The Eight Immortals—seven men and one woman, including Lu Dongbin, Iron Crutch Li, Han Xiangzi, Lan Caihe, Zhang Guolao, Han Zhongli, Cao Guojiu, and He Xiangu—were all powerful deities. One day, traveling together at the invitation of the Queen Mother of the West to the Peach Festival at Jade Pool, they found their path blocked by the vast Eastern Sea, where monstrous waves surged and towering swells barred the way.
At this moment, Lu Dongbin proposed, "Fellow cultivators, the great sea ahead blocks our path, making travel difficult. Let each of us produce a magical treasure and cast it into the sea, so we may safely reach the other shore." "Brother Lu speaks wisely!" the immortals agreed in unison.
“Watch my skill!” The first to step forward was Tieguai Li, disheveled and barefoot, with a lame leg. His magic tool was an iron crutch. He cast it into the sea, and it instantly turned into a dragon boat. Standing on it, the crutch propelled him like a speedboat, and he quickly crossed the East Sea.
Han Xiangzi, the nephew of the famous Tang Dynasty writer Han Yu, was a man of extraordinary powers. One early winter, he commanded peonies to bloom in a riot of colors. Later, following the immortal Iron Crutch Li, he cast his flower basket into the sea. Strangely, the basket held not a single drop of water, floating as steady as a great ship, and Han Xiangzi sat within it as he crossed to the other shore.
The other immortals, unwilling to be outdone, each produced their own magical treasures. Lu Dongbin rode his flute as if it were a fine steed; Lan Caihe used his castanets; Han Zhongli his drum; Cao Guojiu his jade tablet; and He Xiangu her bamboo basket—each crossing the Eastern Sea with radiant spirit. Most remarkable was Zhang Guolao, a five-hundred-year-old immortal once honored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty with the title "Master of Mysteries." Unhurriedly, he took a paper donkey from his pouch, said "Change," and it transformed into a lovely white donkey. Mounting it backward, Zhang Guolao effortlessly crossed the vast Eastern Sea in an instant.
The idiom "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Each Showing Their Divine Power" comes from this. It means each person has their own skill or method to accomplish the task they undertake.
Source: *Chinese Folklore*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "八仙过海" came to describe each person has their own skill or method to accomplish the task they undertake.