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40-587: Chinese mythology and imagination developed an extensive collection of ideas. The Weak River, or Weak Water, was so-called because nothing could float in it. Various mythological geography is associated with the Weak River, including one or more of the eight mountain pillars , especially the (mythological) Kunlun Mountain , the Red River , intervening terrain, such as the Moving Sands . Jade Mountain

80-426: A balance of surface inflows, evaporation and seepage) are often called sinks. Endorheic lakes are typically located in the interior of a landmass, far from an ocean, and in areas of relatively low rainfall. Their watersheds are often confined by natural geologic land formations such as a mountain range, cutting off water egress to the ocean. The inland water flows into dry watersheds where the water evaporates, leaving

120-573: A high concentration of minerals and other inflow erosion products. Over time this input of erosion products can cause the endorheic lake to become relatively saline (a " salt lake "). Since the main outflow pathways of these lakes are chiefly through evaporation and seepage, endorheic lakes are usually more sensitive to environmental pollutant inputs than water bodies that have access to oceans, as pollution can be trapped in them and accumulate over time. Endorheic regions can occur in any climate but are most commonly found in desert locations. This reflects

160-798: A large portion of Europe drains to the endorheic Caspian Sea, Europe's wet climate means it contains relatively few terminal lakes itself: any such basin is likely to continue to fill until it reaches an overflow level connecting it with an outlet or erodes the barrier blocking its exit. There are some seemingly endorheic lakes, but they are cryptorheic, being drained either through manmade canals , via karstic phenomena, or other subsurface seepage. A few minor true endorheic lakes exist in Spain (e.g. Laguna de Gallocanta , Estany de Banyoles ), Italy , Cyprus ( Larnaca and Akrotiri salt lakes) and Greece . Many small lakes and ponds in North Dakota and

200-546: A limit of the erosion and deposition processes of nearby areas. Endorheic water bodies include the Caspian Sea , which is the world's largest inland body of water. The term endorheic derives from the French word endoréisme , which combines endo- ( Ancient Greek : ἔνδον éndon 'within') and ῥεῖν rheîn 'flow'. Endorheic lakes (terminal lakes) are bodies of water that do not flow into an ocean or

240-523: A redistribution of water from these hydrologically landlocked basins such that endorheic water loss has contributed to sea level rise , and it is estimated that most of the terrestrial water lost ends up in the ocean. In regions such as Central Asia, where people depend on endorheic basins and other surface water sources to satisfy their water needs, human activity greatly impacts the availability of that water. Large endorheic regions in Africa are located in

280-420: A sea. Most of the water that falls to Earth percolates into the oceans and the seas by way of a network of rivers, lakes, and wetlands . Analogous to endorheic lakes is the class of bodies of water located in closed watersheds (endorheic watersheds) where the local topography prevents the drainage of water into the oceans and the seas. These endorheic watersheds (containing water in rivers or lakes that form

320-403: Is one such case, with annual precipitation of 850 mm (33 in) and characterized by waterlogged soils that require draining. Endorheic regions tend to be far inland with their boundaries defined by mountains or other geological features that block their access to oceans. Since the inflowing water can evacuate only through seepage or evaporation, dried minerals or other products collect in

360-524: Is the scene for all sorts of activities by deities, immortal, would-be immortals, and so on, and generally exists in an alternate reality of culture. However, both Ruo Shui rivers are directionally located in a somewhat northern and western way. Eight Pillars Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: The Eight Pillars ( Chinese : 八柱, bāzhù) also known as Eight Pillars of

400-627: The Bonneville flood . The Malheur / Harney lake system in Oregon is normally cut off from drainage to the ocean, but has an outflow channel to the Malheur River . This is presently dry, but may have flowed as recently as 1,000 years ago. Examples of relatively humid regions in endorheic basins often exist at high elevation. These regions tend to be marshy and are subject to substantial flooding in wet years. The area containing Mexico City

