王金鵬
八仙最早的文字記載見于唐代的《太平廣記》,后經過民間廣泛流傳和歷代諸多文人騷客的不斷加工,到明代吳元泰創作的小說《八仙出處東游記傳》才正式確定了八位仙人。
八仙,共七男一女,即漢鐘離(鐘離權)、張果老、韓湘子、鐵拐李、曹國舅、呂洞賓、藍采和與何仙姑。傳說八仙游走于各地,懲惡揚善,劫富濟貧,演繹了一個又一個美麗的傳說,其中最著名的就是“八仙過海”的傳說。

傳說八仙赴王母娘娘的蟠桃盛會歸來,在蓬萊的仙山瓊閣上飲酒作樂。鐵拐李提議:“我們何不乘著酒興漂洋過海游玩一番呀?”眾仙回答說:“正合我意。”為顯示自己是神仙,不是凡人,過海時便各以自身寶器作為渡海工具。當八仙行至海中時,與龍三太子發生了沖突,雙方各不相讓,大動干戈。后經觀音菩薩及時調停,雙方才化解了矛盾,平息了事態。八仙拜謝了觀音菩薩,便各持寶器漂洋過海去了。
八仙過海的傳說不但留下了一段膾炙人口的山海傳奇,而且被結晶成一句廣為傳頌的諺語——八仙過海,各顯神通。人們對八仙無比喜愛,蓬萊有關他們的傳說還有很多,十分豐富,如狗咬呂洞賓的來歷、蘇東坡訪八仙、銅井的來歷、蓬萊閣下的橋、天后宮唐槐等等。
八仙來自民間,是世俗社會不同階層的代表,曹國舅是皇親國戚,漢鐘離是將軍,呂洞賓是儒生,藍采和是優伶,鐵拐李則是以乞丐面目出現的官吏,韓湘子是年輕出家的富貴子弟,何仙姑則是民間婦女,張果老是一位老壽星,仙術無窮。八仙分別代表著男、女、老、幼、富、貴、貧、賤,他們蔑視權貴,同情人民,懲惡揚善,造福百姓。
八仙傳說在民間廣為流傳,可謂家喻戶曉,婦孺皆知。以“蔑視權貴,同情人民,懲惡揚善,造福百姓”為核心的八仙文化衍生品更是數不勝數,影響了一代又一代人。

The earliest written record of the Eight Immortals can be found in Extensive Records of the Taiping Era , a book in the Tang Dynasty. The myth was widely spread among the people and continuously revised by many men of letters in different dynasties until the Eight Immortals were officially designated by Wu Yuantai in the Ming Dynasty in his novel titled A Journey to the East by the Eight Immortals.
The Eight Immortals include seven males and one female, namely, Han Zhongli (Zhong Liquan), Zhang Guolao, Han Xiangzi, Li Tieguai, Cao Guojiu, Lyu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, and He Xiangu. Allegedly, the Eight Immortals traveled around to repress evil and encourage goodness and rob the rich to help the poor, leaving one beautiful story after another, among which the most well-known one was the legend of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.