ABSTRACT

The two different elements of the soul of man which the Chinese distinguished were known as the hun and the p'o. During life, the hun and the p'o had different functions. The hun corresponded to a power that could direct activity and was capable of spiritual experience and intellectual energy. The elixir of long life could be tasted there; the islands could also act as a route towards renewed existence in the world of ti. Evidence that at present goes back to about 50 bc shows how some Chinese were deliberately seeking to forge a symbolical link between this concept of the universe and the life of human beings after death, in the realm of the immortals. The Queen is portrayed as a donor of the elixir of long life or of immortality; in iconography she is depicted with certain characteristic attributes and attendants.