Zhongli Quan

Han Zhongli—also known as Zhongli Quan—is traditionally said to have been a Han-dynasty general who, after suffering military defeat, retreated to Mount Zhongnan, where he encountered the Donghua Emperor and attained immortality; he thereafter adopted the honorific title Master Yunfang. His iconic image—featuring a double-bun hairstyle, exposed belly, and palm-leaf fan—makes him the most robust and affable figure among the Eight Immortals. At a wine shop in Chang’an, he awakened Lü Dongbin’s realization of the illusory nature of worldly fame and fortune through the famed 'Dream of Yellow Millet', then tested his sincerity ten times before transmitting to him the Golden Elixir Dao and the art of transmuting base metals into gold. Thus revered as the second patriarch of the Quanzhen Daoist Order’s Northern Lineage, he is honored as the Zhenyang Patriarch. Legend recounts that when Lü Dongbin asked whether iron transmuted into gold would revert to its original state—a question revealing his compassion and unwillingness to harm others—Zhongli Quan declared him eminently teachable. Because of his mastery over transmutation, merchants and traders widely venerate him as an auspicious immortal who ensures abundant wealth; his image—waving the palm-leaf fan to summon prosperity—is beloved throughout popular culture.