Lan Ts'ai Ho was demoted to the ranks of the immortals from the position of a minor god. Sexually ambiguous, Lan Ts'ai Ho is depicted in this figurine (left) and woodcut (right)

The shopkeeper’s daughter. Lan Ts’ai Ho met a flower seller whose daughter was in love with an honest, though poor, student. The daughter had been chosen by the local magistrate to be his concubine.  The magistrate had been angered by the flower seller’s refusal to permit this and had sent men to burn down the flower shop and to bring the girl by force.  The young student had tried to help but had been badly injured by the men.  The flower seller was bereft of reason.

Lan Ts’ai Ho promised to help and devised a plan.  First, he took two flowers from his magic basket and held them under the student’s nose.  As he breathed in the enchanting odor of the blossoms, the student began to stir and soon was fully conscious and healthy.

Lan Ts’ai Ho then went to the magistrate’s house.  He worked a number of miracles, using his flower basket, and was recognized by the magistrate as one of the Eight Immortals.  Lan Ts’ai Ho then negotiated to exchange the shopkeeper’s daughter for a woman that he created out of a peony blossom. He, the shopkeeper, and the student collected the girl and fled. A few minutes later they heard a scream from the house. The magistrate's servant had found the magistrate's body lying on the floor. Where the beautiful flower woman had been was only a stalk of bamboo.

Pack Carnes is professor of Japanese studies and folklore at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois. Part Two of this essay will appear in the January 1994 issue.