Today, I’d like to tell you a very interesting Chinese myth – “The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea”. This story tells of eight immortals with magical powers who, in order to show off their skills, got into a fight with the Dragon Prince in the East Sea, which ultimately led to unexpected consequences and punishment from the Jade Emperor.
This is a story full of wisdom and lessons, and it’s especially suitable for children to listen to. Next, let’s enter this wonderful world together!
Who are the Eight Immortals?
A long, long time ago, there were eight people who became immortals after practicing asceticism. They were Tie Guai Li, Han Zhongli, Lü Dongbin, Cao Guojiu, Zhang Guolao, Han Xiangzi, Lan Caihe and He Xiangu. People called them the “Eight Immortals”. Each immortal had a unique personality and powerful magical powers.
One day, Lü Dongbin suggested, “Let’s go to Bin Island in the East China Sea together!” The other seven immortals thought it sounded like fun, so they all agreed to go.
Crossing the sea
When the Eight Immortals passed through the East China Sea, they saw the rough waves and were very impressed. Lv Dongbin had a brainstorm and said, “Since we are all immortals with great supernatural powers, why don’t we have a competition to see who is the best? We can use our treasures to cross the sea and see who is the most powerful.”
After saying this, he drew his magic sword and threw it into the sea, then flew away while standing on the sword.
Seeing this, Tie Guai Li laughed and said, “What a good idea!” He made his walking stick grow larger, like a small boat, and stood on it, drifting along with the waves.
Han Zhongli was not to be outdone, and threw his banana fan onto the sea surface, then jumped on it and stood steadily.
The others also used their own magic weapons:
Zhang Guolao rode a donkey backwards;
Han Xiangzi sat on a flute;
He Xiangu rode a lotus flower;
Lan Caihe stood on a clapper (similar to a wooden board);
and Cao Guojiu stepped on two jade boards.
In this way, the eight immortals each displayed their supernatural powers and floated on the sea surface with the help of their respective magic weapons, all the way forward. Their spells made the entire sea churn and roll, as if the whole world was shaking.
Trouble in the Dragon Palace
At this time, the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the sea shook violently because of the eight immortals’ antics. The Dragon Prince was disturbed and very angry, immediately sending the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to check on the situation.
When the soldiers arrived at the surface, they saw the Eight Immortals crossing the sea on their golden magic weapons, using their magical powers. They hurried back to report to the Dragon Prince.
The Dragon Prince was furious when he heard the news: “Who dares to cause trouble in my territory! Come, let’s go out and teach them a lesson!”
So the Dragon Prince led the soldiers out to sea and blocked the Eight Immortals’ path.
The Eight Immortals stopped in their tracks and shouted, “Who are you? How dare you block our way!”
The Dragon Prince laughed heartily, ”How dare you act up here when I don’t even know who you are! Brothers, attack!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two sides started fighting. The Eight Immortals were all highly skilled in magic, and the soldiers were no match for them at all, and were quickly defeated.
Seeing the situation was not good, the Dragon Prince immediately revealed his true form – a small green dragon – and quickly fled back to the bottom of the sea.
Lan Caihe was quick-witted and, while the Dragon Prince was escaping, hit him hard on the head with a clapper. Before long, a green dragon slowly surfaced.
Cao Guojiu looked at it and anxiously said, “Oh no! This must be the Dragon Prince. Now that Lan Caihe has killed him, the Dragon King will definitely not let this go.”
Lü Dongbin calmed down and said, “Since this has happened, we can only try to find a solution. Why don’t we go and explain to the Dragon King in person later, and hope that he will forgive us?”
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea is furious
Just as they were discussing a strategy, the sea suddenly rolled up a thousand-zhang huge wave, and the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea came riding on the waves.
The Dragon King saw his dead son and was overcome with grief. He roared in anger, “How dare you! You have killed my son, and today you must pay with your lives!”
Seeing the furious dragon king, Cao Guojiu hurriedly bowed to apologize, “Dragon king, please calm down. We only killed the dragon prince by mistake. Please forgive us.”
But the dragon king was not willing to let the Eight Immortals go so easily. He waved his hands and ordered the shrimp soldiers and crab generals behind him, ”Kill them!”
Knowing that there was no turning back, the Eight Immortals had to use all their magic to resist.
The Dragon King took the opportunity to reveal his true form, turning into a huge dragon and swooping down on the Eight Immortals, intent on killing them.
Lan Caihe stepped forward, blocking the Dragon King’s path and saying, “I killed the Dragon Prince, so if you want revenge, come at me!”
The Dragon King was even more enraged at hearing this, and opened his mouth to spit out a water sword. The others hurriedly dodged, but when they looked back, Lan Caihe had disappeared, and the Dragon King was nowhere to be seen.
He Xiangu asked anxiously, “Everyone, think of something, what should we do now?”
After some discussion, they decided to go to the South China Sea and ask the Goddess of Mercy to help mediate.
The Goddess of Mercy’s help
The Eight Immortals went to the South China Sea and asked the Goddess of Mercy to help them resolve the matter. The Goddess of Mercy agreed, and she found the Dragon King and Lan Caihe, who was being held captive. First, she asked Lan Caihe to give the Dragon King the clapper as a gift to make amends for his mistake.
Then, Guanyin took the Eight Immortals back to the Heavenly Court and told the Jade Emperor everything that had happened.
After hearing the story, the Jade Emperor decided that although the Eight Immortals had made a mistake, they had not done it deliberately, so he decided to punish them by demoting them.
From then on, the Eight Immortals were afraid to show off their magical powers or cause trouble.
The moral of the story
Dear friends, what does this story tell us? Although the Eight Immortals each had their own supernatural powers, they caused a big mess by showing off their abilities, and in the end they were punished themselves. This kind of behavior is really not good!
So, children, let’s remember: we must be humble and cautious, and not be complacent. Only in this way can we avoid unnecessary trouble and become a respected and good child!
I hope you all like this story, and I hope it gives you some inspiration!
