Chinese Classical Text: Shan Hai Jing (山海经)

Shan Hai Jing (山海经) book cover.

     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" or "Canon of 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, and by the early Han Dynasty it had reached its final form. 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. The oldest part of the present book is sometimes referred separately as Wuzang Shanjing (五藏山經).

NineTails Fox(九尾狐) in Shan Hai Jing 

     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.

Xing Tian (刑天）, A general that had been killed.
It belly become his mouth and his chest become his
eyes as he had lost his head.

     The book is not a narrative. 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.


     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.

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