Official biography queen mother of the west
Mother of the west state.
Official biography queen mother of the west
Aug 13, 2010 © Ulrich Theobald
The Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu 西王母), abbreviated to Queen Mother (Wangmu 王母), also called Golden Mother (Jinmu 金母) or Primordial Lady Golden Mother (Jinmu Yuanjun 金母元君), and in vernacular context Aunt Queen Mother (Wangmu Niangniang 王母娘娘), was originally a legendary female deity and later became part of the Daoist pantheon, having a leading position among the "immortals".
The name Queen Mother of the West is first seen in the bizarre geography Shanhaijing 山海經 that came into being in the Warring States 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE) and the early Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE).
The section on the "Western Mountains" (Xishan jing 西山經) says that she lived on Mt. Jade (Yushan 玉山), had the body of a human person, but a leopard's tail and fangs like a tiger. With the help of a herb of immortality she presided over the "catastrophes of the sky" (tian zhi li 天之厲) and the five destructive forces (wu can 五殘).
She also wore a victory crown (dai she