LAN TS'AI-HO

Pinyin Lan Caihe, in Chinese mythology, one of the Pa Hsien, the Eight Immortals of Taoism, whose true identity is much disputed. Artists depict Lan as a young manor girlcarrying a flute or a pair of clappers and occasionally wearing only one shoe. Sometimes a basket of fruit is added. In Chinese theatre, Lan is dressed in female clothes but speaks with a male voice. Lan traveled the streets singing ballads, some of which are still preserved, before being carried off to heaven in an intoxicated state by a stork, one of several Chinese symbols for immortality. See also Pa Hsien.