This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
The Old Man of the South Pole (Chinese:
Old Man of the South Pole | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Old Man of the South Pole on painted ceramic | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | |||||||
Literal meaning | Old Man of the South Pole | ||||||
|
He is one of the symbols of happiness and longevity in Far Eastern culture.
Description
editThe Old Man of the South Pole is often depicted in Chinese pictures as an old man with a long white beard with a deer by his side. This style of picture is related to the story of an emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, who had invited such an old man from the street and later considered the old man as the sign of his longevity.[citation needed]
In Chinese, the star Canopus is usually called the Star of the Old Man (Chinese:
Legend
editAccording to legend, the Old Man of the South Pole was once a sickly boy named Zhao Yen who had been predicted to die when he was 19 years old. He was therefore advised to visit a certain field and to bring with him a jar of wine and dried meat. In that field, he would find two men intent on playing checkers under a tree. He should offer them wine and meat, but should avoid answering their questions. Zhao Yen followed the advice and when the two men had consumed the meat and the wine, they decided to thank him by exchanging the figures of his life expectancy from 19 to 91 years. Later he was told that one of the two men was the star of the North Pole, which fixes the date of birth of the men, and the other the star of the South Pole, which fixes the date of death.
In culture
editIn the novel Investiture of the Gods, as the eldest disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, the Old Man of the South Pole descended to help King Wu in his attack against the deity Yin. From the novel, his disciple is said to be Xianhe Tongzi, the "white crane boy" (
In Journey to the West, the Old Man of the South Pole's mount, a white deer, once escaped to the nether world to become a demon (or Yaoguai). It was later defeated by the monkey king Sun Wukong and taken back by the Old Man.
According to folklore legends, the white snake spirit Bai Suzhen once went to the cave of the Old Man of the South Pole to steal medicinal herbs.
The poet Du Fu has also made mention of the Old Man in his poem《
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "
元 太 道 堂 南極 仙 翁 聖 紀 ".元 太 道 堂 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-03-11. - ^ "
元始 天 尊 身 边的白 鹤童子 是 啥来历?为何12金 仙 ,见到他 都 需行大礼 _姜 子 牙 ".搜 狐 (in Chinese). 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2024-08-07.