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Classic of Mountains and Seas

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Classic of Mountains and Seas
Scrollable pages from volume five of theClassic of Mountains and Seas,aMing dynasty(1368–1644)woodblock printededition
Traditional ChineseSơn Hải Kinh
Simplified ChineseSơn Hải Kinh
Literal meaning"Classic of Mountains and Seas"
Classic of Mountains and Seasillustration of a nine-headedphoenix(coloredQing dynastyedition)
Classic of Mountains and Seasillustration ofNüwa
Classic of Mountains and Seasillustration ofNine-tailed Fox,companion of theQueen Mother of the West

TheClassic of Mountains and Seas,also known asShanhai jing(Chinese:Sơn Hải Kinh),[1]formerlyromanizedas theShan-hai Ching,[2]is aChinese classic textand a compilation of mythic geography[3][4]and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed since the 4th century BCE,[5][6]but the present form was not reached until the earlyHan dynasty.[6]It is largely afabulousgeographical and cultural account of pre-QinChina as well as a collection ofChinese mythology.[citation needed]The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550mountainsand 300channels.

Authorship[edit]

SinceSima Qian,the debate about the author(s) of the book has been going on for more than two thousand years.

Copies of the book have been found in Japan since the end of the 9th century, and the book had an influence on many of the literary works of the Edo period. Since then, various Japanese editions have been published, and it has also been used as material for many Japanese plays.[7][8]

Definite references[edit]

Yu the GreatandBoyi[edit]

The earliest records of theClassic of Mountains and Seascan be found inSima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian - Biography of Dawan".[9]The author of the book was first clearly identified in "The table of the Classic Mountains and Seas" written byLiu Xiuin theWestern Han dynasty.Liu Xiu believed that theClassic of Mountains and Seaswas written byYu the GreatandBoyi,during theclassical eraaroundXia dynasty.[10]

Wang Chongand Zhao Ye in the EasternHan dynastyalso identified the author asBoyiin their works, and was modified by later generations in the process of spreading.[11]In Zhao Ye'sSpring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue,Guo Pu'sPreface of Classic Mountains and Seas,and Yan Zhitui'sThe Yan Family's instructions,' all of them supported the idea that the book's authors areYu the GreatandBoyi.[12]

However, scholars after theTang dynastyraised doubts about the authenticity of assigning the book's authors asYu the GreatandBoyi.Chen Zhensun'sZhizhai Bibliography,Zhu Xi'sAnnotations on Chu Ci: Dialectical Differentiation of Chu Ci,Hu Yinglin'sShaoshi Mountain Room Pen Clusterand others have acknowledged that it is a book written during the classical era, but it is not written byYu the GreatandBoyi.[13]Many people also believe that the book was written by the descendants according to a map, which is the text description of the map named "Mountains and Seas".[14]

A curious man during the Warring States period[edit]

Zhu Xifrom the SouthernSong dynastyand the scholar fromMing dynastyHu Yinglin believed that the book was written by a curious person during theWarring States period.Hu Yinglin recorded in hisShaoshi Mountain Room Pen Clusterthat the book was by "a curious man in the Warring States period", based on the booksTale of King Mu, Son of HeavenandTian Wen.[13]

Combination of different authors[edit]

On the basis of summarizing the research achievements of the previous dynasties scholars, Bi Yuan of theQing dynastyfurther proposed that different sections of the book were written separately by different authors. He claimed that the "Mountains Classic" was written byYu the GreatandBoyi,the "Overseas Classic" and "Inside Seas Classic" were written by people from theQin dynasty,and the "Great Farmland Classic" was produced when Liu Xiu revised it.[10]

Zou Yan[edit]

Moving to the 20th century, some scholars put forward that the author of the book was Zou Yan in theWarring States period.This theory originated from Liu Shipei, who in his research on "A Study of Zou Yan's Theory on the Plurality of Literature in the Western Han Dynasty" inferred that, according to records inMozi,the bookBiographic of the Great Yuwas a combined version ofRecords of the Grand Historian: Biography of Dawanand theClassic of Mountains and Seas,which supports the idea that the book was written by Zou Yan.[10]

Sui Chaozi[edit]

In addition, some scholars also believe that the author of the book is written by a disciple ofMozi,named Sui Chaozi, during theWarring States period.[15]

Overview[edit]

The book is not a narrative, as the "plot" involves detailed descriptions of locations in the cardinal directions of theMountains,Regions Beyond Seas,Regions Within Seas,andWilderness.The descriptions are usually ofmedicines,animals, and geological features. Many descriptions are very mundane, and an equal number are fanciful or strange. Each chapter follows roughly the same formula, and the whole book is repetitious in this way.

