Dai Jiming/Xinhua News Agency

The Eight Immortals make an appearance during the Spring Festival in Beijing. Here, six of them - Lu Tung Pin, Chang Kuo Lao, Ti Kuai Li, Ho Hsien Ku, Han Hsiang Tzu, and Ts'ao Kuo Chiu - mingle with the crowd.

Born in the seventh century, Chang Kuo Lao is considered to be the bringer of offspring, especially boys.  Consequently, his picture is often hung above a bridal bed.  Chang is generally pictured riding backward on a white donkey and often carries a bamboo musical instrument, the yu ku. He has the power of invisibility, and his magic donkey can travel thousands of miles in a single day.  Chang has the ability to fold up the donkey as though it were made of paper and pack it away in his baggage.  The story of how Chang Kuo Lao obtained his donkey is one of the favorite tales connected with the Eight Immortals.

The divided brothers. Chang Kuo lived with his older brother after the death of their parents.  Then Chang Nan decided to take a wife.  The three lived together, but Chang Nan’s wife argued with Chang Kuo constantly.  Finally, she turned Chang Nan against him, and Chang Kuo decided to move out.  He took his few possessions and found a hut in which to live and some land on which to grow a meager crop.