P’eng-lai Chin., lit. “Rampant Weeds”; an island in the East China Sea, which Taoists believe to be inhabited by immortals (hsien). In Chinese mythology p ‘eng-lai epitomizes bliss, because this is where the legendary mushroom of immortality grows, in search of which numerous expeditions were dispatched as long ago as the 4th century B.C. E. All these expeditions failed, because any ship approaching the legendary island either capsized or was driven off course, or the island itself sank into the sea before the very eyes of the ship’s crew. The earliest mention of P’eng-lai in Taoist literature is in the work of Lieh-tzu (Book 5, Chapter 2). The motive of the search for the mushroom of immortality was an important element in the development of religious Taoism (tao-chiao).
Lieh-tzu describes the Isle of P’eng-lai as follows: “Up there everything consisted of gold and precious stones; birds and animals shone a glittering white, trees of pearl and coral grew in dense forests, all the flowers were exquisitely fragrant and the fruit deliciously sweet. Anyone eating that fruit felt himself to be liberated from old age and death. Those living there were either fairies or immortals; day and night they would fly in great numbers to visit each other” (Bauer 1974, p. 145).
Ch’in Shih Huang-ti, the first historical emperor of China, dispatched several expeditions to gain possession of the mushroom of immortality. The most famous of these was led by Hsü Fu, who recruited an expeditionary force of three thousand young men. They took with them different kinds of grain as well as plant seeds. However, Hsü Fu never returned: he and his men settled in a fertile region, where he appointed himself king.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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