Taoists believed in the existence of the land of immortals, a paradise or utopic land where there is no aging and death. Mentions of the mythical Mount Kunlun, in which Xi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West – the highest deity of Taoism – was believed to dwell, are often found in literature from the Tang Dynasty on. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, Yojiyeondo (Yaochi yan tu: ‘Banquet at Yaochi’), which are paintings depicting the banquet held in Mount Kunlun, the abode of Xi Wang Mu, were widely produced. One of the magical tales surrounding Mount Kunlun has it that eating fruits from the peach trees in Xi Wang Mu’s orchard, which ripen every three thousand years, grants eternal youth and longevity. In Korea, given the existence of a portrait of Xi Wang Mu on a mural inside the Goguryeo tomb, Gamsinchong, this Taoist deity must have been known no later than the Three Kingdoms period.

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