106 



CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 



Besides these backgrounds of actuality, that of the 

 Fertile Empire, and that of the Barren Waste, there was 

 another — that of the * 4 Western Paradise" peopled by the 

 Hsi Wang Mu ffl rE -BJ: and those numberless beings who, 



An Attendant of The Hsi Wang Mu. 



after a life in this world had attained Immortality, and lived 

 Among the "hsien" fill. This blessed region of perfect 

 happiness was supposed to lie among the K'un Lun M $t 

 Mountains in Central Asia, and from the spontaneous manner 











Lung Yu — A Hsien. 



