QUEEN MOTHER OF THE WEST (Hsi Wang-mu/Xiwang Mu). An important Taoist goddess whose roots go back to the Han dynasty, and even before, as her name is mentioned in the Chuang-tzu (Chapter 6, Watson: 82), and possibly even in the Shang oracle bone inscriptions.
Her paradise is situated in the K’un-lun mountains in the far southwest of China: There, she has an orchard of peach trees, which need 3,000 years to mature. Then she invites deities and immortals to a banquet; eating the peach fruit confers or confirms immortality. Her paradise is one of the abodes of the Immortals (Hsien).
In the mid-20th century, a sectarian movement arose in Taiwan, “The Compassion Society,” which worships the Queen Mother in her contemporary manifestation as “Golden Mother of the Jasper Pool,” whose popular name is Wang-mu Niang-niang or Lao-mu. This sect has been growing steadily since 1950, and many splendid temples have been built for her worship. She is one of several female deities rising to prominence today. (For a detailed study of Hsi Wang-mu, see M. Loewe, 1979, Chapter 4; S. Cahill, 1993; also ER 6. For the study of the Golden Mother, see D. Jordan and D. Overmyer, 1986, Chapter 6.)