Lishan Laomu (Old Mother of Mount Li)

Lishan Laomu—also known as Lishan Laomu or Wuji Laomu (Limitless Old Mother)—is a goddess jointly venerated in both Chinese folk religion and Daoism. The Lishan Laomu Hall in Xi’an has maintained uninterrupted incense offerings since the Tang Dynasty; local tradition holds that the Old Mother once manifested her sacred presence here during her legendary interludes between mending the heavens with molten stone. Within China’s oral narrative traditions, she frequently appears as a white-haired elder woman who enlightens and mentors outstanding heroines: Fan Lihua, Mu Guiying, Liu Jinding, and Bai Suzhen are all reputed to have studied under her, earning her the honorific title 'Teacher of Heroic Women'. Every year on the 13th day of the 6th lunar month—the Old Mother’s birthday—the Lishan Temple Fair draws immense crowds; devotees flock to pray for safety, fertility, and mastery of martial or spiritual arts, and her cult extends widely across Shaanxi, Henan, and Taiwan.