based on a novel by a man chiefly remembered for bad opening lines, Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It is explicitly a work of fiction, but the Theosophists picked it up and incorporated it into their version of the mythology.
BeijingPalmer
related to, but different from, the weird 19th century hollow earth mythology that gave Bovril its name
tweety fish
originally this is all late 19th century/early 20th century mystical Orientalism - specifically theosophy gets very into this whole mythos. Theosophy included some genuinely talented artists and scholars, and isn't particularly racist by the standards of the time.
