Classic of Mountains and Seas

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, also known as Shanhai jing,[1] formerly romanized as the Shan-hai Ching,[2] is a Chinese classic text and 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 early Han dynasty.[6] It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels.

Classic of Mountains and Seas
Scrollable pages from volume five of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a Ming dynasty (1368–1644) woodblock printed edition
Traditional Chinese山海經
Simplified Chinese山海经
Literal meaning"Classic of Mountains and Seas"
Classic of Mountains and Seas illustration of a nine-headed phoenix (colored Qing dynasty edition)
Classic of Mountains and Seas illustration of Nüwa
Classic of Mountains and Seas illustration of Nine-tailed Fox, companion of the Queen Mother of the West

Authorship

Since Sima Qian, the debate about the author(s) of the book has been going on for more than two thousand years due to the lack of historical evidence. Overall, the opinions put forward by various scholars can be divided into two categories: “Definite reference” and “General reference”. The definite reference identifies the book by the name of authors like Zou Yan and Sui Chaozi. While the general reference identifies the region where the author lived, but not the specific name of the person.

Yu the Great and Boyi

The earliest records of the “Classic of Mountains and Seas” can be found in Sima Qian's “Records of the Grand Historian - Biography of Dawan”.[7] The author of the book was first clearly identified in the “The table of the Classic Mountains and Seas” written by Liu Xiu in the Western Han dynasty. Liu Xiu believed that the “Classic of Mountains and Seas” was written by Yu the Great and Boyi, during the classical era around Xia dynasty.[8]

Wang Chong and Zhao Ye in the Eastern Han dynasty also identified the author as Boyi in their works, and was modified by later generations in the process of spreading.[9] In Zhao Ye's "Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue," Guo Pu’s "Preface of Classic Mountains and Seas," and Yan Zhitui’s "The Yan Family's instructions," all of them had support the idea that the book’s authors are Yu the Great and Boyi.[10]

However, scholars after the Tang dynasty raised doubts about the authenticity of the book’s author as Yu the Great and Boyi. Chen Zhensun's "Zhizhai Bibliography", Zhu Xi's "Annotations on Chu Ci: Dialectical Differentiation of Chu Ci", Hu Yinglin's “Shaoshi Mountain Room Pen Cluster” and others have acknowledged that it is a book written during the classical era, but it is not written by Yu the Great and Boyi.[11] 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”.[12]

A curious man during the Warring States period

Zhu Xi from the Southern Song dynasty and the scholar from Ming dynasty Hu Yinglin believed that the book it was written by a curious people during the Warring States period. Hu Yinglin recorded in his “Shaoshi Mountain Room Pen Cluster” that the book was by "a curious man in the Warring States period", base on the book "Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven" and "Tian Wen".[11]

Combination of different authors

On the basis of summarizing the research achievements of the previous dynasties scholars, Bi Yuan of the Qing dynasty further proposed that different sections of the book was written separately by different authors. He claim that "Mountains Classic" is written by Yu the Great and Boyi. "Overseas Classic" and "Inside Seas Classic" are written by people from the Qin dynasty. While "Great Farmland Classic" was produced when Liu Xiu revised it.[8]

Zou Yan

Moving to the 20th century, some scholars put forward that the author of the book was Zou Yan in the Warring States period. This theory was 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 in "Mozi (book)", he advocated that "Biographic of the Great Yu" was a combined version of the book "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of Dawan" and "The Classic Mountains and Seas", which support the idea that the book was written by Zou Yan.[8]

Sui Chaozi

In addition, some scholars also believe that the author of the book is written by a disciple of Mozi, named Sui Chaozi during the in the Warring States period.[13]

General references

In the general references,  the academic discussion focuses on the author's contention between the North and South.

Northern people's theories

The two main theories among the "Northern people's theories”, are the “Qin people's creation theory” and the “Luoyang people's creation theory”.

Scholar Gu Jiegang mentioned in "Yugong Full Text Annotation" that the author of "Yugong" and the author a section in the book, "Mountains Classic" should came from the same country, probably the State of Qin.[14]

While Chinese scholar Zheng Dekun and the Japanese scholar Otaji Ogawa believe that the "Mountains Classic" sections of the book mainly describes the geographic landscapes in the Zhongyuan area, which leads to the idea that the author are people from Luoyang located in this region.[15]

Southern people's theories

The two main theories among the "Southern people's theories”, are the “Ba and Shu people's creation theory” and the “Chu people's creation theory”.

Scholar Lv Zifang and Meng Wentong are the representatives of the “Ba and Shu people's creation theory”. Lv Zifang provides evidence in the book that contains records from Ba and Shu to put forward the idea of this theory. Meng Wentong believed that the ""Inside Seas Classic" section of the book were works from the ancient Shu state, and the "Mountains Classic" secion were the works of the people of Chu who had influenced the Ba–Shu culture.[10]

Representative of the “Chu people's creation theory”,  scholar Yuan Ke believe that the legends written in the book are closely related to Qu Yuan's poem "Li Sao", "Tian Weng", etc.. And the use of language and dialogue in the book are in the same conventions as Chu people’s language convention.[16]

In addition to the Northern and Southern people theories, some scholars also put forward a compromise perspectives. They believe that the book was not only processed by the northern people, but also experienced editions and modifications of the Southern people in the spreading process.[8]

Foreign writers

Scholar Xiao Bing wrote that the book's structure was ambiguous, with loose sections, disorderly sentence patterns, and scattered rhymes. It lacked clear and unified ideas, conception, and language style like the familiar classical writers in China. Therefore, he pointed out that the book contained a large amount of information from both the South and the North and could not be created by either Northerners or Southerners.[13]

The French scholar Ma Bole, in his research "Western influences on China before the Han Dynasty," believes that the geographical description in the book was stimulated by culture from Indian and Iranian civilization in the fifth century BC, just as Babylon and India inspired the astronomy of the Chinese occupation. Scholar Wei Juxian believed that the "Southern Mountain Classic" and "Eastern Mountain Classic" sections in the book were written by Americans, and the "Northern Mountain Classic," "Western Mountain Classic," and "Central Mountain Classic" were written by Chinese people.[17] While scholar Su Xuelin concluded that the book was written by the ancient Babylonia.[18]

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. A famous ancient Chinese myth from this book is that of Yu the Great, 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.