440-473: The Moving Sands . The eight mountain pillars include Kunlun , Jade Mountain , Mount Buzhou , and five more (Yang Lihui 2005: passim ). Kunlun functions as a sort of ladder which could be used to travel between earth and Heaven. Accordingly, any person who succeeded in climbing up to the top of Kunlun would magically become an immortal spirit (Yang 2005: 160–162). Buzhou was the defective mountain pillar. Having been damaged by Gonggong , it no longer separated

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480-942: The Sahara Desert , the Sahel , the Kalahari Desert , and the East African Rift : Endorheic lakes exist in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys , Victoria Land , the largest ice-free area. Much of Western and Central Asia is a giant endorheic region made up of a number of contiguous closed basins. The region contains several basins and terminal lakes, including: Other endorheic lakes and basins in Asia include: Australia , being very dry and having exceedingly low runoff ratios due to its ancient soils, has many endorheic drainages. The most important are: Though

520-532: The Earth and the Heaven for the proper distance. Bu-zhou was the northwest one (Hawkes, 1985 (2011): 94–95, 135–136, 323). Kunlun Mountain has been described in various texts, as well as being depicted in art. Sometimes Kunlun appears as a pillar of the sky (or earth), sometimes appearing as being composed of multiple tiers (Yang 2005: 160), with the commonality of "mystery, grandeur, or magnificence" being emphasized in

560-486: The Moving Sands. Various activities took place at the eight pillars. For one, they were often thought of as reaching from Earth to Heaven; thus, climbing one of the pillars would allow one to reach Heaven from Earth. The eight mountain pillars were favorite places for all sorts of characters to visit or dwell. This includes various deities, immortals, and shamans. Various deities inhabited or visited one or more of

600-456: The Sky are a concept from Chinese mythology . Located in the eight cardinal directions, they are a group of eight mountains or pillars which have been thought to hold up the sky. They are symbolically important as types of axis mundi and cosmology . Their functions in mythology ranged from pillars which functioned to hold apart the Earth and the Sky (or Heaven), as ladders allowing travel between

640-771: The West the Weak Water river forms one of the barriers on the way, one of the many difficult areas which the Xuanzang the Monk, Sun Wukong the Monkey, and their companions must cross over. The Weak Water River is an allusion in various Chinese Classical poems, the early Chuci anthology included. Pulled through the sky by a team of dragons, Qu Yuan soars above all obstacle rivers and hostile terrain at will during his spirit journey as described in his poem " Li Sao ". The Li Sao helped set

680-598: The back of a magical crane or dragon. The Wu or shamans were people that practiced divination, prayer, sacrifice, rainmaking, and healing, generally through the use of spirit flight. They generally seem to have become immortals. The Eight Pillars are a subject of poetic allusion from the ancient poems " Li Sao " and " Heavenly Questions " by Qu Yuan ; and, on through later times, in Classical Chinese poetry . The immortals, or xian , were Daoist immortals (humans who had metamorphosed into superhuman form), which

720-493: The balance between tectonic subsidence and rates of evaporation and sedimentation. Where the basin floor is dropping more rapidly than water and sediments can accumulate, any lake in the basin will remain below the sill level (the level at which water can find a path out of the basin). Low rainfall or rapid evaporation in the watershed favor this case. In areas where rainfall is higher, riparian erosion will generally carve drainage channels (particularly in times of flood), or cause

760-408: The basin, eventually making the water saline and also making the basin vulnerable to pollution. Continents vary in their concentration of endorheic regions due to conditions of geography and climate. Australia has the highest percentage of endorheic regions at 21 per cent while North America has the least at five per cent. Approximately 18 per cent of the Earth's land drains to endorheic lakes or seas,

800-564: The degree that a lake no longer forms. Even most permanent endorheic lakes change size and shape dramatically over time, often becoming much smaller or breaking into several smaller parts during the dry season. As humans have expanded into previously uninhabitable desert areas, the river systems that feed many endorheic lakes have been altered by the construction of dams and aqueducts. As a result, many endorheic lakes in developed or developing countries have contracted dramatically, resulting in increased salinity, higher concentrations of pollutants, and

