Page 645 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

K U N LUN

tile). Although the Mu tianzi zhuan does not definitely link Xiwang mu with
Kunlun, Yaochi Iit?m or Turquoise Pond (frequently mistranslated "Jasper
Pond"), where King Mu of Zhou (Muwang, r. 956-918 BCE) and the goddess
exchange songs, becomes an essential part of Kunlun in later writings. In the
*Liezi's brief retelling of the tale, King Mu climbs to the summit of Kunlun,
where he gazes at Huangdi's palace and raises a memorial mound, then he
visits Xiwang mu, who gives a banquet for him by the Turquoise Pond (Graham
1960,64)·
The most extensive description of Kunlun in Han literature is found in
*Huainan zi 4 (Major 1993,150-61), in which the mythical emperor Yu ~ is said
to have raised Kunlun (somewhat more than 1,100 li high) while controlling
the floods. On the mountain are various wondrous trees and plants, a city with
a nine-layered wall, and 440 gates. Besides several outlying peaks, there is an
immortality-bestowing Cinnabar Stream (danshui fhK) that circles Kunlun
three times before returning to its source; and four rivers- the Yellow River
(Heshui :friJ7J(), Red River (Chishui $*), Weak River (Ruoshui ~~7J(), and
Yang River (Yangshui # 7.K )-flow out of Kunlun's foothills to the northeast,
southeast, southwest, and northwest. Kunlun itself has three tiers, each nar-
rower than the one below. From bottom to top, they are Cool Wind (Liangfeng
1JJ( )!\.), Hanging Garden (Xuanpu ~ 1iI), and Ascending Heaven (Shangtian J:
). Moreover, those who ascend the three tiers attain deathlessness, become
"numinous" (ling ~) with the power to control wind and rain, and become
divine (shen t$ ), in that order. Shangtian is called the abode of the Great Em-
peror (Taidi -}::. *). Although the Huainan zi does not mention Xiwang mu in
connection with Kunlun, she is usually described in later literature as living on
Hanging Garden. Other sources provide different names for the three tiers.
As the *Shangqing school elevated the status of Xiwang mu within Taoism,
so too it elevated her abode, making it a repository of the original texts of
scriptures. The extensive description of Kunlun in the * Shizhou ji (Record of
the Ten Continents), a text that incorporates many ideas from the Shangqing
doctrines, was also very influential. In that text, Kunlun is located in the seas
to the distant northwest and towers 36,000 li over the surrounding countryside.
It is wide at the top, narrow at the bottom, and instead of three tiers it has
three corners pointing north, west, and east: Langfeng Peak (Langfeng dian
~J~l1m), Hanging Garden Hall (Xuanpu tang JMlI1!1l:5t), and Kunlun Palace
(Kunlun gong ~ 1* '8). It also has four supporting foothills to the southeast,
northwest, northeast, and southwest named Garden of Piled Stones (Jishi pu
fir?":! IIDI), House of orth-Facing Doors (Beihu zhi shi ~tp Z ~ ), Well of
Great Life (Dahuo zhijing *frIfz;#), and Maelstrom Valley (Chengyuan zhi
gu 7~ 7Jill Z ~). On Kunlun Palace is situated the Walled City (Yongcheng :ifrIJ
~), from which five golden terraces and twelve jade towers rise, but similar