Old Man of the South Pole 南極仙翁
Taoist deification of Canopus, the brightest star of the constellation Carina, symbol of happiness and longevity. depicted in Chinese pictures as an old man with a long white beard with a deer by his side. This style of picture is related to the story of an emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty who had invited such an old man from the street and later considered the old man as the sign of his longevity. Canopus is usually called in Chinese the Star of the Old Man (老人星) or the Star of the Old Man of the South Pole (南極老人星).
According to legend, the Old Man of the South Pole was once a sickly boy named Zhao Yen who had been predicted to die when he was 19 years old. He was therefore advised to visit a certain field and to bring with him a jar of wine and dried meat. In that field, he would find two men intent on playing checkers under a tree. He should offer them wine and meat, but should avoid answering their questions. Zhao Yen followed the advice and when the two men had consumed the meat and the wine, they decided to thank him by exchanging the figures of his life expectancy from 19 to 91 years. Later he was told that one of the two men was the star of the North Pole, which fixes the date of birth of the men, and the other the star of the South Pole, which fixes the date of death.
The Sanxing (三星 "Three Stars") are the gods of the three stars or constellations considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Canopus. Fu, Lu, and Shou (福祿壽 Fú Lù Shòu), or Cai, Zi and Shou (財子壽) are also the embodiment of Fortune (Fu), presiding over plant Jupiter, Prosperity (Lu), presiding over Ursa Major, and Longevity (Shou), presiding over Canopus. They have emerged from Chinese folk religion. Their iconic representation as three, old, bearded, wise men dates back to the Ming dynasty, when the gods of the three stars were represented in human form for the first time. They are sometimes identified with other deities of the Chinese religion or of Taoism.
The Chinese character shòu (壽) means longevity, it is commonly recognized as one of the Five Blessings (wǔfú 五福 - longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, a peaceful death). Other symbols in Chinese iconography that represent longevity include pine trees, cranes, spotted deer, special collectors' stones (shòushí 壽石), peaches, and tortoises.
南極仙翁的形象一般是額禿頂廣、鬚髮盡白、面容紅潤的老仙人，常乘白鹿或白鶴，持拐杖、仙等物，與諸童子戲耍。是長壽之神，極受尊敬與喜愛。南極仙翁被視為長壽的吉星，經常與福星和祿星並稱福祿壽三星。
From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanxing_(deities)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magong_Beiji_Temple
http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Religion/personssanxing.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_South_Pole
