Queen Mother of the West

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The Queen Mother of the West (西王母; pinyin Xīwángmǔ), in Chinese mythology, is the ruler of the western paradise and goddess of immortality. She is charged with overseeing the wall of heaven.

Originally, from the earliest known depictions of her in the "Guideways of Mountains and Seas" during the Zhou Dynasty, she was a ferocious goddess with the teeth of a tiger, who sent plagues down upon the world. After she was adopted into the Taoist pantheon, she was transformed into a benign deity. In popular Chinese mythology, The Queen Mother of the West lived in a palace made entirely of peaches, so she has often been considered the patron deity of peach pit carvers. It was said the fragrance of the peaches of her palace could be smelled miles away, and the fragrance could put even the unhappiest person to sleep. She also possesses a peach tree which, every 3,000 years, produces a peach that grants immortality. Her role with respect to immortality and everlasting happiness probably arose from her origin as the goddess of fertility.