840-440: The disruption of ecosystems. Even within exorheic basins, there can be "non-contributing", low-lying areas that trap runoff and prevent it from contributing to flows downstream during years of average or below-average runoff. In flat river basins, non-contributing areas can be a large fraction of the river basin, e.g. Lake Winnipeg 's basin. A lake may be endorheic during dry years and can overflow its basin during wet years, e.g.,

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880-470: The eight mountain pillars. These include Xiwangmu and others on Kunlun. Although not originally located on Kunlun, but rather on a Jade Mountain neighboring to the north (and west of the Moving Sands ), Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of Meng Hao in the West, in later accounts was relocated to a palace protected by golden ramparts, within which immortals ( xian ) feasted on bear paws, monkey lips, and

920-783: The former Tulare Lake . Because the Earth's climate has recently been through a warming and drying phase with the end of the Ice Ages, many endorheic areas such as Death Valley that are now dry deserts were large lakes relatively recently. During the last ice age, the Sahara may have contained lakes larger than any now existing. Climate change coupled with the mismanagement of water in these endorheic regions has led to devastating losses in ecosystem services and toxic surges of pollutants. The desiccation of saline lakes produces fine dust particles that impair agriculture productivity and harm human health. Anthropogenic activity has also caused

960-422: The largest of these land areas being the interior of Asia. In deserts, water inflow is low and loss to solar evaporation high, drastically reducing the formation of complete drainage systems . In the extreme case, where there is no discernible drainage system, the basin is described as arheic . Closed water flow areas often lead to the concentration of salts and other minerals in the basin. Minerals leached from

1000-642: The livers of dragons, served at the edge of the Lake of Gems. Every 6000 years the peaches which conferred immortality upon those who ate them would be served (except the time when they were purloined by Monkey King ). Originally a plague deity with tiger teeth and leopard tail, she became a beautiful and well-mannered goddess responsible for guarding the herb of immortality (Christie 1968: 78–79). The immortals, or xian , were Daoist immortals (humans who had metamorphosed into superhuman form). The xian were often seen as temporary residents, who visited by means of flying on

1040-588: The modern river of that name was named for its seasonal weak flow in its lower reaches: the mythological Weak River was named for the inability of the liquid substance constituting it to float any objects. Another difference is that the geographical river rises as the Heishui ( 黑水 , black water ) on the north slopes of the Qilian Mountains, a major river system of northern China , then flowing approximately 630 kilometres (390 mi) from its headwaters on

1080-570: The mythological descriptions. The base of the Kunlun Mountain is said to penetrate as far into the earth, as its above-ground part proceeds towards the sky (Christie1968: 74). As the mythology related to the Kunlun developed, it became influenced by the later introduction of ideas about an axis mundi from the cosmology of India. The Kunlun became identified with (or took on the attributes of) Mount Sumeru . Another historical development in

1120-565: The mythology of Kunlun, (again with Indian influence) was that rather than just being the source of the Yellow River , Kunlun began to be considered to be the source of four major rivers flowing to the four quarters of the compass (Christie 1968:74). Another of the Eight Pillars was Jade Mountain. Various other mythological geography is associated with the Eight Pillars. This includes the four rivers flowing from Kunlun Mountain and

1160-647: The northern Gansu side of the Qilian Mountains , on a spur of the Kunlun range, north-northeast into the endorheic Ejin Basin in the Gobi Desert , forming one of the largest inland deltas or alluvial fans in the world, its drainage basin covering about 78,600 square kilometres (30,300 sq mi) in Gansu and Inner Mongolia : on the other hand, the mythological Ruoshui River circles Kunlun and

1200-483: The poet laments that he is not only irremediably separated from his lord due to earthly rivers which are wide and bridgeless, but that his desire to visit the Hanging Garden of Kunlun is not possible due to his inability to pass the barrier of the "rushing Weak Water". Apparently he was less worthy than Qu Yuan and chose to write a poem lamenting this. The Weak River was often seen as a protective barrier against

