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Deities and Immortals
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Zhang Guolao

Also known as: Zhang Guo, Chang Kuo-lao, Zhāng guǒ lǎo

Definition

Zhang Guolao is one of the Eight Immortals, associated with the Tang-period figure Zhang Guo. His later image as an elderly immortal riding a donkey combines accounts of a reclusive religious figure with a much larger body of sacred narrative.

Names and variants

Simplified
张果老
Traditional
張果老
Other names
Zhang Guo Lao, Zhang Guo, Chang Kuo-lao
Pinyin
Zhāng guǒ lǎo
English
Zhang Guolao

Overview

The source distinguishes Zhang Guo's appearance in historical records from later stories of extraordinary age. It recounts imperial invitations, an audience under Emperor Xuanzong and the title Tongxuan Xiansheng. These court connections should not be used to authenticate every supernatural episode attached to his name.

Withdrawal from court and a preference for the mountains are recurring themes in his biography. The stories contrast worldly appointment and social advancement with the life of a religious recluse. Claims that he lived across many centuries belong to this legendary elaboration rather than to a reliable lifespan.

Popular depictions show him riding a donkey backwards and carrying an instrument associated with Daoqing singing. Those attributes connect the figure with performance and visual culture as well as with sacred biography. Accounts of the donkey's transformations explain its marvellous character without establishing a historical event.

References

  1. [1]
    Dictionary of Daoism