Blog 9

Hey guys, I hate to inform you this is the last time we will be talking about The Love Legend of Zhou- Mu king and Xi-Wang mu.  Its been a lot of fun getting to share one of my favorite myths with all of you! This tale begins with Zhou- Mu king ascending the throne. He commanded 6 armies and led a expedition. He dealt with the Huns, by war and revived his kingdom. Zhou- Mu king was in an ongoing war with Quan-Rong. He began visiting many places, sea to sea. That's where he found me and our epic love story began. I of course fell in love with him, for his ambition and accomplishments. I prepared a banquet for him and afterwards we watched the sunrise and I begged him not to go. He promised he'd return when his kingdom was in order and happy again. We saw this tree and he said "let this manifest our love". Zhou asked me to leave my home and be his king, but I just couldn't. I visited once after he left. After that we didn't really see each other at all. I was told he attempted to come and see me several decades later, although he was ill and his advisors told him not to go. He ended up dying as a hopeless romantic.

Blog#8

Todays topic is resolution. Resolution is the ending to something, and it often ties up loose ends. In this myth The Love Legend of Zhou Mu-King and Xi Wang-mu, the part that seems to end the story is when Zhou Mu-King dies, leaving his last wish unfulfilled. I stand on top of my mountains awaiting his return only to realize he is not coming back to me. Zhou Mu-King was the most romantic monarch in Chinese history. He was my lover and he just died trying to visit me.

Blog #7- climax

I'm back.  Today we are going to talk about the climax of the myth we have been discussing in the last few posts. A climax is defined as the most intense, exciting, or important point of something. In my myth about how Zhou Mu-King, and I fall in love I'd say that the falling in love part is the climax. It is the most important part, or at least I think it is... The title of the myth is called the love legend, so obviously it is going to be the climax.  This part in these next few lines gives a broader view and depth into our story: "After the banquet, Zhou Mu-King and I watched the West. The King said he would go to remoter places, but I advised he didn’t go, and I said there were many ferocious and big raptors which liked to eat humans in the western endless desert. Mu-King smiled and said these things couldn’t stop him.
During our conversation, we saw a upstanding tree. The king said, “Let this tree manifest our love.” He carved the characters “The Mountain of Xiwangmu” (西王母之山) on the tree with his sword. I  leaned lightly against his shoulder, and felt peerlessly happy.
Mu-King promised to live with me for many days, and they returned my palace. But a messenger of the eastern states was waiting there." This is my favorite part.
One may also think the climax may be when Zhou Mu-King leaves me.
Keep Reading!

Blog #6 - Conflict

I'm back guys! Today we are going to go over the conflict in the myth we have been talking about in the last few posts. Conflict is defined as  a serious disagreement or argument. In The Love Legend of Zhou Mu-King and Xi Wang-mu there are a couple ones. "Mu-King was angry, and decided to teach Quan-Rong a lesson. Zhaibo (祭伯), an old minister, advised Mu-King not to start wars to force other nations into doing things, and said virtue was a better behavior for making other nations obedient. Mu-King refused the sincere advice of Zhaibo" Mu-King was angry because Quan-Rong did not attend, along with the rest of them.  He got into an argument with him, and it turned into this big thing, a conflict. He ended up stealing the sacred animals from his kingdom.

Blog #5 -Character

Hi guys! So you remember how we were starting to go over that myth about me, and Zhou Mu-King? Good, because we are going to continue that by talking about the characters in this myth.
     Zhou Mu-King- This man was the 5th King of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Zhou may be described as being perhaps on of the most important kings of the Dynasty. He was said to live to the age of 105 before he passed away. Zhou loved to travel, all around, but he especially loved to visit the Kunlun Mts. where he found me. Due to his travel he was able to talk with other tribes and tried to sway their opinion to join him. He was more ambitious than wise, and his actions didn't always get the best of him. The expedition was more of a failure, than a success seeing as he only brought back four white wolves and four white deer. He seemed to love me, and once he left we missed each other all the time. Several decades after our last meeting, he remembered me and wanted to see me. He ignored his health and On the way, he became ill. People worried if he died the kingdom would be restless, and so they prayed to heaven that the journey would stop and so it did. The King died with his last dream unfulfilled.
     You already know lots about me, so I am not going to describe myself.
Now I will describe another group in this book.
   The Huns  (匈奴), which was called Xianyun (玁狁, 猃狁) by the people of the Zhou Dynasty were a huge enemy. They attacked often. Like the Zhou, the Xianyun fought on horse- drawn  chariots. They were mounted with bow and arrows which let them attack whenever.  They weren't a group to come into contact with. As written in the myth "The army chased Hun for a thousand Li (里. At that time, 1 Li=about 0.4 kilometers). After this battle, Hun was unable to attack China for a long time"

Here is a link to my myth! -https://www.ourorient.com/the-love-legend-of-zhou-mu-king-and-xiwangmu

