Abstract
The paper explores depictions of xian-immortality in Chinese poetry and versified literature from the Han dynasty until the end of the Nanbeichao period (ca. 2nd century BC - 6th century AD), examining poetic images of immortality in their broader religious and literary context, and their changing meanings. A variety of poetic representations of immortality is distinguished: xian-immortality as a state of mystic detachment and unity with the Dao; as a heavenly flight; as a blissful divine feast; as a quiet retreat into the mountains; as a celestial audience; and finally, immortality as a transition to another temporal dimension paralleling our human time.