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.
Contents |
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.
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.
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]
The Shan Hai Jing 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 |
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