Shan Hai Jing
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The Shan Hai Jing (Chinese: 山海經/山海经; pinyin: Shānhǎi Jīng; Wade-Giles: Shan Hai Ching; literally "Classic of the Mountains and Seas") is a Chinese classic text that is at least 2,000 years old. It is largely a 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.
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[edit] Authorship
The exact author of the book and the time it was written at is 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.
[edit] 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 extremely repetitious in this way.
It does 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, 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. In Anne Birrells translation, Nüwa is not present in a flood story, but another account of her is very briefly touched on in chapter 16.
[edit] Evaluation
Generally, the book is considered 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 (1972) daringly proposes that the Shanhai jing records ancient Chinese travels in the Americas, and associates the mythical Fusang with Mexico.
[edit] 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 | 南山經 | Nanshan jing | Classic of the Mountains: South |
| 2 | 西山經 | Xishan jing | Classic of the Mountains: West |
| 3 | 北山經 | Beishan jing | Classic of the Mountains: North |
| 4 | 東山經 | Dongshan jing | Classic of the Mountains: East |
| 5 | 中山經 | Zhongshan jing | Classic of the Mountains: Central |
| 6 | 海外南經 | Haiwainan jing | Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: South |
| 7 | 海外西經 | Haiwaixi jing | Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: West |
| 8 | 海外北經 | Haiwaibei jing | Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: North |
| 9 | 海外東經 | Haiwaidong jing | Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: East |
| 10 | 海內南經 | Haineinan jing | Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South |
| 11 | 海內西經 | Haineixi jing | Classic of Regions Within the Seas: West |
| 12 | 海內北經 | Haineibei jing | Classic of Regions Within the Seas: North |
| 13 | 海內東經 | Haineidong jing | Classic of Regions Within the Seas: East |
| 14 | 大荒東經 | Dahuangdong jing | Classic of the Great Wilderness: East |
| 15 | 大荒南經 | Dahuangnan jing | Classic of the Great Wilderness: South |
| 16 | 大荒西經 | Dahuangxi jing | Classic of the Great Wilderness: West |
| 17 | 大荒北經 | Dahuangbei jing | Classic of the Great Wilderness: North |
| 18 | 海內經 | Hainei jing | Classic of Regions Within the Seas |
[edit] References
- Birrell, Anne. 2000. The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044719-9
- Mertz, Henriette. 1972. 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
[edit] External links
- The Original Text (in Chinese)
- Shanhaijing 山海經, ChinaKnowledge
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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
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Topics in Chinese mythology
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| General topics: | Creation myth · Astrology · Dragons · Religion in China · Folk religion ·List of deities · I Ching |
| Important beings: | Deities · Three August Ones and Five Emperors · Eight Immortals |
| Mythical creatures: | List of mythical creatures |
| Mythical places: | Xuanpu · Yaochi · Fusang · Queqiao · Penglai · Longmen · Diyu |
| Literary sources: | Shan Hai Jing · Shui Jing Zhu · Ten Brothers · Hei'an Zhuan · Fengshen Yanyi Journey to the West · Baishe Zhuan · Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio |
