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The Eight Pillars (Chinese: 八柱, bāzhù) also known as Eight Pillars of the Sky are a concept from Chinese mythology. Located in the eight cardinal directions, they are a group of eight mountains or pillars which have been thought to hold up the sky. They are symbolically important as types of axis mundi and cosmology. Their functions in mythology ranged from pillars which functioned to hold apart the Earth and the Sky (or Heaven), as ladders allowing travel between the two, and as the location of various paradises or wonderland with associated magical people, plants, and animals. The Eight Pillars are a central aspect to Chinese mythology, and also have been used extensively in poetic allusion. Some variations exist, such as only having four pillars.

Places

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Various mythological geography is associated with the Eight Pillars, including the eight mountain pillars themselves along with surrounding or intervening terrain, such as the Moving Sands. The eight mountain pillars include Kunlun, Jade Mountain, Mount Buzhou, and five more (Yang Lihui 2005: passim). Kunlun functions as a sort of ladder which could be used to travel between earth and Heaven. Accordingly, any person who succeeded in climbing up to the top of Kunlun would magically become an immortal spirit (Yang 2005: 160–162).

Buzhou Mountain

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Main article: Mount Buzhou

Buzhou was the defective mountain pillar. Having been damaged by Gonggong when he smashed his head into it (Tian, Zhaoyuan 2020: 8-10),[1] it no longer separated the Earth and the Heaven for the proper distance. Bu-zhou was the northwest one (Hawkes, 1985 (2011): 94–95, 135–136, 323). It was said that after Heaven fell to the northwest, the starts, sun, and moon followed. And with this the Earth started to lean to the east (Tian, Zhaoyuan 2020: 8-10).[1]

Kunlun

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Main article: Kunlun

Kunlun Mountain has been described in various texts, as well as being depicted in art. Sometimes Kunlun appears as a pillar of the sky (or earth), sometimes appearing as being composed of multiple tiers (Yang 2005: 160), with the commonality of "mystery, grandeur, or magnificence" being emphasized in the mythological descriptions. The base of the Kunlun Mountain is said to penetrate as far into the earth, as its above-ground part proceeds towards the sky (Christie1968: 74). As the mythology related to the Kunlun developed, it became influenced by the later introduction of ideas about an axis mundi from the cosmology of India. The Kunlun became identified with (or took on the attributes of) Mount Sumeru. Another historical development in the mythology of Kunlun, (again with Indian influence) was that rather than just being the source of the Yellow River, Kunlun began to be considered to be the source of four major rivers flowing to the four quarters of the compass (Christie 1968:74).

Jade Mountain

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Main article: Jade Mountain (mythology)

Another of the Eight Pillars was Jade Mountain.

Associated geography

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Various other mythological geography is associated with the Eight Pillars. This includes the four rivers flowing from Kunlun Mountain and the Moving Sands.

Activities

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Various activities took place at the eight pillars. For one, they were often thought of as reaching from Earth to Heaven; thus, climbing one of the pillars would allow one to reach Heaven from Earth.

Inhabitants

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The eight mountain pillars were favorite places for all sorts of characters to visit or dwell. This includes various deities, immortals, and shamans.

Deities

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Various deities inhabited or visited one or more of the eight mountain pillars. These include Xiwangmu and others on Kunlun.

Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu)

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Although not originally located on Kunlun, but rather on a Jade Mountain neighboring to the north (and west of the Moving Sands), Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of Meng Hao in the West, in later accounts was relocated to a palace protected by golden ramparts, within which immortals (xian) feasted on bear paws, monkey lips, and the livers of dragons, served at the edge of the Lake of Gems. Every 6000 years the peaches which conferred immortality upon those who ate them would be served (except the time when they were purloined by Monkey King). Originally a plague deity with tiger teeth and leopard tail, she became a beautiful and well-mannered goddess responsible for guarding the herb of immortality (Christie 1968: 78–79).

Xian (Immortals)

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Further information: Xian (Taoism)

The immortals, or xian, were Daoist immortals (humans who had metamorphosed into superhuman form). The xian were often seen as temporary residents, who visited by means of flying on the back of a magical crane or dragon.

