Lü Dongbin
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Lǚ Dòngbīn (呂洞賓) (spelled Lu Tung-Pin in Wade-Giles) is a Chinese deity revered by Daoists. Lǚ Dòngbīn is the most widely known of the group of deities known as the Eight Immortals and hence considered by some to be the de facto leader. (The formal leader is Zhongli Quan.) His name is Lü Yán (巖 or 岩). Dòngbīn is his courtesy name. He called himself Master Purely-yang (純陽子 Chunyang Zi), and is called Originator Lü (呂祖 lü zŭ) in Daoism. He was born in Jingzhao Unit (京兆府 Jīngzhào Fŭ) ~796 C.E. during the Tang Dynasty. He is depicted in art as being dressed as a scholar and he often holds a sword that dispels evil.
When he was born, a fragrance allegedly filled the room. Still unmarried by the age of 20, Lü tried to take the civil service exam to become an official twice, but never succeeded.
One night when Lü Yan was in Chang'an or Handan (邯鄲 hán dān), he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking. He dreamed that he took the imperial exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice-minister (侍郎). He then married the daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again to be the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street, he woke up.
Although in dream, eighteen years passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhongli Quan in order to make him realize the emptiness of the human world. As a result, Lü went with Zhongli to discover the Dao. This dream is known as "Dream of the Yellow Millet" (黃粱夢 húang líang mèng) and is described in a writing compiled by Ma Zhiyuan (馬致遠 mă zhì yŭan) in Yuan Dynasty.
Lu Dongbin has a reputation as a womanizer and a heavy drinker, even after becoming immortal. His master Zhongli Quan was more evolved and realized the emptiness of existence. Lu Dongbin had mastered the five elements and yin and yang, and used his powers to his advantage to sleep with many beautful women. Eventually Lu Dongbin did attain a higher state and became enlightened.
In volume 82 of Song's Li Fang (李昉 lĭ făng)'s Extensive Records of Taiping (《太平廣記》), an earlier version of the story, Lü Dongbin was replaced by Student Lu (盧生 lú shéng), and Zhongli Quan by Old Man Lü (呂翁 lü wēng).
The kindness of Lü Dongbin is demonstrated in the Chinese proverb "dog bites Lu Dongbin" (狗咬呂洞賓 gŏu yăo~), which means an inability to recognize goodness and repay kindness with vice. The original saying proverb should actually be "苟杳呂洞賓，不識好人心", story orginating from the friendship between Gou Miao and Lu Dongbin, whom both did great favours to the other and yet it seems like a disservice initially, signifying the importance of having faith.
According to Richard Wilhelm, he was the founder of the Religion of the Golden Elixir of Life (Jin Dan Jiao), and originator of the material presented in the Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi, or The Secret of the Golden Flower.
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Topics in Chinese mythology
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| General topics: | Creation myth · Astrology · Dragons · Religion in China · Folk religion ·List of deities · I Ching |
| Important beings: | Deities · Three August Ones and Five Emperors |
| Eight Immortals: | Zhongli Quan · Lü Dongbin · Elder Zhang Guo · Philosopher Han Xiang Iron-crutch Li · Immortal Woman He · Lan Caihe · Royal Uncle Cao |
| Mythical creatures: | List of mythical creatures |
| Mythical places: | Xuanpu · Yaochi · Fusang · Queqiao · Penglai · Longmen · Di Yu |
| Literary sources: | Shan Hai Jing · Shui Jing Zhu · Hei'an Zhuan · Fengshen Yanyi Journey to the West · Baishe Zhuan · Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio |
