The Queen Mother, also known as the Golden Mother, the Golden Mother of Yaochi and the Queen Mother of the West, is called Qiong Yao; The legendary goddess. The strange god who was originally in charge of punishment and plague gradually became soft and gentle in the process of spreading and became an old and kind goddess. According to legend, the Queen Mother lives in Yaochi, Kunlun Mountain, and there are flat peaches in the garden, which can be eaten forever.
history
According to the ancient book Shan Hai Jing, "The Queen Mother of the West is like a human being, with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth. Dai Sheng, who is good at whistling, is the strength of the division and five scholars." The Queen Mother of the West is "human-like" in appearance, but she has a leopard-like tail, tiger-like teeth, is good at shouting and making short noises, has fluffy hair and wears armor. She is a god who is fierce for heaven and brings five disasters. She lives on the top of Kunlun Mountain, and three giant raptors named "Jade Bird" bring her food and supplies every day. ?
However, in Mu's legend, the words and deeds of the Queen Mother of the West are like a gentle ruler. When Zhou Muwang traveled around the world with eight horses driven by Zhao Fu, he traveled to Kunlun Mountain in the west. He took out jade articles such as Bai Gui and Xu Anbi to visit the Queen Mother of the West. The next day, King Mu hosted a banquet in Yaochi for the Queen Mother, and both of them made some poems to bless each other. The Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty declared that she was a goddess with peerless appearance, and gave Emperor Wu a flat peach that bore fruit once every three thousand years.
Taoism celebrates the birthday of the Queen Mother on March 3rd every year. The grand event held on this day is commonly known as the Flat Peach Festival. Ge Hong's Book in the Pillow in the Jin Dynasty records that before the chaos opened, there was the essence of heaven and earth, and posthumous title, the "king of Yuan", swam in it. After the second ceremony, the king of the Yuan Dynasty lived on the heavenly heart, inhaled the weather and drank underground spring water. After several disasters, she became intimate with the jade girl in Taiyuan, and gave birth to the emperor, the queen mother of the west, the birthplace of the emperor and the Yellow Emperor.
Myth evolution
The fairy tales of the Queen Mother of the West have undergone two evolutions. The Han Dynasty is the first stage of the evolution of the myths and legends of the Western Queen Mother. During this period, the Queen Mother of the West lived in a cave in Yushan Mountain (opposite Kunlun Mountain) in the west. She was a monster with hides and tusks. In addition, there is a monster with horns and leopard prints that sounds like a dog on the mountain-cunning, and there are three blue robins with red feathers who like to eat fish. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is the second stage of the evolution of the myths and legends of the Western Queen Mother.
At this time, people associate the myths and legends of the Queen Mother of the West with the historical facts of Zhou Muwang's Western Expedition and Emperor Wu's voyage to the West. The image of the Queen Mother of the West is anthropomorphic and the legend is mythical. Among them, the story of Zhou Muwang and the Queen Mother of the West meeting in Yaochi is widely circulated and has great influence. The image of the Western Queen Mother in myths and legends has gradually improved, which is closely related to history. In Shan Hai Jing, she is a god who lives in a cave and is good at whistling, like a human being, inhuman and like a beast.
In Mu's biography, she became an elegant, peaceful, good at singing and dancing and knowledgeable woman. In "The Story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty", she became a goddess in her thirties with peerless appearance. In later literary works, there are many descriptions of the Queen Mother of the West, saying that she is a "golden girl in Yaochi" who grows flat peaches for three thousand years. Whenever the flat peach matures, the Queen Mother of the West holds a grand birthday party, and all the immortals come to celebrate her birthday. There is a wonderful description in Journey to the West, Wu Cheng'en.
Sacred obligation
She lives in Yaochi, so she is also called the Queen of Yaochi. She held a flat peach festival in Yaochi to entertain immortals from all walks of life, only to be disturbed by the Monkey King, the Great Sage of Qitian. The flat peach she planted is the most magical. Small peach trees have been cooked for 3 thousand years, and those who eat them are light in fitness and immortal. Ordinary peach trees are only cooked once in 6000 years. When people eat them, they soar in the daytime and live forever. The best food is cooked in 9000. People eat with heaven and earth, with the sun and the moon. She is the most respected goddess in the Heavenly Palace. She is responsible for banquets for immortals in heaven and for marriage and childbirth on earth.
Jade emperor's mother
Among the orthodox Taoist gods, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother are not husband and wife. The Queen Mother of the West is the first of all female immortals and is in charge of the Fairy Island in Kunlun. The head of all male immortals is Dong, who is in charge of Penglai Fairy Island. The Jade Emperor is the head of the immortals and the Lord of the gods. The Queen Mother of the West appeared before the Jade Emperor, so they were not husband and wife. Only China folk stories and novels think that the Jade Emperor and the Empress Dowager are husband and wife.