神话昆仑与西王母原相

昆仑丘与西王母以及与之有关联的众多神话人物 ,构成中国神话的一个庞大家族。昆仑多义 ,大而别之 ,有地理昆仑与神话昆仑。本文所论 ,仅限于神话昆仑与山神西王母。　　 (一 )“神话昆仑”是一个有限制的概念。昆仑之丘是“帝之下都” ,是诸神聚集之山 ,如同聚集了众神的古希腊之奥林匹斯山。昆仑之丘又是“天地之脐”、“天之中柱” ,把天地连接起来。(二 )西王母的原相是昆仑山神。西王母居于玉山 ,穴居 ,其状如人 ,豹尾、虎齿而善啸 ,蓬发戴胜。其职司是刑杀之神。西王母又兼为古之医巫。(三 )西王母是昆仑之丘 (西王母之山 )的王者。她有自己的领地 ,显系一个原始部落的女头领 (酋长 )。

Mythical Kunlun and the Queen Mother of the West

The Kunlun Hills, the Queen Mother of the West, along with numerous myths and legends, constitute a major unit in the Chinese mythology. There are many different aspects of Kunlun, amongst which two have been designated by Sinologists as Geographical Kunlun and Mythical Kunlun. This essay deals only with Mythical Kunlun and the Queen Mother of the West. (1)"Mythical Kunlun" is a concept with limited but mystic connotations. It represents the Kunlun Hills as an auxiliary capital of the emperor and as a home to the gods in Chinese mythology like Mount Olympus to the ancient Greek gods. Moreover, the hills are supposedly at the center of the universe and are a pillar joining heaven and earth. (2) The Queen Mother of the West is a hill goddess of Kunlun. She lives in a cave on Jade Hill. With the human form, a leopard's tail and a tiger's teeth, and with disheveled hair and ornaments as well, she is a witch doctor, good at roaring, meting out punishments and executions, (3) In another sense, the Queen Mother of the West is a queen of the Kunlun Hills (also called the Queen Mother Hills), who has her own domain. If there ever was such a queen that she was probably the woman chieftain of some primitive tribe.