Xian (Taoism)

Xian () refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of xian has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as: (in Daoist philosophy and cosmology) spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being (in Daoist religion and pantheon) physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint, one who is aligned with Heaven's mandate and does not suffer earthly desires or attachments. (in Chinese alchemy) alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques by turning Shen to Jing. (or by extension) alchemical, herbal, shí liáo, or qigong methods for attaining immortality (in Chinese mythology) wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer (in popular Chinese literature) genie; elf, fairy; nymph; 仙境 (xian jing is fairyland, faery) (based on the folk etymology for the character 仙, a compound of the characters for person and mountain) sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse (as a metaphorical modifier) immortal [talent]; accomplished person; celestial [beauty]; marvelous; extraordinary (in new-age conception) seeker who takes refuge in immortality (longevity for the realization of divinity); transcended person [self] recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being (in early Tang dynasty folk religion conception) immortal being part of a small spiritual cabal who had immortal lifespans and supernatural powers, and were enlightened to the works of heaven, which assigned everyone else to "gloomy underworld jails" and/or a mundane role in the afterlife depending on how positively one viewed the afterlife (in Daoism and Chinese folk religion) a Daoist who was blessed to become immortal from death onwards and/or a guardian of a village (in Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist-inspired Taoist sects) a kind of deity or spiritual person imported from Taoism (in Confucianism within some imperial courts and folk religion practice that believes in the three teachings) an ideal existence often associated with made from bronze and with "everlasting life" that is synonymous with and a part of tian or an afterlife that combines elements of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, a higher reality (variably a yin-yang realm or a mountain world beyond reality that created jade that manifests in the real world), the Tao and the forces of nature, or existence itself or a being that a deceased person's soul should become (in Fujian Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and folk religion) a boddhisatva, a buddha who is not Gautama Buddha or a being of comparable holiness and power over nature to one, or a type of god worshipped in temples (in Korean Taoist-inspired new religions) a being subservient to heaven that helps humans Xian have been venerated from ancient times to the modern day in a variety of ways across different cultures and religious sects in China.