It contains many short myths, and most rarely exceed a paragraph. A famous ancientChinese mythfrom this book is that ofYu the Great,who spent years trying to control thedeluge.The account of him is in the last chapter, chapter 18, in the 2nd to last paragraph (roughly verse 40). This account is a much more fanciful account than the depiction of him in theClassic of History.

Nature[edit]

Literary nature[edit]

Earlier Chinese scholars referred to it as abestiary,but apparently assumed it was accurate.[citation needed]In fact, the information in the book is mythological. It is not known why it was written or how it came to be viewed as an accurate geography book.

Ancient Chinese scholars also called it an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge and a strange work with the most myths that records ancient China's "history, philosophy, mythology, religion, medicine, folklore, and ethnicity", reflecting a wide range of cultural phenomena and also involving "geography, astronomy, meteorology, medicine, animals, plants, minerals..."[16]

Contemporary academia has three main different arguments for the nature of the book:

  1. TheMythTheory represented byYuan Ke.Some academies consider theClassic of Mountains and Seasto be "the only surviving work that preserves the most ancient Chinese mythological materials".
  2. The Novel Theory represented by Li Jianguo. Some agree withComplete Library of the Four Treasuries's classification of theClassic of Mountains and Seas,defining it as a "novel".
  3. A majority of contemporary scholars believe it is primarily a geography book.[17]

Historical nature[edit]

During this period, the contents of the book were considered authentic and reliable. All the mountains, rivers, strange objects and creatures recorded in the book are credible.

Through this period, the book was regarded as a fictional work. Due to people's increasing cognition of the world and the prevalence of novels in the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, the credibility of theClassic of Mountains and Seasgradually decreased. More people started to believe in the Novel Theory.

  • From the Late Qing dynasty to present

During this period, researchers gave the book different orientations according to various research directions and theories. Due to the introduction of Western anthropology, folklore/ etc., many scholars regarded the book as a synthesis of various disciplines, using it as a reference for analysis and summarizations.[18]

Field achievement[edit]

Geography[edit]

  1. TheClassic of Mountains and Seassystematically and comprehensively records the geographical overview of theQin dynastyperiod. It provides future generations with information on the ecological environment and human activities thousands of years ago.
  2. It includes information about ancient lakes, swamps, wetlands, deserts, mountains, and rivers; mineral distribution, plant distribution (recording climate changes), animal distribution, ethnic tribe communication and migration.[19]

Mythology[edit]

  1. The book records seven categories of ancientChinese mythology.
  2. It leaves a reliable textual basis for the mythical world and expresses the cosmology of the ancient Chinese people in the form of metaphors.[20]

Zoology[edit]

  1. The book records alist of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore.
  2. The book records the migration, evolution, and extinction of more than 400 ancient Chinese animals. It describes animals' dynamics and living habits (including their sounds, characteristics, and attributes) for future generations' research and studies.[21]

Medicine[edit]

  1. ForTraditional Chinese medicine,theClassic of Mountains and Seasrecords approximately 110–140 kinds of drugs with medicinal values. It provides evidence for the similarities and differences between ancient and modern diseases, the statistical quantity of animal and plant medicine materials, and the research on plants for both food and medicine.[22]
  2. While introducing the names, forms, origins, and functions of various drugs, the book puts forward a large number of ancient disease names, so that these ancient disease names can be preserved.[23]

Religion[edit]

  1. The book describes and reveals ancient Chinese religious consciousness and ideas. For example, from the descriptions of various strange mountains and rocks, mysterious creatures, and immortal supernatural beings, scholars discover the characteristics, beliefs and attribution ofChinese shamanism.[24]

Notable Mythological Beasts in Shanhaijing[edit]

The mythological creatures first described in Shanhaijing appear in many historical and modern stories and art based on Chinese mythology; for examples, theBa snake,theBi Fang bird,theqiongqi( "thoroughly odd", one of theFour Perils), thetiangou(heavenly dog), thezouyu,etc.

