Discoveries of Shen Zhou - Geographical Examination of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Revised Edition)

Author: Fu Yongfa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a comprehensive geographical text. Research shows that the geography recorded in it aligns with the terrain of western Yunnan today, indicating that its geographical descriptions are accurate and reliable. Since the book records actual places, the people and events related to geography in it are naturally trustworthy historical accounts. The Classic of Mountains and Seas focuses on the deeds of great figures from China's dawn period, such as Emperor Yan, Emperor Huang, Yao, and Yu. They lived anded on Kunlun Mountain and were buried there after death. Clearly, they were not fictional mythological figures but real historical individuals. The places where they lived anded marked the significance of ancient China: they lived anded on Kunlun Mountain, which is located in western Yunnan today. It is evident that ancient China was situated in western Yunnan, not in the traditional Yellow River Basin as commonly believed. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is even older than the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan. It is currently the oldest ancient Chinese text that uniquely records the truth of the "Five Emperors" era. Research shows that the history of China's ancient era (the "Five Emperors" era) recorded in the book is accurate and trustworthy. The history of China's ancient era should be narrated based on the records in this book to be correct. Since Sima Qian could not understand the geography and the so-called "monsters" recorded in the book, he did not use the relevant historical materials from it. Instead, he used the Dai Dai Li·Emperor Genealogy, written in the early Western Han Dynasty, and other materials to compile the Records of the Grand Historian·Biographies of the Five Emperors.