We will continue the introduction in this article about the Flower Basket and The Gourd of the An Baxian Daoist symbols:
- the Pure Yang Sword (纯阳剑)
- the Banana-Leave Fan (芭蕉扇)
- the Jade Tablet (玉板)
- the Lotus (莲花)
- the Fish Drum (渔鼓)
- the Golden-Purple Flute (紫金萧)
- the Flower Basket (花篮)
- the Gourd (葫芦)
For background of Eight Immortals & Symbols, check here.
Lan Caihe: The Flower Basket
The Symbol
The seventh Daoist symbol we introduce is the Flower Basket, which is Lan Caihe‘s magical cultivated tool. In the representation of “men and women, old and young, rich and poor, noble and lowly,” Lan Caihe represents “youth.”
In Daoist cultivation, the Flower Basket symbolizes the belief in “Earthly Treasures.“
The prototype of the Flower Basket is the herb-collecting basket used by healers to gather medicinal herbs, containing various life-saving materials.
Dong Tian & Earthly Treasures
According to Daoist cosmology, there are countless Dong Tian (洞天), or Paradisiacal Worlds through Caves, whose earthly connections with our world often produce many magical treasures and divine herbs.
For instance, “The Classic of Mountains and Seas” (《山海经》) mentions various miraculous herbs and foods in these paradisiacal realms:
“Named Wenjing, its fruit resembles jujube, and can cure deafness. The grass has many stems, looks like mallow, with red flowers and yellow fruits, like a baby’s tongue, eating it makes one wise.”
Or “There are fine fruits here, their fruits resemble peaches, their leaves like jujube, with yellow flowers and red calyx, eating them removes fatigue.”
Therefore, the Flower Basket symbolizes the belief in “Earthly Treasures,” containing all kinds of magical herbs, divine roots, and celestial flowers that can communicate with the divine, heal diseases, and save lives.
Lan Caihe & His Stories
The owner of the Flower Basket, Lan Caihe, is also an immortal known for wandering among the people and relieving their sufferings.
He is often depicted carrying a flower basket in one hand and a large clapper in the other, dressed in ragged clothes, with one foot in a boot and the other barefoot.
He has the appearance of a young man, sometimes even cross-dressed.
The “Taiping Guangji” (《太平广记》) records a poem by Lan Caihe:
"Treading songs, Lan Caihe, how short is this world?
Beauty lasts only one spring, fleeting like a shuttle.
The ancients are gone, never to return,
and more and more people come today.
In the morning, riding phoenixes to the heavens,
in the evening, seeing white waves rise in green fields.
Long and bright in the sky,
golden and silver palaces high and towering."
Lan Caihe often threaded coins on a long rope, dragging them along the ground or scattering them without picking them up. He would give money to the poor or to taverns.
He traveled the world, yet his appearance never aged. Some people saw him in their childhood, and when they met him again with graying hair, he still looked the same.
Later, while singing at a tavern in Haoliang (now Fengyang, Anhui), he got drunk and heard the sound of cranes and flutes.
Suddenly, he ascended lightly into the clouds, leaving behind his boots, clothes, belt, and clapper as he slowly flew away.
Tieguai Li: The Gourd
The Symbol
The eighth Daoist symbol we introduce is the Gourd, which is Tieguai Li‘s magical tool. In the representation of “men and women, old and young, rich and poor, noble and lowly,” Tieguai Li represents “lowly.”
In Daoist cultivation, the Gourd symbolizes the belief in “time and space.“
Gourd in Daoist Culture
The gourd has long been a symbol of good fortune in Chinese culture. Its pronunciation “hulu” (葫芦) sounds like “fulu” (福禄), meaning blessings and prosperity, making it popular among the folks.
Moreover, in Daoist context, the term “hanging the gourd to save the world” (悬壶济世) reflects the idea of using medicine to aid humanity.
As such, ancient Chinese doctors often stored their medicinal balls in gourds, and in various myths, gourds also frequently served as containers for elixirs of immortality.
Gourd Containing Independent Space
The phrase “hanging the gourd to save the world” originates from the story of the Daoist immortal Hu Gong.
According to this story, the gourd was more than just a container for medicine; it also had a magical ability to contain vast spaces within its small volume.
According to “The Book of Later Han” (《后汉书·费长房传》), Hu Gong would hang a gourd above his stall when selling medicine. After the market closed, he would leap into the gourd and disappear. The gourd’s interior was a separate time-space, appearing small on the outside but containing an entire world within.
Therefore, the Gourd symbolizes the belief in “time and space,” representing the magical ability to fold space:
"A grain of millet contains the universe,
half a ladle holds mountains and rivers."
（“一粒粟中藏世界，半升铛内煮山川。”）
Tieguai Li & His Stories
In the story of Tieguai Li, he is often identified with Hu Gong in various retellings, such as in “Journey to the East.”
According to Daoist classics like “Records of the Immortals” (历代神仙通鉴) and “Complete Biographies of Immortals” (列仙全传), Tieguai Li was a reclusive hermit of imposing appearance, living in a cave on Mount Dang.
The Destruction of Original Body
One day, he received an invitation from the Supreme Laozi to attend an immortal gathering on Mount Hua.
Before leaving, he instructed his disciple, “I will travel to Mount Hua in spirit to attend Laozi’s sacred meeting and return in seven days. If I do not return, please cremate my body.”
It is said that Tieguai Li’s soul resided in his liver and his spirit in his lungs. When his primordial spirit traveled, the soul followed, leaving only the spirit to guard the body—this is known as “the primordial spirit leaving the shell.”
After giving these instructions, he departed for Mount Hua in spirit, and his disciple vigilantly guarded his body.
However, on the sixth day, the disciple received urgent news that his elderly mother was critically ill. Torn between his duties, the disciple waited until noon on the seventh day, but seeing no sign of his master’s return, he reluctantly cremated the body and rushed home to care for his mother.
Returning Through A Beggar’s Body
Shortly after, Tieguai Li’s spirit returned to the cave, only to find his body had been cremated. With no physical form to return to, he wandered like a ghost.
Yet, he soon found a dying beggar in the woods and decided to take over his body. Entering the beggar’s body through the top of his head, Tieguai Li stood up, but he found the body deformed and ugly.
He hurried to a river to see his reflection and saw a hideous figure with unkempt hair, one broken foot and a large, grotesque face.
Shocked, he took an elixir given to him by Laozi from his gourd, but his appearance remained unchanged.
Unveiling The Illusion of Appearance
At this moment, Laozi appeared and said: “This body may be ugly, but the true Dao is not concerned with outward appearances. I give you a golden hoop to bind your wild hair and an iron crutch to help you walk. As long as you cultivate your skills to perfection, you will become a true immortal regardless of your appearance.”
Tieguai Li accepted Laozi’s advice, naming himself Li Tieguai (Iron Crutch Li).
Despite his grotesque appearance, Tieguai Li often carried a gourd, traveling through the land, healing the sick, and aiding those in need, especially the impoverished and the downtrodden.
He truly embodyed the spirit of “hanging the gourd to save the world,” and eventually became an immortal.
