







八仙过海,各显神通 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Each person exhibits their unique abilities or methods”. Often in a competitive or collaborative setting where individual strengths are showcased. Literally, “The Eight Immortals cross the sea, each displaying their unique powers”.
Legend has it that the Eight Immortals of Taoism were on their way to the Queen Mother of the West's Peach Banquet.
Upon reaching the East Sea, Lu Dongbin suggested they each cross the sea using their own methods.
Tie Guai Li stood on his dragon-head staff, and Han Xiangzi sat in his flower basket. Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Zhang Guo Lao, Han Zhongli, He Xiangu, and Cao Guojiu crossed the sea using their respective flute, paper donkey, clappers, drum, bamboo strainer, and jade tablet.

Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →八仙过海,各显神通 (bā xiān guò hǎi , gè xiǎn shén tōng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Each person exhibits their unique abilities or methods”.
八仙过海,各显神通 is pronounced bā xiān guò hǎi , gè xiǎn shén tōng in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 八仙过海,各显神通 means “the Eight Immortals cross the sea, each displaying their unique powers”. It is used to mean “Each person exhibits their unique abilities or methods”.
八仙过海,各显神通 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
八仙:道教传说中的八位神仙。比喻做事各有各的一套办法。也比喻各自拿出本领互相比赛。