Proverb Interpretation:
Metaphorically speaking, each person has his own way, or each person shows his skills and competes with each other.
Origin:
Once, the Queen Mother held a banquet in the Peach Garden in the Palace of Heaven, and organised a gathering of the immortals, all of whom were glad to attend the banquet, and the eight immortals were no exception. After the banquet, the eight immortals passed by the East China Sea on their way back, and Lu Dongbin proposed, “I have heard that there is a Penglai Immortal Land in the East China Sea, with a pleasant scenery, why don’t we go there to enjoy it, how about it?” The other seven immortals all agreed.
Lu Dongbin came up with another idea, he said, “We are all immortals, so we won’t take a boat on this trip, we will each cast our own spells to cross the sea.” After saying that, Lu Dongbin took off his own precious gourd from his waist, opened the gourd cover, a lotus flower rose out of it, and he crossed the sea with his feet on the lotus flower.
The other immortals were not to be outdone. Tie Qiao Li threw his dragon-headed walking stick into the sea and flew to stand on it, as if he were speeding forward in a dragon boat. Han Zhongli took out his music drum and sat cross-legged on it, following closely behind. Zhang Guolao still rode backwards on his donkey, shouted “ride”, the sea immediately split a road, the donkey flew up on the sea. Han Xiangzi played his own flute, the sea water obediently opened up a channel, Han Xiangzi tread on the waves. He Xian Gu turned the exotic flowers she was carrying into a sedan chair, in which she sat and travelled gracefully across the sea. Cao Guoyu beat his bamboo board and called a big sea turtle to sit on it to cross the sea. Lan Caihe threw his jade board onto the sea and stood on it himself. The board emitted ten thousand lights, illuminating the whole East Sea.
When the Eight Immortals crossed the sea, the Dragon King of the East Sea was drinking. He asked his men, “Why is there so much commotion at sea?” [Illustration] The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Scenic Spot is located in Penglai, Yantai, Shandong Province, and is a newly built scenic spot reclaimed from the sea according to the myth and legend of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. Penglai has been known as the “heaven on earth” since ancient times. A shrimp soldier reported: “Report to the king, eight immortals are crossing the sea with their magic spells.” The Dragon King of the East China Sea thought that the eight immortals were making too much noise on the surface of the sea, so he led his shrimp soldiers and crab generals to the surface of the sea, intending to drive the eight immortals away. As a result, each of the eight immortals cast a spell and defeated those shrimp soldiers and crab generals in a few strokes, and the Dragon King of the East China Sea had to return to the Dragon Palace in disgrace.
The proverb “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Each One Shows His God’s Ability” has gradually been passed down, and is used to describe the situation where each of the eight Immortals has its own way of doing things, or each one of them shows his or her own skills and competes with each other.
