Yuyun Xue

Yuyun Xue

15 Dec. 2022

Empress Hemp Thread, Pulling the gut and continuing the thread, Hemp thread, ascending to heaven and becoming immortal.

There are myths about the textile goddess in Longdong, Longnan and Longzhong areas of Gansu Province. The core plot of these myths is that the textile goddess flies to the holy mountain to become an immortal by virtue of the twisted hemp thread since childhood. In some local myths, there is an additional plot. When the textile goddess runs to the immortal site with a ball of thread, the hemp thread runs out, so she resolutely pulls out her intestines from her belly button and continues to connect them to the hemp thread, and finally she can ascend to heaven. In many myths in the world, ropes and lines have the function of connecting heaven and earth, and are tools to realize the communication between human beings and gods. In the legend of Gansu Textile Goddess, the plot of "pulling the gut and continuing the thread" is particularly unique, which not only shows the sacred function of hemp thread to connect heaven and earth, but also shows the powerful appeal of a peasant woman who sacrificed her body to pursue spiritual freedom.

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