Kunlun
/ˈkʊn.lʊn/noun
A mountain system of Central Asia, chiefly in western China, and the name of a legendary paradise or sacred mountain in Chinese tradition.
Did you know?In Chinese mythology, Kunlun was associated with Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, and was imagined as a cosmic mountain linked to immortality and the celestial realm.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese tradition
Chinese
昆仑
“A sacred or mythic western mountain associated with immortals and the realm of Xiwangmu; the original meaning of the name is uncertain.”
2nd–1st Century BCE
Chinese
昆仑
“A name used in early Chinese geographical and cosmological writings for a distant western mountain or region.”
1st–3rd Century CE
Chinese
崑崙
“The traditional-character form of Kunlun, increasingly developed in Chinese mythography as a cosmic mountain and paradise.”
Medieval period
Chinese
Kunlun
“A term applied both to the real Central Asian mountain system and to mythic geography; its historical linguistic origin remained disputed.”
17th–19th Century
European languages
Kuen-Lun / Kuenlun
“European transliterations used in geographical writing for the mountain range.”
Modern English
English
Kunlun
“The standard English name for the Kunlun Mountains, while retaining associations with their legendary Chinese counterpart.”