The Xi Wangmu reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Xi Wangmu

Xi Wangmu (西王母), in Chinese mythology, literally "Queen Mother of the West," is the ruler of the western paradise and goddess of immortality.

Originally she was a ferocious goddess with the teeth of a tiger, who sent plagues down upon the world, but Daoism redeemed her, making her into a benign deity.