Wu shamans

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Further information: Wu (shaman) and List of wu shamans

The Wu or shamans were people that practiced divination, prayer, sacrifice, rainmaking, and healing, generally through the use of spirit flight. They generally seem to have become immortals.

Poetry

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The Eight Pillars are a subject of poetic allusion from the ancient poems "Li Sao" and "Heavenly Questions" by Qu Yuan; and, on through later times, in Classical Chinese poetry. The immortals, or xian, were Daoist immortals (humans who had metamorphosed into superhuman form), which was presided over by Xiwangmu. The xian were often seen as temporary residents, who visited by means of flying on the back of a magical crane or dragon.

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  • 1st–2nd century lamp in the shape of Kunlun Mountain as the pillar of the sky, realm of the Queen Mother of the West (1st–2nd century CE)
    1st–2nd century lamp in the shape of Kunlun Mountain as the pillar of the sky, realm of the Queen Mother of the West (1st–2nd century CE)

See also

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References cited

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Other references

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Eight Pillars

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The (Chinese: 八极; pinyin: bā jí), also known as the Eight Pillars of the Sky, represent a central cosmological concept in ancient , comprising eight mythical mountains or pillars situated at the cardinal and intercardinal directions that physically support the heavens and separate them from the . These pillars symbolize the foundational of the , embodying the spatial extremities (jí) that define the ordered and prevent the collapse of the . In classical texts such as the (compiled around the BCE), the Eight Pillars emerge during the primordial creation , where two primordial spirits (ershen) align and divide: "Thereupon, they divided and became , separated and became the eight pillars." This division establishes the horizontal plane intersecting heaven and earth, creating the three-dimensional space in which the myriad things (wanwu) form and thrive, reflecting Daoist principles of harmony between opposing forces. The pillars are often associated with specific mountains, such as Buzhou Mountain in the northwest, integrating geographical and astronomical observations into mythic narrative. A prominent myth involving the Eight Pillars appears in the Huainanzi and related sources, where the water deity , enraged after losing a battle to the fire god for control of the heavenly throne, smashes his head against one of the pillars—Buzhou Mountain—causing it to break. This act tilts the sky toward the northwest, shifting the paths of the sun, , and stars in that direction, while the earth inclines southeast, explaining the observed flow of rivers toward those regions. The goddess Nüwa is sometimes invoked in variants to repair the damage by patching the sky with five-colored stones and using the legs of a giant turtle to support the heavens as pillars, restoring cosmic balance and underscoring themes of repair and renewal in Chinese lore. The Eight Pillars extend beyond cosmology into and , frequently alluded to in classical like Qu Yuan's to evoke the vastness of the or the fragility of order. They also influenced later architectural and ritual symbolism, such as octagonal structures representing directional harmony, highlighting their enduring role in shaping Chinese .

Cosmological Role

Definition and Structure

In ancient Chinese cosmology, the Eight Pillars (八柱, bā zhù) denote eight mythical mountains or pillars situated at the eight cardinal and ordinal directions—north, , , and the four intermediates—functioning as the foundational supports that uphold the heavens and demarcate the boundary between the celestial and earthly realms. These vertical structures embody the cosmic framework, preventing the from descending upon the and ensuring the stability of the . The pillars also serve as axes mundi, pivotal connections linking the human world to the divine spheres above, facilitating interactions between mortals and immortals. Similarly, the Tian Wen section of the Songs of Chu (Chu Ci) interrogates their placement, asking, "At what points do the eight pillars uphold it?" to underscore their load-bearing role in heavenly architecture. Variations in the number of pillars appear across ancient sources, with some earlier cosmologies describing only four pillars aligned to the primary cardinal directions, possibly reflecting a simpler quadripartite worldview before the expansion to eight for greater directional precision. Mechanically, these pillars sustain a round heavenly dome (tian yuan) over a square earth (di fang), averting cosmic collapse by anchoring the firmament at the world's extremities and aligning with the harmonious interplay of yin and yang forces. Specific examples, such as the pillars associated with Kunlun and Buzhou Mountains, illustrate this arrangement without altering the overarching directional symmetry.