Blog #4

Have you ever heard of myth called The Love Legend of Zhou Mu-King and Xiwangmu? Well even if you haven't, it's one of my favorites.  So you guys  can  understand it  easier I am going to break it up, and each post I make will be about a different part of the myth. Today I am going to write about setting. This myth is set in the 10th Century B.C.  Zhou Mu-King commands 6 armies and sends them on an expedition to  Chu (楚) State which was a southern state. It is described in this line where a warrior wrote these lines to his wife, “I miss you and my beautiful hometown, but I can’t return, because of Xianyun.”  The setting is seen as beautiful.  To people living there they saw it as that, but on the outside it seemed wartorn. They at war with the Huns.  In a second main setting, when he is with me in the Kunlun Mountains it is described as there being white clouds in the sky, and the reflection of the mountain being  spectacular. The way was remote, and separated by many mountains and rivers The aroma of the outside air, dirt, and other natural scents filled their noses. Zhou Mu-King, could smell the salty sea air, as he visited the different seas. Since his mode of transportation was in a chariot pulled by horses. one may also imagine the scents he smelled from the animals pulling him. The smell of the animal itself and the droppings that came from it. The sounds of horses feet clopping along the road, as they took Zhou Mu-king to his varied destinations, and  sounds of warfare between Quan-rong and Zhou Mu-King. With all the traveling he did heheard all the sounds of nature, rushing water, animals scurrying in the bushes, rustling of leaves. One last sound that is memorable in this myth is the sound of the blade on the tree as Zhou Mu-king engraves-“The Mountain of Xiwangmu” (西王母之山) with his sword. Again if you were to lay your hand down on the setting you would most likely feel things in nature. For Zhou Mu-King he felt the warmth of my body during his time in the Kunlun Mt. The inhabitants of the area, felt the suns warmth. At one setting where he is with me, a banquet is put on, where you could taste all the delicious food I presented to him.

My next post will be on characters....

Cultural References- #3

I'm back! Tonights topic is Cultural references.

1. I am included in a videogame called Shin- Megami- Tensei 4
I will give you a little back-round on what may happen in this game : An unfortunate incident will render me, Xi Wangmu susceptible to the players attacks. This is the time also that players go all out and chip my 4500 HP away. ( whatever that is) I will start the battle using Orchard Guardian, a skill that will raise all my stats. If you have Dekaja, you can use this skill to nullify the enemy’s buffs. Other debuffing skills like Fog Breath, Acid Breath and War Cry can also help even out the advantage I have .
After defeating me, the quest will be complete. In addition to the exp reward, you can now also fuse me, Lady Xi Wangmu through special fusion.





2. I also appear to be referenced in the tale of , The Toad and the Hare. In Chinese mythology and the Taoism religion, I am a layed back goddess with a yin or passive feminine energy. This has to do with where I am located in the Kunlun Mountains, which also is associated with yin. You may sometimes find me seated between a tiger and a dragon. This symbolizes yin and yang. I also have a tomb tile that includes a  hare holding a candelabra while a toad dances in front of me . These animals symbolize the moon, yin counterpart to the yang sun. For you who may not know hare are symbols of fertility as well as the frog or toad.
In this story, in  China it is said that the toad was once a woman who had given away immortality.  It also said that the toad has three legs. Some  may say that this is symbolic of the three phases of the moon.
If you would like to read the story - http://ianslunarpages.org/toad_and_hare.html



3. I am associated with many pieces of artwork but below is just one .
It includes my sacred animals, and my location. This piece is by Lydia Ruyle

All about Me- Xi Wangmu - post 1

I am Xi-Wangmu - 王母娘娘. I may also be known as Queen Mother of the West, or Spirit Mother of the West,  HSI-WANG-MU, WANG-MU-NIANG-NIANG, or WEIWOBO. I am the goddess of immortality. I used to not be the most popular goddess, in fact I was the bottom goddess. I rose into the position, however.  That is a another story for another time. I married my amazing husband Mu- Gong, you may know him as Mr. Yang. As I become known for immortality people began mistaking me for the Jade Emperors wife, and often daughter. Which I think is crazy. Anyways, I reside in the Kunlun Mountains, in the far west, at the margin of heaven and earth.
I have all the characteristics a mortal would have but if you take a closer look you will see I have the teeth of a tiger and sometimes the tail of a leopard
My peach tree hidden by clouds in a garden, hold peaches that if eaten allow one to become immortal- or unable to die. So that is what I do.

Goddess of Immortality- P#2

Hey guys it's me again, Xi-wangmu goddess of immortality. I spend most of my time, on top of the Kunlun Mountains, or the sacred mountains, with my husband Mr. Yang. Using my peaches I am able to grant the gift of immortality. Peaches are my specialty. Once a long time ago when I used to be a plague goddess who would send down certain devastating plagues on the community, I was seen to have tiger teeth and leopard tail. Today I am a beautiful goddess responsible for immortality. I am a layed back goddess with a yin or passive feminine energy. This has to do with where I am located in the Kunlun Mountains, which also is associated with yin. You may sometimes find me seated between a tiger and a dragon. This symbolizes yin and yang. I also have a tomb tile that includes a  hare holding a candelabra while a toad dances in front of me . These animals symbolize the moon, yin counterpart to the yang sun. For you who may not know hare are symbols of fertility as well as the frog or toad. I do not have many enemies because I prefer to live in peace. I live with many female genies, and I have many friends.  I am most recognized in the religion of Taoism, and in that religion the peach symbolizes virgin. This fruit stands for a  mature woman whose juices are essential to a mans health. It is my most precious treasure and I practically guard it with my life.