CHAPTER X
The Mother-goddess of China and Japan
Food for the Dead—Milk, Bread, and Beer in Paradise—The Western Tree of Life in Egypt—Tree of Life in Greece, Britain, and Polynesia—The Underworld Paradise—The “Wonderful Rose Garden”—Chinese Cult of the West—Biblical Tree Parable—Chinese Peach Tree of Longevity—The “Royal Mother of the West”—Visit of the Chinese Emperor—A Far-Eastern El-Khidr—The Sacred Chrysanthemum—The Cassia Tree Cult—Celestial Yellow River—Moon Myths—Lunar Elixir in China, India, and Scandinavia—Chinese Star Maiden—The Sun Barque—“Island of Blest” in Celestial River—Moon-girl Story—The “Makara” in China and Japan—The Chinese Ishtar—Deluge Legend—Tree Spirits—Story of Little Peachling—“Soul Substance” in Dragon Bones, Trees, and Pearls.
The quest of the “elixir of life”, the “water of life”, or “the food of life” is as prominent a feature of ancient religious literature as is the quest of the Holy Grail in the Arthurian romances. As has been shown in the last chapter, the belief that prompted the quest was widely prevalent, and of great antiquity. The Babylonian hero, Gilgamesh, whose story is told in the oldest epic in the world, undertook his long and perilous journey to the Otherworld, in quest of the Plant of Life, because the thought of death was sorrowful to him. When his friend, Ea-bani, had expired,
Gilgamesh wept bitterly, and he lay stretched out upon the ground.
He cried, “Let me not die like Ea-bani.…
I fear death.”[1]
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In the Babylonian myth of Adapa reference is made to the “water of life” and the “food of life”, which give wisdom and immortality to the gods and to the souls of those mortals who win their favour. The sacred tree in Babylonian art is evidently the Tree of Life.[2]