Lan Caihe

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lan.
Lan Caihe
藍采和
Ming dynasty figurine of Lan Caihe, depicted as a young adult wearing long robes and leaves, and carrying a basket. Circa 1510 CE.
Traditional Chinese藍采和
Simplified Chinese蓝采和
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLán Cǎihé
Wade–GilesLan Ts'ai-ho
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLàahm Chói Wòh
JyutpingLaam4 Coi2 Wo4

Lan Caihe (Chinese: 藍采和; pinyin: Lán Cǎihé; Wade–Giles: Lan Ts'ai-ho)[1][2][3] is a Chinese mythological figure, and one of the Eight Immortals in the Taoist pantheon. His presence in this group makes Lan one of the more familiar of the hundreds of other Taoist immortals. Lan Caihe is the only one of the Eight Immortals whose gender is ambiguous.[1][4][5][6][2][7] Lan is not generally thought to be based on a historical person,[8] but is traditionally said to have been born sometime during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 CE),[1][9] and lived as a homeless street entertainer, who wandered all over China, singing philosophical songs.[1][10][6] Stories vary about how Lan attained immortality and became one of the Eight Immortals. Lan's emblem is a basket of flowers,[1][2][11][3][10] and so this immortal is considered the patron of florists[8][3] and gardeners.[12]

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Werner293 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Lan Caihe." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lan-Caihe
  3. ^ a b c Dorothy Perkins. Encyclopedia of China: History and Culture. Page 140.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference TimeLifeDragon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wickersham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WongTales31 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cassell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NatGeo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference TaoismArts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Yetts805 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference JourneyBrooklyn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference GarrettDress was invoked but never defined (see the help page).