Cao Guojiu 曹国舅
The name Cao Guojiu is a reminder that, according to legend, this immortal was a relative of a Song dynasty empress. The reasons why he left the court are told in different ways. In one story, the family expects Cao to rescue his brother from trouble, but he demands that he be judged according to the law. Later, Cao himself withdraws into the mountains and there meets two future companions of the eight.
Under the Song emperor Renzong there lived Cao Yi, the brother of his consort. He later came to be associated with the figure of Cao Guojiu (曹國舅), one of the Eight Immortals. His title means "Imperial Uncle Cao." How a relative of the empress came to be counted among the Daoist masters and miracle-workers is told in the legends themselves.
In one tale, Cao's brother kills a man. The officials are afraid to pass sentence on a relative of the empress, but Cao insists on a trial. After his brother's execution, he gives away his property and withdraws into the mountains. There he meets Han Zhongli and Lv Dong-Bin, who become his teachers. In another version, recorded in the novel of the Eight Immortals, the brother abuses his position and extorts money, and Cao makes restitution to those he has wronged. In paintings Cao Guojiu is often shown in court dress, holding a ritual tablet in his hands.
In the Hong Kong film Lui Tung-Ban's Three Tricks on White Peony (1949) he was played by Ling Yun. In the Singaporean Legends of the Eight Immortals (1998) the role was taken by Lee Hoi-Kit. In the film The Eight Immortals of Cao Guo Jiu Ming Yuan (2020), with Ren Ming-Sheng, Cao becomes the central character.
