Kunlun (mythology)

As the mythology related to the Kunlun developed, it became influenced by the later introduction of ideas about an axis mundi from the cosmology of India. The Kunlun became identified with (or took on the attributes of) Mount Sumeru.[2]

Another historical development in the mythology of Kunlun (again with Indian influence) was that — rather than just being the source of the Yellow River — Kunlun began to be considered the source of four major rivers, flowing to the four quarters of the compass.[2]

The Kunlun mythos was also influenced by developments within the Taoist tradition, and Kunlun came to be perceived as more of a paradise than a dangerous wilderness.[3]

Some recent research proposed that, over time, the merging of various traditions has resulted in a duality of paradises – i.e., an East Paradise, identified with Mount Penglai, and a West Paradise, identified with Kunlun Mountain. A pole replaced a former mythic system that opposed Penglai with Guixu ("Returning Mountain"), and the Guixu mythological material was transferred to the Kunlun mythos.[4]

The Chinese name "Kunlun" 崑崙 (or 崐崘) is written with characters combining the "mountain radical" 山 with phonetics of kun 昆 and lun 侖. Alternate names for Kunlun shan include Kunling 崑陵 (with "hill") and Kunqiu 崑丘 (with "mound").

The term "Kunlun" may be semantically related to two other terms: Hundun (Chinese: 混沌; pinyin: hùndùn; Wade–Giles: hun-t'un; lit. 'primal chaos" or "muddled confusion'), which is sometimes personified as a living creature; and kongdong (Chinese: 空洞; pinyin: kōngdòng; Wade–Giles: k'ung-t'ung; lit. 'grotto of vacuity'), according to Kristofer Schipper. Grotto-heavens were traditionally associated with mountains, as hollows or caves located in/on certain mountains. The term "Kunlun Mountain" can be translated as "Cavernous Mountain," and the mythological Kunlun Mountain has been viewed as a hollow mountain (located directly under the pole star).[5]

The term "Kunlun," however, had also been used in old texts to refer to people and places unrelated to the mythical mountain. It was, for example, used in reference to the southern people called Gurong, who were slaves in China. Edward H. Schafer quotes the Old Book of Tang description "The people south of Lin yi are curly haired and black bodied and was called kurung" and following quote by 9th century buddhist scholar Hui Lin (慧琳), "They are also called Kurung. They are the barbarous men of the islands, great and small, of the Southern Seas. They are very black, and expose their naked Figures. They can tame and cow ferocious beasts, rhinoceroses, elephants, and the like."[6][7][8] Schafer notes that — besides Kunlun — these southerners were occasionally referred to as Gulong 古龍 or Gulun 骨論.

Julie Wilensky notes that the term Kunlun is a "mysterious and poorly understood word, first applied to dark-skinned Chinese and then expanded over time to encompass multiple meanings, all connoting dark skin."[9] But she further explains: "These uses of kunlun are unrelated to the name of the Kunlun Mountains." In a footnote, she adds: "Chang Hsing-Iang writes that the Kunlun mountain 'region has been familiar to the Chinese from the earliest times, and no Chinese work has ever described its inhabitants as being black-skinned.'"[10] She then proceeds to explain how "Kunlun" was used to refer to places in Southeast Asia and Africa.[11]

Dancing boy, representing one of the Kunlun boys. Painted earthenware with gilding. Tang Dynasty, 680–750 CE. From the Eumorfopoulos Collection. Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Various notions about the location of the mythical Kunlun Mountain have been proposed: chapter eleven of the Shanhaijing describes it as being in the northwest, chapter sixteen says it is south of the western sea, and other sources place it in the center of the Earth.[1]

Some believed Kunlun to be located to the "far" west; in this case, the alleged location was relocated further and further to the west, along with advances in geographical knowledge.[2] E. T. C. Werner identifies Kunlun with the Hindu Kush mountain range.[12]

At times, the mythical Kunlun Mountain has been confused with the modern Kunlun Mountains and with Kurung (or Kurung Bnam), possibly translated as "Kings of the Mountain" from the Old Khmer (formerly known as Old Cambodian) and equivalent to the Sanskrit Śailarāja, also meaning "Kings of the Mountain," referring to a mythical holy cosmic mountain. Kurung (Kunlun) is known to have flourished during the time of the Tang dynasty, and seems to have developed ambassadorial relations with the Tang court by the time of Li He (790–816), who records a visit in one of his extent poems; although geographical specifics of the state of Kunlun's location(s) remain uncertain, it is associated with trans-Gangetic India, possibly the Malay Peninsula or areas controlled by the Sailendra thalassocracy.[13]

A throne and screen from the imperial workshops in the beginning of the era of the Kangxi Emperor (1662–1722). The screen depicts the Western Paradise — mythologically located on Kunlun Mountain — with scenes of mountains, valleys, seas, terraces, lakes, and palaces. Shown is the arrival of its ruler — the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu), shown riding a phoenix — and the Eight Immortals awaiting her arrival.