Nature

Literature Nature

Earlier Chinese scholars referred to it as a bestiary, 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..."[19]

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

  1. The Myth Theory represented by Yuan Ke. Some academies consider the Classic of Mountains and Seas to be “the only surviving work that preserves the most ancient Chinese mythological materials”.
  2. the Novel Theory represented by Li Jianguo. Some agree with Siku Quanshu's classification of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, defining it as a “novel”.
  3. A majority of contemporary scholars primarily believe it is a geography book.[20]

Historical Nature

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 the Classic of Mountains and Seas gradually 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 and etc., many scholars regarded the book as a synthesis of various disciplines, using it as a reference for analysis and summarizations.[21]

Field Achievement

Geography
  1. The Classic of Mountains and Seas systematically and comprehensively records the geographical overview of the Qin dynasty period. 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.[22]

Mythology
  1. The book records seven categories of ancient Chinese 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.[23]

Zoology
  1. The book records a List 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.[24]

Medicine
  1. For Traditional Chinese medicine, the Classic of Mountains and Seas records 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.[25]
  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.[26]

Religion
  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 of Chinese shamanism.[27]

English Translations
Title Publication Date ISBN
The Classic of Mountains and Seas by Anne Birrell (Paperback) January 1, 2001 978-0140447194
A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through the Mountains and Seas by 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 Classic by Jiankun Sun, Siyu Chen, Howard Goldblatt (Hardcover) June 1, 2021 978-1950691388

See also
Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • Bai Ze – titular figure of the lost treatise on demonology which has similarities to some of the Shanhaijing.
  • Shi Yi Ji (拾遺记) by Wang Jia – a 4th-century work containing "apocryphal" versions of some of the stories in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

References
  1. "Shan Hai Jing". Chinese Text Project.
  2. Jonathan H. Ping; Brett McCormick (14 December 2015). China's Strategic Priorities. Routledge. pp. 40–. ISBN 978-1-134-59229-6.
  3. Lewis, Mark Edward (2006). The Flood Myths of Early China. State University of New York. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7914-6663-6.
  4. Mark Edward Lewis (2009). China's Cosmopolitan Empire: the Tang dynasty, Vol. 4 (illustrated ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-674-03306-1. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  5. Leo Bagrow, R. & A. Skelton (2009). History of cartography. Transaction Publishers. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-4128-1154-5.
  6. Lust, John (1996). Chinese popular prints. Brill Publishers. p. 301. ISBN 90-04-10472-0.
  7. "A Brief Review on the Myths of Yao and Shun:Centering on the Classic Shan Hai Jing - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  8. "A Review of Discussions on Shan Hai Jing's Writers and the Process of Finishing the Book in the 20th Century - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  9. "伯益始秦与其著《山海经》之说申论 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  10. "《山海经》作者应为巴蜀人 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  11. "《山海经》的作者及著作时代 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  12. "A Study of the Graphic Relations of the Shanhaijing under the Intertextual Theory - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  13. "Classification and Cultural Significance of "Shan Hai Jing" Myth - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  14. "The Study on the Evolution of Myth in the Pre-Qin Bases on Shan Hai Ching and the Chuang Tzu - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  15. "A Study of "Graphic Stories of the Overseas" - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  16. "The Study on the Origin of the Magical Bird Image in Classic of Mountains and Seas - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  17. "理解中国古代海洋活动的新维度：卫聚贤的环太平洋文化接触研究 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  18. "苏雪林早期屈赋研究 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  19. "谈谈《山海经》的历史和社会价值 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  20. "《山海经》性质定位研究 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  21. "《山海经》与原始宗教信仰初探 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  22. "上古文化的百科全书——奇幻诡谲的《山海经》 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  23. "探析《山海经》神话的主题精神 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  24. "An Analysis of Animal Images in Shan Hai Jing - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  25. "Achievements of Traditional Chinese Medicine in The Classic of Mountains and Rivers - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  26. "试述《山海经》的医药学成就 - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  27. "On the Religious Feature of the Sutra of the Mountains and the Sea - CNKI". www.cnki.net. Retrieved 2023-04-30.

Further reading
  • Birrell, Anne, ed. (1999). The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Translated by Anne Birrell (illustrated ed.). Penguin. ISBN 0140447199. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  • Davydov, Andrey (July 2013) [Composed 2002]. "Шань Хай Цзин" и "И Цзин" - Карта Психофизиологической Структуры Человека? ["Shan Hai Jing" and "I Ching" - Map of Human Psychophysiological Structure?] (in Russian). ISBN 9781301510009.
  • Fedoruk, V. V.; Davydov, A. N. (1998) [Composed 1997]. L. A. Verbitskaya [in Russian]; B. G. Sokolova (eds.). U-M Library Search Шань Хай Цзин - Своеобразный Каталог Психо-Физической Структуры Человека? [Is Shan Hai Jing The Original Catalog Of Psychophysiological Human Structure?]. First Russian Philosophical Convention. Human Being – Philosophy – Humanism (in Russian). Vol. VII. Philosophy and Human Problem. St. Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State University Publishing House. pp. 355, 488. ISBN 9785288018947. B4231.R6751997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014. Alt URL
  • 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.
  • 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
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