Queen of heaven in Chinese myth and folk religion, wife of the 玉皇大帝 in popular tales. She hosts the banquet of the peaches of immortality and parts the lovers 牛郎 and 织女 with the Milky Way.
The Queen Mother separated the Cowherd and Weaver Girl on opposite sides of the Milky Way.
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In the oldest source, the 山海经, she is a fearsome figure with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth who sends plagues and punishments; later ages softened her into the gracious queen of heaven. She lives by the 瑶池 'Jade Pool' on Mount 昆仑.
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娘娘 is the title for an empress or a goddess; Yuan-dynasty operas gave it to her. Her marriage to the 玉皇大帝 comes from Ming and Qing fiction: in the orthodox Daoist pantheon the two have no fixed tie.
Chinese goddess ruling the heavenly court alongside the Jade Emperor. Hostess of the Peach Banquet (蟠桃大会) where immortals gather every few thousand years. Features in the Cowherd and Weaver Girl legend (牛郎织女) - she draws her hairpin across the sky to create the Milky Way, separating the lovers. Appears in countless folk tales, operas, and TV dramas.
