Kunlun Mountains

Kunlun Mountains (Kūnlún Shān)
Range
View of Western Kunlun Shan from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway
Country	China
Region	Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang
Highest point	Kunlun Goddess
- elevation	7,167 m (23,514 ft)

Karakash River in the Western Kunlun Shan, seen from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway

Peak in Kunlun range

The Kunlun Mountains (simplified Chinese: 昆仑山; traditional Chinese: 崑崙山; pinyin: Kūnlún Shān; Mongolian: Хөндлөн Уулс) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km.

From the Pamirs of Tajikistan, it runs east along the border between Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions to the Sino-Tibetan ranges in Qinghai province.^[1] It stretches along the southern edge of what is now called the Tarim Basin, the infamous Takla Makan or "sand-buried houses" desert, and the Gobi desert. A number of important rivers flow from it including the Karakash River ('Black Jade River') and the Yurungkash River ('White Jade River'), which flow through the Khotan Oasis into the Taklamakan Desert.

Altyn-Tagh or Altun Range is one of the chief northern ranges of the Kunlun. Nan Shan or its eastern extension Qilian is another main northern range of the Kunlun. In the south main extension is the Min Shan. Bayan Har Mountains, a southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains, forms the watershed between the catchment basins of China's two longest rivers, the Yangtze River and the Huang He.

The highest mountain of the Kunlun Shan is the Kunlun Goddess (7,167 m) in the Keriya area. The Arka Tagh (Arch Mountain) is in the center of the Kunlun Shan; its highest point is Ulugh Muztagh. Some authorities claim that the Kunlun extends north westwards as far as Kongur Tagh (7,649 m) and the famous Muztagh Ata (7,546 m). But these mountains are physically much more closely linked to the Pamir group (ancient Mount Imeon).

The mountain range formed at the northern edges of the Cimmerian Plate during its collision, in the Late Triassic, with Siberia, which resulted in the closing of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

The range has very few roads and in its 3,000 km length is crossed by only two. In the west, Highway 219 traverses the range en route from Yecheng, Xinjiang to Lhatse, Tibet. Further east, Highway 109 crosses between Lhasa and Golmud.

Mythology

The Kunlun mountains are believed to be Taoist paradise. The first to visit this paradise was, according to the legends, King Mu (976-922 BCE) of the Zhou Dynasty. He supposedly discovered there the Jade Palace of Huang-Di, the mythical Yellow Emperor and originator of Chinese culture, and met Hsi Wang Mu (Xi Wang Mu) , the 'Spirit Mother of the West' usually called the 'Queen Mother of the West', who was the object of an ancient religious cult which reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, also had her mythical abode in these mountains. Jesuit missionaries, the noted American Sinologist Charles Hucker, and London University’s Dr Bernard Leeman (2005) have suggested that Xiwangmu and the Queen of Sheba were one and the same person. The Transcendency of Sheba, a religious group, believes that the Queen of Sheba's pre-Deuteronomic Torah recorded in the Kebra Nagast was influential in the development of Daoism. They insist that after vacating the throne for her son Solomon the queen journeyed to the Kunlun Mountains where, known as the Queen from the West, she attained spiritual enlightenment.

The Kunlun Pass

Kunlun martial arts

The Kunlun mountains are associated with a number of different martial arts, and are considered by some as an alternate source for the Daoist martial arts (Wudang being traditionally claimed as the source.)

Some styles associated with the Kunlun mountains:

Kunlun Mountain Fist is a style associated with the Kunlun mountain range, although similarities between this style and Kunlunquan, as well as the name of one of the forms (White Cloud Mountain Fist) suggest that this style may be associated with Kunlun Mountain in Shandong province

Kunlunquan may be named after the Kunlun mountain range, or it may be named after Kunlun Mountain in Shandong province

Some teachers of Tantui associate their style with Kunlun. Since Tantui is associated with the Middle East and the Kunlun mountain range partially separates China from the Middle East, this may be accurate.

Kunlunpai is a style of Kuntao or Indonesian/Chinese hybrid martial arts developed by Willem DeThouars.

References

Further reading

• Leeman, Bernard Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship. Queensland Academic Press Westbrook Australia. 2005. ISBN 097580220
• Munro-Hay, Stuart Aksum. Edinburgh: University Press. 1991. ISBN 0748601066
• China Tibet Information Centre
• Worldwildlife.org description
• Chinaculture.org

Coordinates: 36°00′N 84°00′E / 36°N 84°E / 36; 84