Symbolic Importance

In ancient Chinese cosmology, the Eight Pillars, positioned at and intercardinal directions, symbolized the foundational upholding the heavens and maintaining cosmic equilibrium. These pillars were intrinsically linked to the eight winds originating from each direction, as described in foundational texts, where they facilitated the flow of vital energies () across the universe. Furthermore, they corresponded to the eight trigrams () of the Yijing, each representing phenomena such as , , thunder, , , , mountain, and lake, thereby embodying the dynamic interplay of forces to ensure seasonal cycles and the perpetual renewal of order. The pillars served as axes mundi in shamanistic practices, functioning as ethereal pathways or ladders that enabled the shaman's to ascend to the celestial realm during rituals, bridging the mortal world with divine spheres and invoking between human and supernatural domains. In imperial contexts, these structures underscored the emperor's divine mandate from (tianming), with architectural representations—such as column and sets in Han palaces—evoking the pillars to affirm the ruler's role in preserving cosmic stability and ritual propriety. Philosophically, the pillars metaphorized enduring stability, where their integrity reflected the balanced governance of , while any imagined disruption evoked existential chaos, such as imbalances in natural cycles, underscoring the imperative for moral and ritual alignment to avert disorder.

Associated Locations

Named Pillars

In , specific mountains are commonly associated with the Eight Pillars in various texts and traditions, though primary sources like the Huainanzi treat the pillars more abstractly as directional extremities without explicit names. Secondary interpretations often link certain prominent peaks to these supports, emphasizing their cosmological role. Mount Buzhou, associated with the northwest direction at of the Great , is frequently depicted as a cosmic pillar upholding the northwestern sky. Described as a towering, rugged peak in the frigid northwestern reaches, it is central to myths of cosmic disruption. Kunlun Mountain, linked to the west, functions as a paradise and bridging earth and heaven, with its base extending deeply into the ground. Located in the western wilderness, it corresponds to regions like the Tibetan Plateau and is the mythical source of rivers including the Yellow, Yangtze (Yang), Black (weak water), and Red (Zhuo), symbolizing vital cosmic flows. Portrayed as a multi-tiered range reaching heights of up to 11,000 li (ancient measure, approximately 5,500 km), it is enveloped in flowing sands and guarded by divine barriers. Jade (Yùshān), often connected to the western Kunlun complex as the abode of the Queen of the West (Xiwangmu), features abundant deposits and gardens linked to elixirs. Its mist-shrouded, inaccessible nature reinforces the separation between mortal and divine realms. While not explicitly a directional pillar in primary texts, it symbolizes eternal themes in the broader mythological landscape.

Unnamed Pillars and Variations

The remaining pillars occupy the other directional positions—northeast, east, southeast, southwest, and north—portrayed as colossal formations similar in scale and function to the associated named mountains, but without individual designations in primary sources. They form an integral part of the collective framework upholding the heavens. Depictions vary across early sources, where the pillars are sometimes conflated with the —Taishan in the east, Huashan in the west, Hengshan (southern) in the south, Hengshan (northern) in the north, and Songshan in the center—or broader sets of directional peaks. The Shanhaijing associates peripheral supports with hazardous terrains like the Moving Sands in the northwest and cosmic seas, delineating extreme landscapes beyond central realms. Geographically, the pillars border the (East, South, West, and North), regulating weather by channeling winds and rains, and serving as liminal zones between mortal and immortal domains. This maintains balance and prevents cosmic inundation. The describes the eight pillars as the "eight extremities" (bā jí) separating to stabilize the sky, without detailing the unnamed ones. The Shanhaijing alludes to such supports in directional surveys, portraying them as essential peripheral bulwarks.

