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Penglai (l=Penglai ImmortalThe character 仙 literally refers to a Daoist holy person/immortal or a mythological being, but is often used to describe places which exhibit the qualities of these beings. Island) is a legendary land of Chinese mythology. It is known in Japanese mythology as Hōrai and Bồng Lai in Vietnam.McCullough, Helen. Classical Japanese Prose, p. 570. Stanford Univ. Press, 1990. .
In the Illustrated Account of the Embassy to Goryeo in the Xuanhe Era (t=宣和奉使高麗圖經; Xuanhe fengshi Gaoli tujing), written in 1124 by Xu Jing (徐兢), Mount Penglai is located on an inhabited island which is found within the boundaries of Dinghai District and can be reached "after crossing thirty thousand leagues of the Weak Water".
Various theories have been offered over the years as to the "real" location of these places, including Japan, Namhae County (南海), Geoje (巨濟), Jeju Province (濟州島) south of the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan. Penglai, Shandong exists, but its claimed connection is as the site of departures for those leaving for the island rather than the island itself. In his work (lit. "A Guide to Select Villages"), Yi Chung-hwan, a Joseon-period geographer, associated Mount Penglai with Korea's Mount Kumgang.
Tradition holds that Qin Shi Huang, in search of immortality, sent several unsuccessful expeditions to find Penglai. Legends tell that Xu Fu, one servant sent to find the island, found Japan instead, and named Mount Fuji as Penglai.
The presentation of Mt. Hōrai in Lafcadio Hearn's differs from the earlier Chinese legend. This version rejects much of the fantastic and magical properties of Hōrai. In this version of the myth, Hōrai is not free from sorrow or death, and the winters are bitterly cold. Hearn's conception of Hōrai holds that there are no magical fruits that cure disease, grant eternal youth or raise the dead, and no rice bowls or wine glasses that never become empty; rather, Hearn's incarnation of the myth of Hōrai focuses more on the atmosphere of the place, which is said to be made up not of air but of "quintillions of quintillions" of souls. Breathing in these souls is said to grant one all of the perceptions and knowledge possessed by the ancient souls. The Japanese version also holds that the people of Hōrai are small fairies who have no knowledge of great evil, and whose hearts therefore never grow old.
In the Kwaidan there is some indication that the Japanese hold such a place to be merely a fantasy. It is pointed out that "Hōrai is also called Shinkiro, which signifies Mirage—the Vision of the Intangible".
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