China
Also known as Xiwangmu (西王母)
This entry was originally published in the World History Encyclopedia and was written by Emily Mark. It is shared in line with the Encyclopedia’s policies under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
She was the queen of the immortal gods and spirits, especially female spirits who lived in the mystical land of Xihua (“West Flower”), and goddess of immortality. She is also known as Xiwangmu or Xi-Wang-Mu and lived in a castle of gold in the Kunlun Mountains, surrounded by a moat which was so sensitive that even a hair dropped on the waters would sink. This moat served as protection for her Imperial Peach Orchard where the juices of the fruit of the trees gave immortality. Xiwangmu is shown as a beautiful woman with sharp teeth and a leopard’s tail, or as an old, unattractive woman with a hunched back, tiger’s teeth and a leopard’s tail, depending on her mood. She rewarded her followers with eternal life but punished those who angered her. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) her cult was very popular and shrines were built for her by the government. She is the wife of Mugong, Lord of the Spirits, who watches over male spirits in the land of Donghua (“East Flower”) but is sometimes seen as the wife of Shangti.