1240-464: The profane and unworthy, protecting a Western Paradise. Often this Paradise was presided over by Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of Meng Hao in the West, in later accounts was relocated to a palace protected by golden ramparts, within which immortals ( xian ) feasted on bear paws, monkey lips, and the livers of dragons, served at the edge of the Lake of Gems. Every 6000 years the peaches which conferred immortality upon those who ate them would be served (except

Weak River (mythology) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-599: The surrounding rocks are deposited in the basin, and left behind when the water evaporates. Thus endorheic basins often contain extensive salt pans (also called salt flats, salt lakes, alkali flats , dry lake beds, or playas). These areas tend to be large, flat hardened surfaces and are sometimes used for aviation runways , or land speed record attempts, because of their extensive areas of perfectly level terrain. Both permanent and seasonal endorheic lakes can form in endorheic basins. Some endorheic basins are essentially stable because climate change has reduced precipitation to

1320-591: The time when they were purloined by Monkey King ). However, as a barrier The Weak Water River would be crossed over by those who were worthy, such as immortals ( xian ), humans who had metamorphosed into superhuman form, or those well on the Way to immortality. The xian were often seen as guests who visited by means of flying on the back of a magical crane or dragon. The Wu or shamans were people that practiced divination, prayer, sacrifice, rainmaking, and healing: they in specialized traveling by spirit flight, induced through

1360-535: The tone for other poems of the Chuci , which also allude to this type of mythical geography. Although Qu Yuan is largely credited for the Chuci material, other authors are also known. " Alas That My Lot Was Not Cast " was written by Zhuang Ji also known as Yan Ji in the second century BCE. Also known as "Ai shi ming" this poem is an example of the use of the Weak Water River as an image, where in lines 15-22

1400-464: The two, and as the location of various paradises or wonderland with associated magical people, plants, and animals. The Eight Pillars are a central aspect to Chinese mythology, and also have been used extensively in poetic allusion. Some variations exist, such as only having four pillars. Various mythological geography is associated with the Eight Pillars, including the eight mountain pillars themselves along with surrounding or intervening terrain, such as

1440-506: The usual shamanic means. There is a real, geographical Ruo Sui ( Chinese : 弱水 ; lit. 'weak water' also Etsin Gol or Ruo He or Ejin River). This Ruoshui ("Weak River") is not identical with the mythological Weak River. Are there historical points of tangency? What is the relationship between the two? One major difference between the modern river and the mythological river is that

1480-517: The water drainage flows into permanent and seasonal lakes and swamps that equilibrate through evaporation . Endorheic basins are also called closed basins , terminal basins , and internal drainage systems . Endorheic regions contrast with open lakes (exorheic regions), where surface waters eventually drain into the ocean. In general, water basins with subsurface outflows that lead to the ocean are not considered endorheic; but cryptorheic . Endorheic basins constitute local base levels , defining

1520-495: The water level in the terminal lake to rise until it finds an outlet, breaking the enclosed endorheic hydrological system's geographical barrier and opening it to the surrounding terrain. The Black Sea was likely such a lake, having once been an independent hydrological system before the Mediterranean Sea broke through the terrain separating the two. Lake Bonneville was another such lake, overflowing its basin in

1560-515: Was also in the vicinity. As the mythology of the Weak River and related mythical geography developed, it was influenced by ideas from the cosmology of India related to Mount Sumeru as an axis mundi , together with related cosmological features, such as rivers. Also India was the goal of the Buddhist priest Xuanzang and his companions in the Journey to the West . In the novel Journey to

1600-509: Was presided over by Xiwangmu. The xian were often seen as temporary residents, who visited by means of flying on the back of a magical crane or dragon. Endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( / ˌ ɛ n d oʊ ˈ r iː . ɪ k / EN -doh- REE -ik ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin ) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans ); instead,

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