It's always hard to find good quality videos on Chinese history and Mythology, so I'm really glad I've found your channel. Watched them all and this one was my favourite. Liked and Subscribed!
What a wealth of information, embraced by the oh so appropriate background music. One can not help but be transported to a time gone by. Thank you for your engrossing presentation.
I am glad that you liked it, and I hope that the video helped you understand more about the background and significance of the 8 Immortals. If there are any other periods of Chinese history or aspects of Chinese culture that you would like to learn more about, feel free to make suggestions, and I can create some content on it.
Thank you very much for your support! I am happy that my videos can help people better understand and appreciate Chinese history. Are your students also Chinese? And are there any other topics that you would like to see covered in future videos?
@@xhamtaro Thank you for the feedback. Could you let me know the words where pronunciation needs improvement, so I can make sure that I get it right next time?
as a chinese watching here,i give you thumbs up! thank you very much. appreciated a lot for such a high quality of documentary standard youtuber. especially it takes a long time to do it. wish you all the best!
Thanks John for your support! May I ask, do you prefer videos like this one, where the story is mostly told through animation and old photographs, or videos like my latest release, where I go to explore a historical site and conduct more original research?
@@BygoneChina Both are good, the animations and old photographs bring nostalgia, but then your most recent one is probably better served by videos from your drone and on foot. Since your focus seems to be primarily historical in the context of the past rather than where things stand now, I prefer the old photographs and your animations.
Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated! Going forward I will try and create both types of videos - some using old photos and animations, some that focus more on relics and artefacts that survive today.
Just subscribed! Love how this was edited and filmed - looking forward to future videos like this! Can I get some of that fruit of eternal youth, please? haha
Haha, well according to legend you can gain immortality through doing good deeds, so keep up the good work and you might just get that fruit of eternal youth you are after!
I'm glad that you found this video useful! I hope that other videos on this channel can be equally as helpful. Do you have any other topics which you would like to learn more about?
This is very very high quality man. Just keep uploading and your going to get there. I'm learning allot from your channel and its giving me inspiration for my own.
Thank you vey much for the support! I checked out your channel and have to say that I love your videos. You cover in-depth some very niche topics not explored elsewhere, and also have a great sense of humor. As a fellow content creator, I appreciate the amount of work that goes into each video - keep up the great work!
Very good! That was informative and entertaining. Although it was done well I, in my ignorance, need to ask. What and when was there a "Ting" dynasty? I have heard of a Tang dynasty, and a Chin dynasty, and a Sui and a Song dynasty and so on and so forth. Your pronunciation seems spot on, so what am I missing? in 221 BC there was a Qin dynasty. Is that the one you were referring to? Hope you find the time to answer. Immediate sub. Thank you for the time and effort in making these. A little binge watching seems in order. All the best. Laoshr #60 Ching Yi Kung Fu Association
Thanks Boris, you are right that sources is something that my earlier videos lacked. I have tried to incorporate references into my later videos though, so people can find further details about the topic and check the sources of my information if they wish too.
@@BygoneChina We understand how much effort it takes to be authentic and appreciate authentic work. After watching this reply, did the minimum we can do - Subscribed.
You were the first to notice them, well done! They are a set of 8 figures from Beijing's Forbidden City - I thought that they were suited to a video about '8' immortals.
Some of them were based off of real life individuals, and it is possible that the others were inspired to an extent by people who really lived at one point in time. As to whether they all met up in real life, I agree with you that it is nicer to imagine that they did!
Greatly appreciate this presentation on traditional Chinese culture and the myth of the 8 Immortals. How accurate is the account of the 8 Immortals and its place in Chinese culture and its influence on Chinese thinking is questionable. Taoism is a Chinese belief system. When Buddhism arrived in China (Han Dynasty 200 BC-220AD) Taoism was well established. The Tang Imperial Court embraced and propagate Buddhism in China (600-900 AD). The Ming Dynasty reigned from (1350-1680 AD). This presentation claims that the ideas of the 8 Immortals did not take hold until the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is a good 15 centuries (1500 years) after Taoism (or Daoism) was established in China. Taoism was established shortly after Confucianism (6 century BC). It is unlikely it took that long before the ideas of Taoism took hold in China. As with many things on RU-vid or any other mass media beware of misleading claims and lies. In the land of free speech anybody can say anything or invent anything. But it does not mean it is accurate or true.
3:17 - you WILL gain POWERS if you can master the teachings of Taoism. However, I am no longer a Taoist. I have my own authentic spirituality which I'll be droppin like a mixtape (ouch! the Spirit World wants me to write that!) on Earth in a decade or two!
I believe that the scene displayed on the Qing Dynasty bowl used in the video is from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the similarities between the the 8 Immortals and the characters of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was also covered (they both became firmly established during the Ming Dynasty, contain strong religious elements, and include characters whose stories are meant to offer moral guidance to the audience). I do mention the Journey to the West in the video though, highlighting it as one of the Four Great Classic Chinese Novels.
In journey to the west! Eight immortals got drunk w/ the monkey king! Learn boxing set from Liu Jet Shen (2sets) Wu Sung from the Water Margin fame! Southern eight Immortal set!!
I used to be a Taoist many MANY lifetimes ago. I know TRUE Taoism. Dr. Sun - give up Christianity! Take up Taoism! So many are impressed with your cultivation!
That is correct - some versions of the 'Eight Immortals Cross the Sea' story that I told at 8:25 say that the immortals got extremely drunk one evening, and then in their drunken state decided to cross the sea to show off their abilities.
Very knowledgeable presentation of some of the most iconic figures of Chinese mythology, though it would be even better if more details were given for each immortal. One wonders if any Westerner might have been reminded of the twelve labors of Herakles when hearing of Lu Dongbin's ten trials. :) Speaking of Herakles, the contrast between Greek and Chinese myth regarding the prospect of attaining godhood is fascinating. In Greek myth humans can _never_ become like gods -- and woe to any who try -- whereas in Chinese belief (and Buddhism) such attainment is perfectly possible for any human willing to put in the effort.
I like this perspective a lot! It would definitely help make the story of the 8 immortals more relatable to western audiences if analogous western myths were also provided. If I were to redo the video, I would likely follow your suggestion. I will also keep it in mind for future videos concerning Chinese mythology!
