Chinese Weird Gallery

Penglai(蓬莱/蓬萊)’s Story

In Chinese #mythology, Penglai(蓬莱/蓬萊) is depicted as a suspended pavilion above the sea,supported by a cluster of auspicious clouds. It’s the palace of the immortals,all made of gold and jade,and the birds and beasts are all white.

It is stated in《列子》that there are five fairy mountains in the sea: First is Mount Taiyu, second is Mount Yuanjiao, third is Mount Fanghu, fourth is Mount Yingzhou, fifth is Mount Penglai.’ Penglai is just one among them.

Its mountain height circumnavigates thirty thousand miles, its top is nine thousand miles in breadth, and the distances between the peaks are seventy thousand miles.  Read More “Penglai(蓬莱/蓬萊)’s Story”

Chinese Weird Gallery

The Structure of Penglai(蓬萊)

There is an interesting theory about the structure of the mystical mountain, Penglai(#蓬萊) being a pot.

In WangJia(王嘉)’s ‘Records of the Unearthed Tales《拾遺記》’, Penglai ‘s structure is described as resembling a pot, alongside two other mystical mountains, Fangzheng and Yingzhou. These three, collectively termed the ‘Three Pots(三壺) ‘. The Three Pots symbolize three sea-bound mountains. Fanghu(方壺) represents Fangzhang(方丈), Ponghu(蓬壺) signifies Penglai(蓬萊), and Yinghu(瀛壺) embodies Yingzhou(瀛洲), all shaped akin to vessels.
This pot-like imagery signifies a contained world, each potentially holding its own universe within.  Read More “The Structure of Penglai(蓬萊)”

Chinese Weird Gallery

《仙山樓閣圖》 仇英


This painting continues the tradition of previous immortal mountain artworks. The towering emerald-green mountains reaching into the clouds, the pavilions hidden among the irregular pine forests, and the bridge symbolizing the passage to the immortal realm, serving as a connecting and linking symbol – these typical elements of the immortal mountain paintings are all referenced by the artist.