Mythological Events

Damage to Buzhou Mountain

In ancient Chinese mythology, the water god , depicted with a face, body, and red , engaged in a fierce battle with the fire god for supremacy over the heavens. Defeated in the conflict, , consumed by rage, rammed his head against Mount Buzhou, one of the cosmic pillars supporting the , shattering it and disrupting the celestial order. This event, first alluded to in the Warring States period poem Tianwen ("Heavenly Questions") from the Chuci anthology attributed to Qu Yuan (ca. 340–278 BCE), poses rhetorical inquiries such as "How did come to wreck the ’s pillar?" and "How did he smash Buzhou Mountain?", framing the catastrophe as a pivotal moment of cosmic imbalance. Later elaborations in the Huainanzi (ca. 139 BCE), a Daoist philosophical text, describe explicitly "butting into Mount Buzhou," emphasizing his role as a rebellious force against divine hierarchy. (Note: Mythic variants exist; some accounts, like certain passages in Huainanzi, attribute the battle to Zhuanxu instead.) The damage to Buzhou Mountain unleashed profound cosmological consequences, tilting the sky to the northwest and causing the sun, moon, and stars to drift westward, while the earth bulged and sank to the southeast, leading to rampant floods and altered river flows that now course eastward (or southeastward). In Tianwen, these shifts are questioned as outcomes of "Kanghui’s rage" (an epithet for Gonggong), with the earth sinking southeast and the sky's pillars breaking, severing the "axis of the earth" and inviting chaos such as unquenchable fires and attacks by ferocious beasts. The Shanhaijing (, compiled ca. 4th century BCE–1st century CE) indirectly supports this through descriptions of Gonggong's disruptive lineage and associations with floods via his minister Xiangliu, a nine-headed serpent whose poisonous blood tainted the soil, exacerbating the deluge. The Huainanzi further details how the collapse of the sky's four poles (in some accounts; broader cosmology references eight pillars) and the snapping of earth's cords resulted in endless waters flooding the realm, symbolizing a breakdown in the harmony between heaven and earth. To restore order, the goddess intervened, melting five-colored stones—red, yellow, white, black, and blue—to patch the breached , an act that accounts for the appearance of multicolored clouds in the . She then severed the legs of a (or ao) to serve as replacement pillars propping up the heavens' four corners, while slaying a black to quell further turmoil and scattering ashes from burnt reeds to dam the floods. The Huainanzi this repair explicitly: " melted stones of five different colors to patch the ," noting that her efforts, though heroic, were incomplete, leaving the 's northwest tilt and the earth's southeast bulge as enduring features of the cosmos. Tianwen echoes this with queries like "Who was it that repaired the ?", attributing partial restoration to figures such as Zhuanxu, who reordered heaven and earth post-catastrophe, while later texts like the Lunheng (ca. 80 CE) by Wang Chong affirm 's pivotal role in mending the pillars despite ongoing imperfections. This narrative underscores themes of chaos and renewal, with Buzhou's location northwest of Kunlun Mountains serving as a mythic anchor for these events. (Variants may differ in repair details, such as omitting the tortoise or .)

Journeys and Ascents

In , shamans known as wu performed climbing rituals to ascend the cosmic pillars, often visualized as like Kunlun, which served as ladders connecting the earthly realm to the heavens. These rituals typically involved ecstatic dances mimicking flight or traversal, allowing the shaman to petition divine entities for blessings or , with the wu character itself depicting dancers encircling a central pillar symbolizing this cosmic axis. Heroes and mortals emulated these practices, using ladders or flights to scale the pillars, as mountains were regarded as pillars of facilitating such connections. Key journeys highlight the perilous yet transformative nature of these ascents. The , Huangdi, undertook a legendary quest to Kunlun Mountain—one of the eight pillars—to meet Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, ascending via or divine aid to seek wisdom and elixirs of . Similarly, journeyed to Xi Wangmu's palace on Kunlun in a drawn by eight horses, navigating the pillar's heights to partake in celestial banquets and receive longevity peaches grown in her orchard. Xi Wangmu herself is depicted in processions descending the pillars, such as her visits to mortal emperors, traversing Kunlun's slopes to bestow favors or enforce cosmic order, often accompanied by divine attendants. Associated activities at the pillar bases included offerings of jade, incense, and sacrificial animals to appease guardian spirits, followed by trance-inducing dances to initiate the ascent. Dangers abounded, including treacherous mists that could disorient climbers and fierce divine beasts like the xiezhi or winged dragons patrolling Kunlun's gates, testing the worthiness of petitioners. Successful ascents yielded profound rewards, such as elixirs granting eternal life or divine wisdom, as in the case of immortals who returned transformed; failures, however, resulted in exile to remote realms or fatal falls, underscoring the pillars' role as both gateway and ordeal.

