Color Illustration Version 100 Great Masterpieces You Should Read in Your Lifetime

Author: Liu Lin, Yang Liuping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: "The Ancestor of Ancient and Modern Folktales" - Introduction to the Author of the Classic Shan Hai Jing
The authorship and compilation period of the Shan Hai Jing remain controversial. Traditionally, it was believed to have been written by Yu the Great and his assistant Yi, as mentioned in works such as Lunheng, Wuyue Chunqiu, and Liu Xin's Memorial on Mounting the Shan Hai Jing. However, others have questioned this, noting that when Li Daoyuan compiled Shui Jing Zhu during the Northern Wei Dynasty, he observed that the Shan Hai Jing was poorly organized, with fragmented entries that were difficult to piece together. Later additions had distorted the original intent. Yan Zhipu of the Northern Qi Dynasty pointed out the presence of Han Dynasty place names in the text, suggesting they were added after the book burnings of the Qin Dynasty or by Dong Zhuo. With the development of archaeology and textual criticism, the theory of Yu and Yi as the authors has been increasingly rejected by modern scholars. Today, most scholars agree that the Shan Hai Jing is a compilation of several parts, not written by a single author at a single time. However, opinions differ on its specific structure. Some scholars propose that the Shan Hai Jing consists of three main parts: the Shan Jing (Mountain Records), believed to be the earliest and dating back to the Warring States period; the Hai Jing (Sea Records), attributed to the Western Han Dynasty; and the Da Huang Jing (Great Wilderness Records) and Da Huang Hai Nei Jing (Great Wilderness Within the Seas Records), compiled during the Eastern Han and Wei-Jin periods. Other scholars, comparing the Shan Jing with the Yu Gong (Tribute of Yu), concluded that the mountains and rivers described in the Shan Jing align with those of the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, with the text likely dating to the late Warring States period, after the Yu Gong.
Content Summary
The Shan Hai Jing contains a wealth of information, encompassing astronomy, calendar systems, geography, meteorology, zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology, hydrology, archaeology, anthropology, oceanography, and the history of science and technology. It also preserves numerous ancient myths and legends. The modern transmission of the Shan Hai Jing consists of 18 volumes and 39 chapters, divided into four parts: the Wuzang Shan Jing (Five Vast Mountains Records), the Hai Wai Jing (Sea Overseas Records), the Hai Nei Jing (Sea Within Records), and the Da Huang Jing. The Wuzang Shan Jing comprises 5 volumes, including the Nan Shan Jing (Southern Mountain Records), Xi Shan Jing (Western Mountain Records), Bei Shan Jing (Northern Mountain Records), Dong Shan Jing (Eastern Mountain Records), and Zhong Shan Jing (Central Mountain Records), totaling 21,000 characters and accounting for two-thirds of the entire text. The Hai Nei Jing and Hai Wai Jing together span 8 volumes and 4,200 characters. The Da Huang Jing and Da Huang Hai Nei Jing consist of 5 volumes and 5,300 characters.
The Shan Jing organizes its content around the five directions and their associated mountain ranges, detailing ancient history, flora, fauna, mythology, and religion. The Hai Jing, in addition to recording geographical directions, also describes the appearances and customs of people from distant lands. In ancient times, when cultural, technological, and transportation conditions were underdeveloped, such records were particularly valuable.
Volumes 1–5 are divided into 26 sections, describing 447 mountains on the central mainland. Each mountain's description includes its name, its distance from previously mentioned mountains, and information about its flora, fauna, and minerals. The text also evaluates the guardian deities, monsters, and certain myths associated with these mountains or ranges. When a river connects to a mountain, the original text provides detailed accounts of its origins, outlets, flow direction, and the items observed within it. At the end of 24 subsections, the text offers regulations on mountain spirit worship, which are highly important for studying early Chinese religion.
Volumes 6–18 differ in content. Place names are largely unidentifiable, with botanical and zoological descriptions replaced by fictional ethnological accounts. Medical, divinatory, and ritual practices are absent, while mythological records are more abundant. The author portrays the region of the Zhong Shan Jing as the center of the world, surrounded by mountain ranges recorded in the Nan Shan Jing, Xi Shan Jing, Bei Shan Jing, and Dong Shan Jing, which together form the continent. The continent is surrounded by seas, beyond which lie other lands and countries, and even more distant regions—this is the world depicted in the Shan Hai Jing.
Analyzing the Shan Hai Jing by modern administrative divisions, its geographical scope is roughly as follows: the Nan Shan Jing extends from the Zhoushan Archipelago in Zhejiang eastward to western Hunan and southward to the South China Sea, covering present-day Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces. The Xi Shan Jing stretches from the Yellow River between Shanxi and Shaanxi eastward to the northern part of Hebei's Taihang Mountains and northward to the northern part of Inner Mongolia's Yinshan Mountains. The Bei Shan Jing begins in the Helan Mountains of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia's Tengger Desert and extends eastward to the eastern foothills of Hebei's Taihang Mountains and northward to the northern part of Inner Mongolia's Yinshan Mountains. The Dong Shan Jing covers Shandong and the northern parts of Jiangsu and Anhui. The Zhong Shan Jing extends to the northwest edge of the Sichuan Basin.
The Shan Jing organizes its content by mountain ranges—central, southern, western, northern, and eastern—each with detailed geographical knowledge appended. The entire text is structured with directions and distances interwoven in a systematic manner. When describing each mountain range, the text notes its location, elevation, orientation, steepness, shape, valleys, and their sizes, paying attention to the relationships between mountains. Some entries even mention vegetation density and rainfall/snowfall conditions, indicating an early understanding of mountain geography. The text is considered China's earliest mountain geography book.
When describing rivers, the text always specifies their sources and flow directions, also noting tributaries or water systems branching into or from them, including subterranean or hidden flows, as well as records of salt lakes, ponds, and springs.
The most geographically valuable part of the Shan Hai Jing is the Wuzang Shan Jing, which is the most straightforward and normative in both form and content, focusing on the description of mountains and their products. Additionally, the medical and pharmaceutical knowledge recorded in the book is particularly important for studying the origins and evolution of Chinese medicine. According to the scholar Lü Zifang, the Shan Hai Jing lists 137 medicinal substances: 76 animal medicines (19 mammals, 27 birds, 30 fish and turtle species), 54 plant medicines (24 woody plants, 30 herbs), and 7 mineral medicines and others. The text provides clear descriptions of their medical efficacy. Long-term research has confirmed that the Shan Hai Jing is also the world's oldest geological document on mineral deposits, with 226 recorded gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin deposits that can now be verified.
Brief Review
The Shan Hai Jing is a rich and uniquely styled ancient work. It is also one of China's oldest books to record myths. Through mythological narratives, it documents the country's mountains, rivers, mineral resources, flora, and fauna. The book also preserves aspects of ancient social life, making it valuable not only for the study of the history of natural sciences but also for understanding early Chinese society.