Shan Hai Jing (Upper, Middle, Lower)

Author: Guangling Shushe
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-08-01
Features: The Classic of Mountains and Seas is divided into two parts, The Mountain Classics and The Sea Classics, and is widely recognized as a remarkable book of ancient China. The time of its compilation and the author have long been a subject of debate. In the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xin claimed it originated "during the reign of Tang and Yu," attributed to Yu and Yi. Modern scholars generally date its compilation to the early Warring States period, later revised by the Qin and Han dynasties. In the late Western Han, Liu Xin organized and standardized the original thirty-two chapters of The Classic of Mountains and Seas into eighteen chapters, though both versions are now lost. Three hundred years later, Guo Pu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty annotated and commented on The Classic of Mountains and Seas, bringing it back into circulation. The name The Classic of Mountains and Seas first appears in The Records of the Grand Historian under the biography of Daxuan. Whether The Classic of Mountains and Seas should be classified as a book of divination, geography, or something else has long been a topic of scholarly debate. Ban Gu, in The Book of Han, listed it under the category of "Formative Methods in Divination," believing it aimed to "explore the grandeur of the nine provinces and determine their prosperity and misfortune." After the Eastern Han Dynasty, many considered it a practical geographical book, as evidenced by Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han summoning Wang Jing and granting him The Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Book of River and Canal, and Yu Gong Maps (see The Book of the Later Han Dynasty on Wang Jing). The Sui Book, Old Tang Book, and New Tang Book all classified it under "Geography." During the Qing Dynasty, Ji Yun and others compiled The Four Treasuries, listing The Classic of Mountains and Seas under the category of "Fiction—Strange Tales." Meanwhile, Lu Xun, in A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, suggested: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas may have been a book of ancient shamans." Most modern scholars tend to classify it as an ancient geographical work. The Classic of Mountains and Seas contains both illustrations and text. In the Qing Dynasty, Bi Yuan wrote in A Study of the Ancient and Modern Chapters of The Classic of Mountains and Seas: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas had ancient illustrations, those passed down from the Han Dynasty, and illustrations by Zhang Sengyou and others." The ancient illustrations from the Eastern Jin and earlier periods have long been lost, and what we see today are mostly illustrations from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a treasured of ancient Chinese culture, documenting content spanning geography, mythology, religion, folklore, medicine, and shamanism, making it an important source for studying ancient society. This edition by our publishing house has organized and compiled The Classic of Mountains and Seas and included it in the Wenhua Series. During the compilation process, we incorporated the achievements of scholars from past dynasties, such as Bi Yuan's New of The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Hao Yixing's Annotations and Explanations of The Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Wang Fu's Collected The Classic of Mountains and Seas. We also referenced Yuan Ke's contemporary Collation and Translation of The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Additionally, we selected over four hundred and seventy illustrations from various editions. We hope to provide readers with a The Classic of Mountains and Seas that holds value in reading, appreciation, and collection.