A late night journey to the summit of the mythological Kunlun mountain, in search of jade palaces and the peaches of immortality.
In his second series for The Essay, composer Erland Cooper turns his attention once again to the mythical world. This time, he embarks on five imaginary journeys to mythic mountains from around the world, scored by Erland's own music. Accompanying him are writers and storytellers who know all about these legendary locations.
Tonight, we visit Kunlun mountain from Chinese mythology with author and translator Xueting C. Ni 倪雪婷. It's a terrifying and dangerous journey to the top but also a place of wonder and delight.
Poetry extracts translated by Gopal Sukhu - The Songs of Chu: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poetry by Qu Yuan and others, edited and translated by Gopal Sukhu, Columbia University Press.
Reader - Molly Gromadzki
Violin, Vocal & Piano - Freya Goldmark
Producer: Victoria Ferran
Exec producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 3
