Eight Immortals · Each Reveals Their Power

01The story

The saying “the Eight Immortals cross the sea, each revealing divine power” was shaped across folklore, drama, painting and fiction. Iron-Crutch Li, Zhongli Quan, Zhang Guolao, Lü Dongbin, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi and Cao Guojiu come from different roles and traditions, and each crosses with a different object: gourd, fan, fish drum, sword, lotus, flower basket, flute or jade tablet. For an interface, the strongest structure is not a crowded figure scene but “eight directions, one destination”: cloud waves converge toward a centre while the eight signs stay restrained rather than becoming eight saturated character colours.

02Where the colours come from

Warm paper white and sea-mist green come from cloud sea and tide, pine ink carries body text, and crossing-gold only touches the edges of the treasures. Public museum resources such as the Palace Museum offer ways to study Eight Immortals imagery in painting, textiles and decorative arts. The site copies no painting or object pattern; it abstracts the eight-part orbit, waves and object silhouettes.

03How the palette was built

This is a warm light theme built around structure. Sea-green is the primary colour and crossing gold marks small nodes, preventing the theme from becoming a multicoloured costume set. The syntax palette separates code through green, antique gold, moss, terracotta and indigo while a dark ink keeps ordinary text grounded.

04Sources and references

• ClassicJourney of the East (东游记)Ming-dynasty supernatural novel; authorship and editions varyThe crossing story was formed jointly by fiction, drama and folklore, so no single text should be treated as the sole origin.
• ClassicChinese Mythology (中国神话)Yuan Ke, People’s Literature Publishing HouseA survey of the Eight Immortals’ names and folk-myth transmission.
• LinkPalace Museum↗Public museum portalA resource for Eight Immortals imagery across traditional painting, objects and decorative arts; no specific collection item is reproduced.
• LinkChina Intangible Cultural Heritage Network↗Portal for folk literature and customsContext for the continuation of Eight Immortals stories in regional performance and folk culture.

05Credits and licence

Palette

Theme Atlas editorial team

Text

Theme Atlas editorial team

Graphics

Theme Atlas (original SVG)

Data licence

Palette data released under CC BY 4.0

Illustration licence

All illustrations are original SVGs; no historical painting, museum image or film asset is used.