The Taoist term for the legendary group known as the Eight Immortals is Ba Xian, meaning “Eight Immortals.”
The group consists of eight supernatural figures whose stories became especially popular in Chinese folklore, religious art, opera, and literature. Each immortal is commonly identified by distinctive attributes, such as a fan, lotus, sword, flower basket, or castanets.
The members are not all portrayed as identical religious authorities. Their legends span different periods and social backgrounds, and some stories emphasize eccentricity, moral testing, healing, or miraculous travel. Their popularity grew strongly during later imperial periods, especially in popular religious culture.
Ba Xian is sometimes confused with the Three Pure Ones, who are a high Taoist divine triad rather than a legendary group of eight immortals. The Eight Immortals also appear in the idiom “The Eight Immortals cross the sea,” which describes each person displaying a special ability.