Inhabitants

Deities

The , known as Xiwangmu, is the primary associated with the , ruling over Kunlun Mountain, which serves as one of the cosmic pillars supporting the heavens. Depicted in early texts as a therianthropic figure with a leopard's tail, tiger teeth, and disheveled hair, she originally embodied shamanistic forces of plague and death, as evidenced in oracle-bone inscriptions from . By the , her portrayal evolved into that of a benevolent goddess of immortality and cosmic harmony, hosting banquets with peaches that ripen every 3,000 years to grant eternal life, as described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Her palace on Jade Mountain within Kunlun features jade halls, ninefold walls, and attendants including white tigers and divine birds, symbolizing her oversight of the western quadrant of the cosmos. Zhuanxu, and grandson of the , plays a key in the mythology of the Eight Pillars as the victor in a primordial conflict that preserved cosmic order. Associated in some traditions with the conflict involving the water deity Gonggong, who damaged the pillar at Buzhou Mountain, Zhuanxu enforced the separation of heaven and earth through his ministers Chong and Li, thereby stabilizing the leaning pillars and preventing further collapse. As a sky god presiding over the Pole Star, he embodies regulation of celestial movements and seasonal cycles, with his lineage traced in texts like the Huainanzi. Minor deities serve as guardians of the pillars, particularly those linked to Kunlun's waters. Lu Wu, a divine beast with a human face, tiger's body, and nine tails, acts as the chief custodian of Kunlun, overseeing its sacred springs and ensuring the flow of the four mythical rivers—the , , , and Yang—that originate from the mountain and flow to the cardinal directions, as noted in the Classic of . River gods, such as those emerging from these waters, function as subordinate , maintaining the hydrological balance tied to the pillars' stability, as noted in the Classic of . These figures, evolving from animistic spirits in oracle-bone records to integrated Daoist immortals by the Han era, underscore the pillars' role in broader cosmological equilibrium.

Immortals and Shamans

In Chinese cosmology, the (仙), or immortals, represent Daoist figures who achieve transcendence through spiritual cultivation often involving ascents of conceptualized as cosmic pillars supporting the heavens. These ascents symbolize the journey toward , where practitioners seek enlightenment and by harmonizing with in elevated realms. Early Daoist texts, such as those compiled by in the 4th century CE, emphasize mountains like Kunlun—one of the Eight Pillars—as essential locales for receiving divine scriptures and encountering spirits, facilitating the transcendence of mortal limits. The (八仙, Bāxiān), a legendary group of , are loosely associated with the directional symbolism of the Eight Pillars, reflecting the eight cardinal directions and trigrams in Daoist cosmology. Originating in Tang-Song but popularized in later Daoist traditions, they embody diverse qualities and attain through elixirs derived from Kunlun's sacred , underscoring the pillars' as sources of eternal . For instance, figures like and are depicted gaining transcendence via alchemical practices tied to these mountainous realms. In contrast, the wu (巫), ancient shamans primarily from prehistoric and Shang-Zhou periods, served as ritual intermediaries who journeyed the pillars in ecstatic trances to communicate with heavenly forces. These practitioners, often female, invoked spirits through dances and drum rituals, with the wu character itself depicting swirling sleeves or figures encircling a central pillar, symbolizing cosmic mediation. Their performances mimicked ascents to ensure harmony between earth and sky, predating formalized Daoism by millennia. Wu shamans interacted with the pillars by conducting sacrifices to mountain and water spirits, aiming to avert cosmic disruptions and maintain structural stability, as seen in early state rituals that integrated shamanic elements for societal order. Meanwhile, xian immortals engaged the pillars through cultivation, harvesting ethereal herbs on sites like Kunlun to refine elixirs that granted longevity and transcendence. These practices highlight a shared emphasis on the pillars as conduits for divine interaction, though xian represent evolved, post-Han Daoist ideals of self-perfected beings, distinct from the wu's archaic, community-oriented shamanism rooted in Neolithic traditions.