Kunlun Mountain has been described in various texts, as well as being depicted in art. Sometimes Kunlun appears as a pillar of the sky (or earth) — sometimes appearing to be composed of multiple tiers,[14] with the commonality of "mystery, grandeur, or magnificence" being emphasized in its mythological descriptions. The base of Kunlun Mountain is said to penetrate far into the earth, while its above-ground part proceeds into the sky.[2]

In general, accounts emphasize the difficulty of access to the mountain and — even more strikingly — its hallowed places, due to its surrounding waters and steep cliffs of immense heights. Kunlun typically also has a strong association with various means to obtain immortality, or longevity. Poetic descriptions tend to lavish Kunlun with paradisaical detail: gem-like rocks and towering cliffs of jasper and jade, exotic jeweled plants, bizarrely formed and colored magical fungi, and numerous birds and other animals, together with humans who have become immortal beings. Sometimes, it is the Eight Immortals who are seen, coming to pay their respects to the goddess Xiwangmu, perhaps invited to join her in a feast of immortal repast. This is the well-worn image or motif that is frequently painted, carved, or otherwise depicted in the material arts.

Xiwangmu

Further information: Xiwangmu and Sun Wukong

Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, a Chinese Ming Dynasty painting from the early 17th century, by an anonymous artist. A mythological event traditionally occurring on the mythological Kunlun Mountain. From the Freer and Sackler Galleries of Washington D.C.

A Japanese painting depicting Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty meeting Xiwangmu, according to a fictional account of his magical transportation to Kunlun Mountain.

Although not originally located on Kunlun, but rather on Jade Mountain neighboring to the north (and west of the Moving Sands), Xiwangmu — the Queen Mother of Meng Hao in the West — in later accounts was relocated to a palace protected by golden ramparts, within which immortals (xian) feasted on bear paws, monkey lips, and the livers of dragons, served at the edge of the Lake of Gems. Every 6,000 years, the peaches that conferred immortality upon those who ate them would be served (except during the time when they were purloined by Monkey King). Originally a plague deity with tiger teeth and leopard tail, Xiwangmu became a beautiful and well-mannered goddess, responsible for guarding the herb of immortality.[16]

Creatures

Chiang Tzŭ-ya at K’un-lun

Kunlun has a lively bestiary, with various types of more-or-less fantastic beasts and birds present in its environs. Often the tiger or beings with tiger-like features are associated with Kunlun, since the tiger is symbolic of the west, and Kunlun is often associated with the Western Paradise.[18] Creatures symbolic of immortality are often seen or described in depictions of Kunlun, such as deer or cranes. Xiwangmu is often identified as having a spotted deer as a pet. Besides the cranes (traditionally thought of as the mounts or the transformations of immortals), other birds come and go from the mountain, flying errands for Xiwangmu; these blue (or green) birds are her qingniao. Sometimes the poets claim to have received joyful inspiration during a visit by one of these birds, carrying a message from Xiwangmu.

Kunlun Mountain is a major scene of action in various myths, as well as literary works derived from the myths, legends, or religious descriptions or depictions.

Many important literary references and allusions to Kunlun Mountain are found in traditional works — including famous novels, poems, and theatrical pieces. It also appears in popular modern fiction.

• Chi (mythology): has some discussion related to Kunlun beastiary
• Chinese mythology: a general article on Chinese mythology
• Four Mountains: advisors to emperors Yao and Shun, sometimes associated with four cardinal mountains
• Gigaku: article mentioning the character from Kunlun
• List of mythological Chinese mountains
• Neijing Tu: Daoist internal alchemy diagram relating human anatomy and cosmic theory
• Peaches of Immortality: magical fruit providing longevity
• Sungmo: Korean primordial goddess associated to a "western mountain"

• Birrell, Anne (1993). Chinese Mythology. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins). ISBN 0-8018-6183-7
• Christie, Anthony (1968), Chinese Mythology, Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing, ISBN 0600006379
• Eberhard, Wolfram (2003) [1986], A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought, London, New York: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-00228-1
• Qu Yuan (2011) [1985], The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets, translated by David Hawkes, London: Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-044375-2
• Schafer, Edward H. (1985) [1963], The Golden Peaches of Samarkand:A Study of T'ang Exotics, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-05462-2
• Schipper, Kristofer (1978), "The Taoist Body", History of Religions, Current Perspectives in the Study of Chinese Religions, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 17 (3/4), JSTOR 1062436
• Werner, E. T. C. (1994) [1922], Myths and Legends of China, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN 0-486-28092-6
• Wilensky, Julie (2002), "The Magical Kunlun and 'Devil Slaves:' Chinese Perceptions of Dark-skinned People and Africa before 1500" (PDF), Sino-Platonic Papers, New Haven: Yale, 122
• Yang, Lihui (2005), Handbook of Chinese Mythology, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6