Origin
Zhongli Quan (钟离权) is often considered the leader or "elder brother" of the Eight Immortals. He was born during the Han dynasty (some sources say Eastern Han, others place him in the Tang). Originally a military general, he suffered a catastrophic defeat in battle — his army scattered, his soldiers died, and he fled alone into the mountains.
In the wilderness, he encountered a Taoist hermit who taught him the secrets of internal alchemy (内丹). He abandoned his military career entirely, renounced the world, and spent decades cultivating the Dao. He became the master of Lu Dongbin, transmitting to him the lineage of internal alchemical practice that would become central to Quanzhen Taoism.
身世
钟离权常被认为是八仙之首或"大哥"。他生于汉代（有说东汉，也有说唐代）。原为军事将领，因一场战役大败——军队溃散，士卒尽亡，他独自逃入山中。
在荒野中，他遇见一位道教隐士，传授他内丹术的奥秘。他彻底放弃了军旅生涯，遁入山林修道数十年。他成为吕洞宾的师父，将内丹修炼传承给他——这一传承后来成为全真道的核心。
Sacred Artifact
法器
Feather Fan of Resurrection
Zhongli Quan carries a large feather fan (芭蕉扇) capable of miraculous feats: it can transform base metals into gold, resurrect the dead, and calm storms. The fan represents mastery over transformation — the alchemist's power to change one thing into another, whether metal into gold or ignorance into wisdom.
芭蕉扇
钟离权手持大芭蕉扇，能行诸般妙法：点铁成金、起死回生、平息风暴。扇子代表对变化的掌控——炼金术士将一物化为另一物的力量，无论是将金属化为黄金，还是将无明化为智慧。
Legends
传说
The Dream of Golden Millet
Zhongli Quan tested his future disciple Lu Dongbin at an inn by letting him fall asleep over a pot of cooking millet. In the dream, Lu Dongbin lived an entire lifetime of fame, power, and loss. When he woke, the millet was still not done. This "Dream of Golden Millet" became one of China's most famous parables about the vanity of worldly ambitions.
黄粱一梦
钟离权在一家客栈考验他未来的弟子吕洞宾，让他在煮黄粱米饭时入梦。梦中，吕洞宾经历了功名、权势和失意的一生。醒来时，黄粱饭尚未熟。这个"黄粱一梦"成为中国最著名的寓言之一——关于世间功名之虚妄。
The Ten Trials of Lu Dongbin
After accepting Lu Dongbin as a disciple, Zhongli Quan subjected him to ten grueling trials — temptations of wealth, lust, fear, and death. These trials became the template for Taoist spiritual testing: not avoiding the world, but maintaining clarity within it.
十试吕洞宾
收吕洞宾为徒后，钟离权对他进行了十次严峻考验——财富、美色、恐惧、死亡的诱惑。这些考验成为道教修行的模板：不避世间，而在世间中保持清明。
Legacy
Zhongli Quan is revered as the patriarch of internal alchemy (内丹) in Taoism. He represents the archetype of the warrior who becomes a sage — the general who lost everything worldly and found everything spiritual. His teaching method — through dreams, trials, and paradox — became the model for master-disciple relationships in Taoist tradition.
影响
钟离权被尊为道教内丹术的始祖。他代表从武将转为圣者的原型——将军失去了一切世俗之物，却找到了一切灵性之物。他的教导方法——通过梦境、考验和悖论——成为道教师徒传承的典范。