er Heaven and earth and all the beings of the universe, and
thus become the two principles of life and of the subsistence of all
that exists. She is the head of the troop of genii dwelling on the
K'un-lun Mountains (the Taoist equivalent of the Buddhist Sumeru), and
from time to time holds intercourse with favoured imperial votaries.

The Feast of Peaches

Hsi Wang Mu's palace is situated in the high mountains of the snowy
K'un-lun. It is 1000 _li_ (about 333 miles) in circuit; a rampart of
massive gold surrounds its battlements of precious stones. Its right
wing rises on the edge of the Kingfishers' River. It is the usual
abode of the Immortals, who are divided into seven special categories
according to the colour of their garments--red, blue, black, violet,
yellow, green, and 'nature-colour.' There is a marvellous fountain
built of precious stones, where the periodical banquet of the
Immortals is held. This feast is called P'an-t'ao Hui, 'the Feast of
Peaches.' It takes place on the borders of the Yao Ch'ih, Lake of Gems,
and is attended by both male and female Immortals. Besides several
superfine meats, they are served with bears' paws, monkeys' lips,
dragons' liver, phoenix marrow, and peaches gathered in the orchard,
endowed with the mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who
have the good luck to taste them. It was by these peaches that the
date of the banquet was fixed. The tree put forth leaves once every
three thousand years, and it required three thousand years after that
for the fruit to ripen. These were Hsi Wang Mu's birthdays, when all
the Immortals assembled for the great feast, "the occasion being more
festive than solemn, for there was music on invisible instruments,
and songs not from mortal tongues."

The First Taoist Pope

Chang Tao-ling, the first Taoist pope, was born in A.D. 35, in the
reign of the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. His birthplace
is variously given as the T'ien-mu Shan, 'Eye of Heaven Mountain,'
in Lin-an Hsien, in Chekiang, and Feng-yang Fu, in Anhui. He devoted
himself wholly to study and meditation, declining all offers to enter
the service of the State. He preferred to take up his abode in the
mountains of Western China, where he persevered in the study of alchemy
and in cultivating the virtues of purity and mental abstraction. From
the hands of Lao Tzu he received supernaturally a mystic treatise,
by following the instructions in which he was successful in