Shan Hai Jing

Shanhaijing illustration of Nüwa

Shanhaijing illustration of Nine-tailed Fox, companion of Xi Wangmu

Shan Hai Jing (simplified Chinese: 山海经; traditional Chinese: 山海經; pinyin: Shānhǎi Jīng; Wade–Giles: Shan Hai Ching; literally "Classic of the Mountains and Seas" or "Collection of the Mountains and Seas") is a Chinese classic text, and a compilation of early geography and myth. Versions of the text have existed since the 4th century BC,^[1][2] and by the early Han Dynasty it had reached its final form.^[2] It is largely a fabled geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of mythology. The book is about 31,000 words long, and is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels.

Authorship

The exact author of the book and the time it was written are still undetermined. It was originally thought that mythical figures such as Yu the Great or Boyi wrote the book. However, the consensus among modern Chinese scholars is that this book was not written at a single time by a single author, but rather by numerous people from the period of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

Its first known editor was Liu Xiang from the Western Han, who was connected to several works on Confucian classics. Later Guo Pu, a scholar from the Western Jin, made a further annotation to it, including a few others.

Overview

The book is not a narrative, as the "plot" involves detailed descriptions of locations in the cardinal directions of the Mountains, Regions Beyond Seas, Regions Within Seas, and Wilderness. The descriptions are usually of medicines, 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. The most famous ancient Chinese myth from this book is that of the ancient Chinese figures, such as Great Yu (大禹), who spent years trying to control the deluge. 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 the Classic of History.

Evaluation

Generally, the book is considered to be a mythological classic. Earlier Chinese scholars referred to it as a bestiary, but apparently assumed it was accurate. In the field of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, one author, Henriette Mertz (1958) proposes that the Shan Hai Jing records ancient Chinese travels in the Americas, and associates the mythical Fusang with Mexico. Aside from this self-published book, the hypothesis had been refuted by sinologists in the early 20th century.^[3]

Contents

The Shanhaijing has 18 chapters (巻). Chapter 4 has 12 subsections (次一), 2 and 4 have four, and chapters 1 and 3 have three.

Chapter	Chinese	Pinyin	Translation
1	南山经	Nanshan jing	Classic of the Mountains: South
2	西山经	Xishan jing	Classic of the Mountains: West
3	北山经	Beishan jing	Classic of the Mountains: North
4	东山经	Dongshan jing	Classic of the Mountains: East
5	中山经	Zhongshan jing	Classic of the Mountains: Central
6	海外南经	Haiwainan jing	Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: South
7	海外西经	Haiwaixi jing	Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: West
8	海外北经	Haiwaibei jing	Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: North
9	海外东经	Haiwaidong jing	Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: East
10	海內南经	Haineinan jing	Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South
11	海內西经	Haineixi jing	Classic of Regions Within the Seas: West
12	海內北经	Haineibei jing	Classic of Regions Within the Seas: North
13	海內东经	Haineidong jing	Classic of Regions Within the Seas: East
14	大荒东经	Dahuangdong jing	Classic of the Great Wilderness: East
15	大荒南经	Dahuangnan jing	Classic of the Great Wilderness: South
16	大荒西经	Dahuangxi jing	Classic of the Great Wilderness: West
17	大荒北经	Dahuangbei jing	Classic of the Great Wilderness: North
18	海內经	Hainei jing	Classic of Regions Within the Seas

See also

• Shi Yi Ji (拾遺记) by Wang Jia - a 4th century work containing "apocryphal" versions of some of Shan Hai Jing stories.

Notes

1. ^ Leo Bagrow, R. and A. Skelton (2009). History of cartography. Transaction Publishers. p. 204. ISBN 1412811546. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Lust, John (1996). Chinese popular prints. Brill Publishers. p. 301. ISBN 9004104720. 
3. ^ Joseph Needham; Ling Wang; Gwei-Djen (1971). Science and civilisation in China: Vol. 4, Physics and physical technology. Pt. 3, Civil engineering and nautics. Cambridge University Press. p. 540-542. ISBN 978-0-521-07060-7. 

Further reading

• Birrell, Anne. 2000. The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044719-9
• Fracasso, Riccardo. 1996. "Libro dei monti e dei mari (Shanhai jing): Cosmografia e mitologia nella Cina Antica." Venice: Marsilio. ISBN 88-317-6472-1
• Mathieu, Remi. 1983. "Etude sur la mythologie et l'ethnologie de la Chine Ancienne." Vol I, "Traduction annotee du Shanhai Jing." Vol. II, "Index du Shanhai jing." Paris: College de France, Institut des hautes etudes Chinoises.
• Mertz, Henriette. 1972 [first published in 1958]. Pale Ink: Two Ancient Records of Chinese Exploration in America. 2nd ed. Swallow Press. ISBN 0-8040-0599-0
• Schiffeler, John Wm. 1978. The Legendary Creatures of the Shan hai ching. Hwa Kang. ASIN B0007AP1OI
• Strassberg, Richard. 2002. A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21844-2

External links

• Original text (Traditional / Simplified)
• The Original Text (in Simplified Chinese)
• Shanhaijing 山海經, ChinaKnowledge