Peaches of Immortality

In Chinese mythology, Peaches of Immortalityalso translated as the Immortal Peaches and Magical Peaches () are consumed by the immortals due to its mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who ate them. It appears in a number of fables and paintings.
==Peach Banquets==
The Jade Emperor and his wife Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West) ensured the deities' everlasting existence by feasting them with the peaches of immortality. The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to celebrate an extravagant banquet called the "Feast of Peaches" (蟠桃會 Pán​táo​ Huì, or 蟠桃勝會 Pán​táo​ Shèng​huì). The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering for this magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth leaves once every thousand years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen. Statues depicting Xi Wangmu's attendants often held three peaches. And the Eight Immortals crossing the seas to attend the banquet is a popular subject in paintings.
Both the Stories of the Emperor Wu and Research into Nature wrote about an imaginary meeting between the Emperor Wu of Han and the Queen Mother of the West offering the Peach to him.
==Journey to the West==
It is a major item featured within the popular fantasy novel Journey to the West. The first time in which these immortal peaches were seen had been within heaven when Sun Wukong had been stationed as the Protector of the Peaches. As the Protector, Sun quickly realized the legendary effects of the immortal peaches if they were to be consumed – over 1,000 years of life after the consumption of a single peach – and acted quickly as to consume one. However, he ended up running into many fragments of trouble such as a certain queen that was planning on holding a peach banquet for many members of Heaven. He manages to make himself very small and hide within a sacred peach. Later on within the series, he would have another chance to eat an immortal fruit – in which would be his second time. A certain tree was stationed behind a monastery run by a Taoist master and his disciples – in which the master had been gone. After this point within the novel, these Immortal Peaches would never be seen again.
==Others==
Members of the Eight Immortals and the Old Man of the South Pole (a longevity deity) are sometimes depiced carrying a Peach of Immortality.
Because of the stories, peach is a common decoration (the fruit or an image thereof) on traditional birthday cakes and pastries in China.
Another peach-related folktale from East Asia is the Peach Boy (Momotarō).
==See also==
* Ambrosia, Greek food of immortality
== Notes ==
Category:Chinese mythology
Category:Mythological objects