Literary and Cultural References

In Ancient Poetry

In Qu Yuan's , the Eight Pillars evoke metaphors for the distant and unattainable heavenly realms, underscoring the poet's profound longing to transcend earthly exile by ascending the sacred , abode of shaman ancestors and divine spirits. The persona, driven by a quest for spiritual union, harnesses a dragon-drawn to journey westward toward Kunlun, where ethereal gardens hover and ancestral shamans reside, symbolizing an elusive harmony between the mortal and the celestial. The Heavenly Questions (Tian Wen), also attributed to , poses direct interrogations about the Eight Pillars' origins and function, such as "At what points do the eight pillars uphold it?" amid broader cosmological puzzles. These queries extend to the cataclysmic damage inflicted on Buzhou Mountain by the water god , whose rage tilted the sky northwest and disrupted cosmic balance, intertwining mythic etiology with the poet's personal lament over political banishment and existential uncertainty. Throughout the anthology, the Eight Pillars symbolize themes of exile and divine estrangement, frequently invoked in shamanistic journeys that depict souls ascending through layered heavens propped by these supports. Such imagery portrays the pillars as conduits for ecstatic flights, where poets or shamans invoke , dragons, and celestial gates to bridge the profane world and the realm of deities, reflecting Chu cultural rituals of spirit travel and . Ancient poetic motifs often render the Eight Pillars as luminous jade pillars of light, sustaining the vault of starry heavens and embodying enduring cosmic order amid chaos. This jade-infused depiction, drawing from Kunlun's crystalline palaces, highlights the pillars' role as radiant axes mundi in odes, where they frame visions of astral processions and divine stability.

In Later Literature and Art

In the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West (c. 1592), attributed to Wu Cheng'en, Kunlun Mountain, a mythical peak associated with cosmic supports, serves as the divine abode of Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, where her garden of immortality-granting peaches becomes the target of Sun Wukong's theft, emphasizing the mountain's role as a gateway to eternal life and mythical quests. The narrative portrays these cosmic elements as integral to the immortal realm, with Wukong's exploits navigating barriers tied to Kunlun's elevated status as a bridge between earth and heaven. Tang and Song dynasty poets like Li Bai and Du Fu referenced mythical mountains such as Kunlun in verses exploring immortality and cosmic harmony, often symbolizing unattainable imperial ideals and the poet's longing for transcendence. Li Bai's works, such as those yearning for the elixirs of Kunlun, frame such mountains as aspirational beacons of divine ascent, blending Daoist mysticism with personal exile. Du Fu integrated mythological imagery into meditations on political turmoil and natural order, portraying mountains as links between human strife and celestial stability. Han dynasty tomb murals, such as those in the Wu Family Shrines and Yi'nan tombs, illustrate pillar ascents by and column-bracket sets as symbolic "pillars of heaven," representing Kunlun and the Eight Pillars upholding the cosmos amid scenes of ritual and afterlife journeys. These depictions, drawn from texts like the , linked architecture to immortality motifs, with pillars embodying gates to the divine. In Ming-Qing paintings, such as the 17th-century Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu's Kunlun palace incorporates pillar-like mountain forms and celestial supports, reinforcing themes of longevity and harmony in opulent, multi-figure compositions. Modern Chinese fantasy literature and films, drawing from xianxia traditions, reimagine the Eight Pillars as interdimensional portals or unstable cosmic anchors, with the five unnamed pillars fueling creative variations in quests for power and enlightenment, as seen in adaptations echoing Journey to the West's mythical framework.

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