Dish decorated with Magu, goddess of longevity

Motifs for Longevity
In the Chinese religion and practice of Daoism, some advanced practitioners of the Way (dao) tried to attain immortality. Many Daoist deities were worshiped as divine saints, protectors of life, and granters of longevity. Beginning their lives as human beings, they underwent a spiritual and physical transformation and were believed to attain a perfect existence as adepts or immortals. In their meditative practice and daily diet, certain natural ingredients, believed to confer health and longevity, functioned as symbols of immortality., Chinese women prayed to goddess Magu, identified by the gardening hoe and a basket of the fungus of immortality, for long life.