Iron-Crutch Li is sometimes said to be the most ancient and popular of the Eight Immortals

Eight Immortals

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" . Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or...

 of the Taoist pantheon. He is sometimes described as irascible and ill-tempered, but also benevolent to the poor, sick and the needy, whose suffering he alleviates with special medicine from his gourd

Calabash

Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...

. He is often portrayed as an ugly old man with dirty face, scraggy beard, and messy hair held by a golden band. He walks with the aid of an iron crutch (t'ieh kuai) and often has a gourd slung over his shoulder or held in his hand. He often is depicted as a clown figure who descends to earth in the form of a beggar who uses his power to fight for the oppressed and needy.

Path to Immortality

The Eight Immortals

Eight Immortals

The Eight Immortals are a group of legendary xian in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can be transferred to a power tool that can give life or destroy evil. Together, these eight tools are called "Covert Eight Immortals" . Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or...

 became immortal deities through the means of Taoist religion. Within the myth, they lived on an island paradise called Penglai Shan, found east of China, which only they could traverse due to the "weak water" which would not support ships. Among the eight immortals, Li Tieh-Kuai was one of the more popular, and was depicted as a man leaning on crutch and holding a gourd. Some say that in the myth the "gourd had spirals of smoke ascend from it, denoting his power of setting his spirit free from his body." Others say that the gourd was full of medicine which he dispensed to the poor and needy.

The legend says that Iron-crutch Li was born during the Yuan dynasty period, and was originally named "Li Yüan". He studied with Lao Tzu

Laozi

Laozi was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching . His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism...

 (founder of Taoism). He is said to have renounced material comforts and led a life of self-discipline as an act of religious devotion for 40 years, often going without food or sleep.

Li Tieh-Kuai, in the beginning of his Taoist training was said to live in a cave. He was said to be a handsome man. Lao Tzu tempted him with a beautiful woman he had made of wood. After refusing to acknowledge the presence of this woman and therefore defeating his temptation, Lao Tzu told him of his trick and rewarded him with a small white tablet. After consuming this tablet, Li Tieh-Kuai was never hungry nor ill. Lao Tzu again tempts Li Tieh-Kuai with money. Some robbers had buried money in Li Tieh-Kuai's field without knowing he was watching. Lao Tzu approached him in disguise and told him he should take any money that came to him. After Li Tieh-Kuai refused, saying that he did not care if he remained poor his whole life, Lao Tzu rewarded him with another pill. This pill bestowed upon Li Tieh-Kuai the ability to fly at amazing speeds.

Before becoming an immortal, it was previously stated that Li Tieh-Kuai was a very handsome man. However, on one occasion his spirit traveled to Heaven

Heaven

Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...

 to meet with some other Immortals. He had told his apprentice, Li Ching, to wait for seven days for his spirit to return. If he did not return by then, Li Ching was to burn the body because that meant that he had become an immortal; but after six and a half days the student had to go home to see to his sick mother one last time before she died. So the student cremated the body of Li Tieh-Kuai. The student passed a dying beggar on his way to his mother's but did not have time to bury him. Upon returning, Li Tieh-Kuai's spirit found that his body had been cremated and had to enter the only body available at the time, the corpse of the homeless beggar who had just died of starvation. The beggar, unfortunately, had a long and pointed head, large ears with one large brass earring, a woolly and disheveled beard and hair. He also had long, scraggy, and dark eyebrows, dark eyes, and he had a pan lid on his head and a lame leg. Lao Tzu appeared and gave him a medicine gourd that could cure any illness and never emptied. Li Tieh-Kuai then brought the apprentice's mother back to life using the liquid from his gourd. Li Ching was then dismissed as his student, after being given a small pill and being told that he would work hard enough to become one of the Immortals himself. This turned out to be true.

"The gourd served as a bedroom for the night and held medicine, which Li dispensed with great beneficence to the poor and needy." Lao Tzu also used the bottle to make him an iron crutch that would never rust nor break. He then told Li Tieh-Kuai that he was ready to join the Immortals. From then on, Li Tieh-Kuai was charged to cure the sick and he traveled to many lands and "could be found wherever the sick lay dying or the poor were persecuted."

Religious Influence

Probably the second most popular of the Eight Immortals, Iron-crutch Li is associated with medicine. His symbol of an iron crutch still hangs outside some traditional apothecaries. One of the reasons for him not being extremely popular is due to his "renowned bad temper and eccentricities." Sometimes, the non devout seek out prescriptions from him through certain Taoist priests. His magical, medical gourd is his more popular sign which is favoured by professional exorcists. As a beggar, he uses his form to "fight for the rights of the poor and those in need." "He is very much a clown figure and his popularity rests upon the twin attractions of being seen as one of the downtrodden, who is really more powerful than the strongest, and the clown who is irascible."

The Eight Immortals are examples of how all can obtain immortality. Most of the immortals (including Iron-crutch Li) were common folk who attracted the attention of the gods through suffering unjust treatment, without complaint, and gave more to others than themselves. They were admitted to eternal life as a reward for their acts on earth and bearing gifts to Shoulao, who is the god of long life. "The path to immortality includes achieving physical and spiritual harmony through meditation, diet, exercise, breath control, and the use of herbs. To achieve this state, one also had to eliminate all disease and evil from the body and spirit".

Iconography

His characteristic emblems are the gourd bottle which identifies him as one of the Eight Immortals and also his iron crutch. A vapour cloud emanates from the gourd, and within it is the sage's hun (soul); which may be depicted as a formless shape or as a miniature double of his bodily self.