Origin
Li Tieguai (李铁拐, "Iron-Crutch Li") has the most dramatic origin story among the Eight Immortals. Originally a handsome scholar named Li Xuan, he practiced cultivation so intensely that his spirit could leave his body. One day, his spirit traveled to meet Laozi in heaven. Before leaving, he instructed his student to guard his body for seven days — if he didn't return, to cremate it.
On the sixth day, the student's mother fell gravely ill. The student, thinking his master had died, cremated the body. Li Xuan's spirit returned to find no body to inhabit. Desperate, it entered the corpse of a beggar who had just died by the roadside — a lame, disheveled man with a dark face and a steel crutch. Thus did the handsome scholar become the crippled beggar immortal.
身世
李铁拐的成道故事在八仙中最富戏剧性。他原名李玄，是一位英俊的书生，修行精进到灵魂能离体的程度。一天，他的灵魂去天上见老子。临行前，他嘱咐弟子守护他的肉身七日——若未归来，方可火化。
第六天，弟子的母亲病重。弟子以为师父已死，将肉身火化。李玄的灵魂归来，发现已无肉身可入。情急之下，他附入路边刚死去的一位乞丐的尸体——一个跛足、蓬头垢面、面黑、拄铁拐的乞丐。英俊书生就这样成了铁拐乞丐仙人。
Sacred Artifacts
法器
Gourd of Medicine & Iron Crutch
Li Tieguai's gourd (葫芦) contains miraculous medicines that can cure any disease — physical, mental, or spiritual. He pours them out freely to anyone in need, without asking for payment. His iron crutch supports his lame body but also serves as a weapon against evil spirits. Together, the gourd and crutch represent the Taoist physician-healer: one hand heals, the other protects.
药葫芦与铁拐
李铁拐的葫芦（葫芦）中装有能治百病的仙药——无论身病、心病还是灵病。他慷慨地赐予所有需要的人，不求报酬。铁拐支撑他跛足的身体，同时也是降妖伏魔的兵器。葫芦与铁拐合在一起，代表道教的医师-治疗者：一手疗愈，一手保护。
Legends
传说
The Gourd's Gift
Li Tieguai was seen in markets pouring medicine from his gourd onto the dying and the sick. He never charged money and never turned anyone away — not even animals. In one famous story, he healed a wounded dog, demonstrating that his compassion extended to all sentient beings without distinction.
葫芦施药
人们在市集中见到李铁拐从葫芦中倒出仙药，救治垂死和患病之人。他从不收费，从不拒绝任何人——连动物也不例外。在一个著名的故事中，他医治了一只受伤的狗，展示了他的慈悲遍及一切有情众生，无分贵贱。
The Portal Gourd
The gourd is also said to be a portal to other realms. When Li Tieguai tilts it and peers inside, he can see the heavenly realms and the underworld simultaneously. In some versions of the Crossing of the Sea, he enters his gourd entirely, traveling through dimensions.
葫芦通界
传说葫芦也是通往其他法界的门户。李铁拐倾斜葫芦向内观看，能同时看到天界和冥界。在某些版本的"八仙过海"中，他完全进入葫芦，穿越不同维度。
Legacy
Li Tieguai is the patron of medicine, healing, and the disabled. He proves that physical imperfection is no barrier to spiritual perfection. His image — a lame beggar with a magic gourd — is one of the most recognizable in Chinese folk art, appearing on everything from temple murals to New Year prints.
影响
李铁拐是医药、治疗和残障者的守护者。他证明身体的缺陷不是灵性圆满的障碍。他的形象——拄铁拐、背葫芦的跛脚乞丐——是中国民间艺术中最易辨识的形象之一，出现在庙宇壁画到年画的各种载体上。