The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1027 page)

Hsien
.

Immortal beings depicted in Chinese art, literature, religion, and folklore since the 3rd cent. BCE. As bird-like people or wise old men lost in misty mountains, they could fly great distances or change their appearance at will. Among the most popular immortals is
Hsi Wang Mu
, Queen Mother of the West, whose famous peaches of immortality ripen once every 3,000 years. Her orchards were once raided by another renowned hsien, Sun Wuk’ung, the monkey king. A Taoist group of ‘Eight Immortals’ (
Pa-hsien
) contains the famous Lu Tung-pen with his gourd of immortal
elixir
.

 
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(Chin., ‘before heaven’). Taoist concept of ‘before time’, i.e. the absolute condition before the creation of heaven.

 
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Hsin
(trust)
:

see
WU-CH’ANG
.

 
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Hsing
(human nature)
:

see
HSÜN TZU
.

 
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Hsing-ch’i
(Chinese breathing practice)
:

see
CH’I
.

 
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Hsin-hsing
(founder of school of Chinese Buddhism)
:

see
SAN-CHIEH-CHIAO
.

 
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Hsin-hsin-ming
(Buddhist poem)
:

see
SENGTS’AN
.

 
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