{{Short description|Pair of Taoist immortals (xian)}} {{Infobox Chinese |title='''He-He Er Xian''' |pic=File:heheerxian.JPG |piccap=A statue of He and He |c={{linktext|和合二仙}} |p=Hé-Hé Èr Xiān |l={{nowrap|Harmonious-&-United 2 Immortals}} }} '''He-He Er Xian''', translated as the '''Immortals of Harmony and Union''' and as the '''Two gods of Harmony and Union''', are two Taoist immortals. They are popularly associated with happy marriages. He and He are typically depicted as boys holding a lotus flower ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|荷}}}}, ''hé'') and a box ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|盒}}}}, ''hé'').<ref>Welch, Patricia Bjaaland (2008). ''Chinese art: a guide to motifs and visual imagery.'' Tuttle Publishing. p. 270.</ref>
==Legend== There are a number of legendary tales behind two celestial beings of He and Ho, among them there is one regarding the two monks living a secluded life in Tiantai Mountain in the Tang dynasty by the name of Hanshan and Shide and no one knows about their subsequent whereabouts. The story is based on Poems of Hanshan and Shide composed by Lv Qiuyin. They were officially canonized as the God of Harmony and the God of Good Union in the first year of Yongzheng rule in the Qing dynasty. They are widely regarded as gods who bless love between husband and wife.<ref>{{cite news |title=和合二仙的今生前世--书画--人民网 |url=http://art.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0530/c226026-30022556.html |work=art.people.com.cn |date=30 May 2018|language=zh}}</ref>
<gallery> File:Changchun-Temple-Small-statue-0301.jpg|Statue of He and He in the Taoist temple Chang-Chun ("Eternal Spring"), Wuhan File:He He Erxian, by Wang Wen.jpg|He He Erxian as painted by Wang Wen, Ming dynasty </gallery>
== See also == {{commons|Category:He-He er xian|He-He er xian}} * Door gods * Hanshan the Poet and Shide the Monk, 9th c. prototypes of the two characters.
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Chinese gods Category:Taoist immortals
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