5.1.1. Passages That Describe the Queen Mother's Living Environment

Ban Biao's "Rhapsody on Viewing the Sea" describe the living environment of the Queen Mother as follows:

The immortals Chisongzi 赤 松 子 and Wang Ziqiao 王 子 喬 sat in the east wing while the Queen Mother sat in the west wing. They asked Han Zhong 韓 眾 and Qi Bo 岐 伯 to tell and collate the books read by deities. They hoped to be able to make friends with them and be enlightened therein, so as to travel far away from the mortal plane and roam afar. (Fei et al. 1993, p. 252)

[I] met the Queen Mother at Yintai 銀 臺 (the moon) and ate the celestial food *yuzhi* 玉 芝 (jade mushroom). She smiled and was delighted, complaining that I was a bit too late. Having brought the fairy maiden (attending the immortals) from Taihua Mountain along with her, she also summoned the Luoshui goddess Mi fei 宓 妃 (Concubine Mi). They were both so beautiful and captivating, with their charming eyes and fine and delicate eyebrows. (Fei et al. 1993, p. 396)
