Xiwangmu (西王母）: Folklore and history

Chinese language is part of the Sino Tibetan language system. Tibetan Plateau is at the west most of China. From this and other evidence, dominant forces in early Chinese history were probably from the west.

Starting from the earliest historical records, most conquering forces were from the west. Shang dynasty was the earliest dynasty when there was written language. It was conquered by Zhou from west. Later, Zhou dynasty was driven from the west to relocate to East Zhou.

There are several other examples. There was West Han, then East Han. There was West Jin，then East Jin. In general, western parts are militarily more dominant. When rulers from the west, after ruling for some time, became soft, they were driven away by the new comers from the desolate west.

Here comes Xiwangmu, or queen mother from the west. Because western part was more dominant, Xiwangmu, being the queen mother from the west, naturally became the most dominant goddess. Because military dominance comes from savage people, Xiwangmu, being their representative, was feral and ferocious in early folklores.

Xiwangmu, a representative of the conquerors, was the goddess of destruction. With the destruction of stale and sterile society comes new and more fertile life. Hence Xiwangmu, especially her daughters, are also the goddesses of fertility and new life.

Xiwangmu lives at Yaochi, 瑤池，瑤 and 遙 share the same pronunciation.  瑤 and 遙  probably share similar meaning, at least initially. 遙  means 遙遠, or far away. If you look at a Chinese map, you will notice a long and narrow corridor in western China. People from the west entered the heartland of China through the very long and very narrow corridor, often in a long and torturous process. When they became the rulers of China, they probably only have a dim and distant memory of where they were originally from. Xiwangmu, their ancestor, must be from a far far away place, or 瑤池.

Over time, the feral becomes mellow. So does the image of Xiwangmu.