陈红版嫦娥

The fabled Garden of the Western Paradise is thought to reside in a remote section of the Kunlun Mountains（昆仑山Kūnlúnshān）. These spectacular peaks are located in western China between Tibet and Xinjiang and soar as high as twenty-five thousand feet. In mythology the mountains are the home of the Chinese gods, as well as the site of life-restoring herbs. Historically, the Kunlun range was part of the Silk Road, a caravan route between China and Persia used for trading silks, spices, and gold.

Because he loved his wife very much, the Grand Hou Yi reluctantly set out on a journey to the Kunlun Mountains where the peaches of long life were grown by Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise. The Hou Yi was unsure of the road, and even less sure of how much strength he had left. When he lived in heaven, Hou Yi had always ridden in the empress’s chariot or straddled the tails of sky dragons to reach the Western Paradise, but now that he lived on earth, he had to walk. He crossed burning deserts, forded cold streams, and trekked over high mountains for thousands of miles.

Finally, Hou Yi arrived at his destination and was greeted by Wang Mu. When Hou Yi told her that his wife wanted a dosage of the elixir of immortality, Wang Mu could only sigh. Unfortunately, she told Hou Yi, the gods and goddesses had just feasted on the last batch of peaches. The next peach crop would not ripen for another three thousand years. When Hou Yi continued to implore her, Wang Mu took one leftover, very imperfect dried-up peach, pounded some herbs and powders, and stirred them together into an elixir. Then the Queen Mother poured the precious liquid into a small vial. “This potion will take both of you to the heavens.

But make sure you take it on a clear night, or you could be trapped halfway between earth and heaven,” she warned.

Carefully, the Hou Yi placed the vial in his leather pouch and knotted the bag tightly around his waist. Again, Hou Yi trudged over the same high mountains, forded the same cold streams, and crossed the same burning deserts to return to his wife. When he lived in heaven, he had not cared about its comforts and luxuries. Because of his status there as a mortal who served the gods, Hou Yi, too, had been invited to sumptuous feasts and had eaten the peach of immortality. The magical potion had enhanced his already powerful body and made him invincible. Now on earth, however, he felt his power slipping day by day. Although Hou Yi did ot resent his banishment to earth, he was beginning to resent his decaying mortal body.

When at last the Hou Yi returned home and presented the precious elixir to his wife, Chang’e was delighted. She burned with the anticipation of returning to her sisters in the sky. The goddess begged him to take the medicine immediately, but her husband refused, remembering the warning he had been given by the Queen Mother. Hou Yi said, “I have undertaken a long journey to fulfill your deepest desire. We must be patient and wait for a clear night when the stars can guide us homeward.”