The Story of Han Xiangzi: The Alchemical Adventures of a Daoist Immortal

In this seventeenth-century Chinese novel, Han Xiangzi, best known as one of the Eight Immortals, seeks and achieves immortality and then devotes himself to converting his materialistic, politically ambitious Confucian uncle, Han Yu (a real historical figure), to Daoism. Written in lively vernacular prose interspersed with poems and songs, the novel takes its readers over vast distances across China, to the heavens, and into the underworld.The Story of Han Xiangziuses colourful characters, twists of plot, witty dialogue, and action suitable for a superhero comic book to convey its religious message - that worldly life is ephemeral and that true contentment can be found only through Daoist cultivation.Yang Erzeng (fl. 1590-1602) was a writer and publisher from the city of Hangzhou in southeastern China. Philip Clart is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.