Which of the Eight Immortals is a woman?

He Xiangu is the woman traditionally counted among the Eight Immortals.

He Xiangu, whose birth name is given as He Qiong, is one of the best-known figures in the Taoist pantheon. She is commonly depicted holding a lotus flower, sometimes accompanied by a sheng instrument, a phoenix, a bamboo ladle, or a fly-whisk. The lotus represents qualities such as purity, health, and spiritual transformation in later portrayals.

Her legends place her life in the Tang dynasty. One account says that, at about age 14 or 15, she was instructed in a dream to eat powdered mica, after which she became ethereal and stopped aging. Tradition says she ascended to Heaven during the Jinglong era, from 707 to 710 CE, and became immortal.

He Xiangu is often described as the only female member of the Eight Immortals. Lan Caihe’s gender is portrayed ambiguously in some traditions and modern discussions, but He Xiangu remains the standard answer in quizzes and reference works. The other listed figures—Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, and Lan Caihe—are not conventionally identified as the group’s female immortal.