Which of the Eight Immortals carries a flower basket?

Lan Caihe is the Eight Immortal traditionally associated with carrying a flower basket.

Lan Caihe is one of the Eight Immortals in the Daoist pantheon and is usually recognized by a basket filled with flowers, fruit, or plants. The emblem connects Lan with abundance, longevity, florists, and gardeners. Some depictions show the basket hanging from a hoe or carried alongside other unusual attributes.

Lan’s identity is unusually fluid. Stories place the figure in the Tang dynasty, from 618 to 907, as a wandering street performer who sang philosophical songs and lived as a social outsider. Artistic and literary traditions portray Lan as male, female, and gender-ambiguous, which is why descriptions vary considerably.

The most frequent visual confusion is with He Xiangu. He Xiangu, generally regarded as the only woman among the Eight Immortals, is usually shown holding a lotus flower rather than Lan’s basket. Zhang Guolao and Cao Guojiu may carry musical or ceremonial objects, but the flower basket is Lan Caihe’s characteristic emblem.