Peaches of Immortality

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinese - Ceramic teapot in the form of two peaches - a symbol of

immortality (or a wish for long life). Yixing- [I-hsing]-ware, with blue-
brown glazing.

In Chinese mythology, Peaches of Immortality[1] (Chinese: ; pinyin: xin

to; Cantonese Yale: sn tuh or Chinese: ; pinyin: pnto; Cantonese
Yale: phn tuh) are consumed by the immortals due to their mystic virtue
of conferring longevity on all who eat them. Peaches symbolizing
immortality (or the wish for a long and healthy life) are a common symbol
in Chinese art, appearing in depictions or descriptions in a number of
fables, paintings, and other forms of art, often in association with
thematically similar iconography, such as certain deities or immortals or
other symbols of longevity, such as deer or cranes.

Contents
1 Peach Banquets
2 Journey to the West
3 Others
4 See also
5 Notes
Peach Banquets

Silk tapestry of Dongfang Shuo stealing a peach of immortality, Ming

dynasty (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The Jade Emperor and his wife Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West) ensured
the deities' everlasting existence by feasting them with the peaches of
immortality. The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to
celebrate an extravagant banquet called the "Feast of Peaches" (Chinese:
; pinyin: Pnto Hu; Cantonese Yale: phn tuh wih, or Chinese: ;
pinyin: Pnto Shnghu; Cantonese Yale: phn tuh sing wih), celebrated
on earth in honor (birthday) of Xi Wangmu on the 3rd day of the 3rd moon
month. The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering for this
magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth leaves once every thousand
years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen.
Statues depicting Xi Wangmu's attendants often held three peaches. And the
Eight Immortals crossing the seas to attend the banquet is a popular
subject in paintings.
Both the Stories of the Emperor Wu and Research into Nature wrote about an
imaginary meeting between the Emperor Wu of Han and the Queen Mother of the
West offering the Peach to him.[2]

Journey to the West

It is a major item featured within the popular fantasy novel Journey to the
West. The first time in which these immortal peaches were seen had been
within heaven when Sun Wukong had been stationed as the Protector of the
Peaches. As the Protector, Sun quickly realized the legendary effects of
the immortal peaches if they were to be consumed over 3,000 years of life
after the consumption of a single peach and acted quickly as to consume
one. However, he ended up running into many fragments of trouble such as a
certain queen that was planning on holding a peach banquet for many members
of Heaven. He manages to make himself very small and hide within a sacred
peach. Later on within the series, he would have another chance to eat an
immortal fruit in which would be his second time. A certain 1,000-foot-
tall (300 m) tree was stationed behind a monastery run by a Taoist master
and his disciples- in which the master had been gone. The tree bore 30 of
the legendary Man-fruit(fruits that looked just like a new born, complete
with sense organs) once every 10,000 years. The man-fruits would grant 360
years of life to one who merely smelled them and 47,000 years of life to
one who consumed them. After this point within the novel, these Immortal
Peaches would never be seen again.[3]

Others
Members of the Eight Immortals and the Old Man of the South Pole[4] (a
longevity deity) are sometimes depicted carrying a Peach of Immortality.
Because of the stories and the peach's association with long-life, peach is
a common decoration (the fruit or an image thereof) on traditional birthday
cakes and pastries in China.[5]
Another peach-related folktale from East Asia is the Momotar.