The word ‘Hsien’ means “immortal” in Chinese.
But this is not ‘immortality’ in the sense of eternal or infinite life. Strictly speaking, the Chinese character used for ‘Hsien’ is juxtaposed with the characters for “man” and “mountain”, which would literally mean “man who lives on the mountain”. Thus, immortality would refer to life in an otherworldly dimension, and those who have attained it would be beings worthy of veneration.
Eight are the immortals venerated by Chinese tradition:
Ts’Ao Kuo-Chiu, the virtuous heart.
Chung Li Ch’uan, the frivolous one.
Ho Hsiang-Ku, the virgin.
Han Hsiang-Tzu, the musician.
Lan Ts’Ai-Ho, the jongleur.
Lu Tung-Pin, the philosopher.
Li T’eih-kuai, the protector of the sick.
Chang Kou-Lao, the hermit.