Sister Speaks Kindly
Chapter 14: Husband and Wife Cultivate the Way Together; Flesh and Blood Harbor Alien Hearts
Chapter 15: A Thousand-Year-Old Fox Explains Cause and Effect; a Young Lord Cuts Off Worldly Ties
Chapter 16: The Filial Son Goes to Sea to Seek the Snail Maiden; the Fox Immortal Enters the Palace to Meet the Dragon King
Chapter 17: Sun Xianci Sees His Mother in the Sea; Zhang Guolao Is Reborn and Becomes an Elixir
Chapter 18: Jinshan Becomes an Ancient Site; Kindness Is Repaid in a Future Life
Chapter 19: To Cultivate Immortality He Shrinks from No Peril; Seeking the Way He Instead Meets Demons
Chapter 20: The Ancestor Descends to the World to Save It; Li Xuan Escapes Danger and Becomes Immortal
Chapter 21: at Riguan Peak He Subdues a Demon as a Servant; at Zixia Cave a Female Monster Seizes the Scriptures
Chapter 22: Succeeding, He Gains Audience with the Ancestor; Attaining the Way, He Visits His Parents
Chapter 23: Casting Himself into the Clear Stream, the Filial Son Dies with His Mother; Working Great Magic, the Immortal Saves the Day
Chapter 24: Immortal Li Works Magic to Warn the Lustful and Violent; Filial Son Yang, Moved by Kindness, Enters the Mysterious Gate
Chapter 25: Speaking Verses, Laozi Reveals Cause and Effect; Struck by Fire, Li Xuan Loses His Dharma Body
Chapter 26: Borrowing a Body and Attaching His Soul, He Becomes Iron Crutch; Betraying His Master and Losing His Mother, the Immortal Disciple Weeps

FAQ

《八仙全传》和《八仙得道传》是同一本书吗？

是。该书原名《八仙得道》，又名《八仙得道传》《八仙全书》，为清代无垢道人所著一百回白话长篇。岳麓书社等出版社整理出版时改题《八仙全传》，内容基本一致，只是版本和校订略有差别。

这本书的作者无垢道人是什么人？

无垢道人是清代道教人物，自幼流落成都，师从清云观志元法师二十八年，熟读道教典籍。咸丰年间遵师命游历南北十余省，后至京师落脚白云观，著书讲道，于同治七年（1868年）在白云观写成此书。

没读过古典小说，能读懂吗？

基本可以。全书是白话章回体，叙事直白，故事性强，比《西游记》原文更浅近。个别道教术语和官职名可略过，不影响理解情节主线。

书中八仙的故事和民间传说有何不同？

民间传说多为单篇轶事，本书则系统讲述八位仙人从出身、历劫到得道的完整过程，并把孟姜女、白娘子、东方朔偷桃等传说通过转世设定纳入同一叙事框架，情节更连贯。

岳麓书社的版本有哪几种？

常见有2004年“古典通俗小说文库”版（ISBN 9787806653715）与“中国古典小说普及文库”本（ISBN 9787553802169、9787553811000），均为无垢道人原著整理本，内容相同，装帧与定价不同，可按需选购。

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About the author

无垢道人 Author

Wugou Daoren is the author of The Story of the Eight Immortals Achieving the Way (Ba Xian De Dao Zhuan). His real name, dates of birth and death, native place, and life story are not clearly recorded, and publicly available information is very limited. Judging from the title “Daoren” (a Daoist practitioner) in his name and from the work itself, his writing is closely related to Daoist immortal themes. The Story of the Eight Immortals Achieving the Way centers on the tales of the Eight Immortals cultivating themselves and attaining immortality, blending folk legends with Daoist ideas. It recounts the origins, cultivation journeys, and world-saving deeds of the immortals and has a strong fantastical flavor. The book is often classified as a supernatural novel or a work of immortal-hero fiction, and in some book categories it is listed under “Otherworld Continent,” showing that its imaginative world and cultivation narrative have some appeal for later popular literature. Because historical sources are lacking, Wugou Daoren’s identity and experiences can only remain uncertain, and studying his work is more feasible than verifying his life.