English translations[edit]

Title Publication Date ISBN
The Classic of Mountains and Seasby Anne Birrell (Paperback) January 1, 2001 978-0140447194
A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through the Mountains and Seasby Richard Strassberg June 17, 2002 (Hardcover); November 4, 2008 (Paperback) 978-0520218444(Hardcover);978-0520298514(Paperback)
Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas: A Chinese Classicby Jiankun Sun, Siyu Chen, Howard Goldblatt (Hardcover) June 1, 2021 978-1950691388


See also[edit]

ChineseWikisourcehas original text related to this article:
  • Bai Ze– titular figure of the lost treatise on demonology which has similarities to some of theShanhaijing.
  • Shi Yi Ji(Nhặt của rơi nhớ) byWang Jia– a 4th-century work containing "apocryphal" versions of some of the stories in theClassic of Mountains and Seas.


References[edit]

  1. ^"Shan Hai Jing".Chinese Text Project.
  2. ^Jonathan H. Ping; Brett McCormick (14 December 2015).China's Strategic Priorities.Routledge. pp. 40–.ISBN978-1-134-59229-6.
  3. ^Lewis, Mark Edward (2006).The Flood Myths of Early China.State University of New York. p. 64.ISBN978-0-7914-6663-6.
  4. ^Mark Edward Lewis (2009).China's Cosmopolitan Empire: the Tang dynasty, Vol. 4(illustrated ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 202.ISBN978-0-674-03306-1.RetrievedFebruary 8,2012.
  5. ^Leo Bagrow, R. & A. Skelton (2009).History of cartography.Transaction Publishers.p. 204.ISBN978-1-4128-1154-5.
  6. ^abLust, John (1996).Chinese popular prints.Brill Publishers.p. 301.ISBN90-04-10472-0.
  7. ^Nhật Bản văn học cổ đại từ điển đệ 3 quyển page 632.Nhật Bản văn học cổ đại từ điển biên tập ủy ban(in Japanese). April 1984.
  8. ^"Trung Quốc “Quái thú văn hóa” の nghiên cứu: Hiện đại メディア の trung で tăng thực する dị hình "[Chinese creature culture research - spread to modern media](PDF)(in Japanese).
  9. ^"A Brief Review on the Myths of Yao and Shun: Centering on the Classic Shan Hai Jing - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  10. ^abc"A Review of Discussions on Shan Hai Jing's Writers and the Process of Finishing the Book in the 20th Century - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  11. ^"Bá ích thủy Tần cùng với 《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 nói đến thân luận - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  12. ^"《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 tác giả ứng vì Ba Thục người - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  13. ^abTôn, trí trung (1986)."《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 tác giả cập làm thời đại - CNKI".Quý Châu văn sử bộ sách(1): 78–82.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  14. ^"A Study of the Graphic Relations of the Shanhaijing under the Intertextual Theory - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  15. ^"Classification and Cultural Significance of" Shan Hai Jing "Myth - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  16. ^"Nói chuyện 《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 lịch sử cùng xã hội giá trị - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  17. ^"《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 tính chất định vị nghiên cứu - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  18. ^"《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 cùng nguyên thủy tôn giáo tín ngưỡng sơ thăm - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  19. ^"Thượng cổ văn hóa bách khoa toàn thư —— kỳ ảo quỷ quyệt 《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  20. ^"Nghiên cứu thảo luận và phân tích 《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 thần thoại chủ đề tinh thần - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  21. ^"An Analysis of Animal Images in Shan Hai Jing - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  22. ^"Achievements of Traditional Chinese Medicine in The Classic of Mountains and Rivers - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  23. ^Viên, tư phương (1988)."Thí thuật 《 Sơn Hải Kinh 》 y dược học thành liền - CNKI".Trung y dược học báo(6): 36–38.Retrieved2023-04-30.
  24. ^"On the Religious Feature of the Sutra of the Mountains and the Sea - CNKI".cnki.net.Retrieved2023-04-30.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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