Xi Wangmu, also known as "Queen Mother of the West", "Golden Mother" and "Golden Mother Yuanjun", etc. According to legend, Xi Wangmu was originally a god in charge of punishment and plagues. Later, in the process of spreading, she gradually became feminized and gentle, and turned into an elderly and kind goddess. She lived in the Jasper Lake on Kunlun Mountain, where there were peach trees in the garden. Eating the peaches could make people immortal.
The image of Xi Wangmu has evolved many times. According to Classic of Mountains and Seas, it is described: "Xi Wangmu looks like a human, but with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth. She is good at howling, with disheveled hair and wearing a hair ornament. She is in charge of heavenly punishments and the five disasters." It means that Xi Wangmu has a human-like shape, but with a leopard-like tail and tiger-like teeth. She is good at long and short howls, with fluffy hair and a hair ornament on her head. She is a god who shows majesty and severity on behalf of heaven and brings five kinds of disasters. She lives on the top of "Kunlun Hill", and there are three giant birds called blue birds that bring her food and supplies every day.
In The Biography of Mu Tianzi, Xi Wangmu becomes a graceful, gentle, singing, dancing and world-wise woman. When King Mu of Zhou traveled around the world in a carriage drawn by eight fine horses driven by Zaofu, he went west to the Kunlun Mountains. He took out jade objects such as white jade tablets and black jade discs to pay homage to Xi Wangmu. The next day, King Mu hosted a banquet for Xi Wangmu at the Jasper Lake, and both of them composed some poems to bless each other.
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In The Secret Biography of Emperor Wu of Han, Xi Wangmu turns into a goddess about 30 years old with a peerless beauty, and bestows on Emperor Wu of Han the flat peaches that bear fruit once every 3,000 years. Taoism celebrates the birthday of "Xi Wangmu" on the third day of the third lunar month every year. The grand event held on this day is commonly known as the "Flat Peach Feast".
