Shan Hai Jing is a book of ancient geography, myths and legends in China, which contains more than 400 myths and legends. These fairy tales involve gods, mountain gods, animal gods, square-horn gods and other aspects, and their contents are extensive and rich.
Most of the fairy tales recorded in Shan Hai Jing occurred in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which reflected the ancients' understanding of natural phenomena and social life. The ancients tried to explain the origin of heaven and earth, the formation of mountains and rivers, the attributes of animals and human ancestors and so on through the fiction of fairy tales.
These fairy tales have enriched the imagination and cultural connotation of ancient prehistoric society in China. Shan Hai Jing, as a mythical ancient geographical work, its value lies not only in reflecting ancient mythological thoughts, but also in its recording of ancient geographical knowledge.
The records of ancient mountains and rivers in Shan Hai Jing provide important reference for later archaeological work and reliable first-hand information for studying ancient geographical distribution. Shan Hai Jing is the earliest extant collection of myths in China, which records fairy stories with important literary and religious significance.
Many famous fairy tales in later generations, such as Goddess of Mending Heaven and Dayu, all originated from Shan Hai Jing. It has a far-reaching influence on the spread and evolution of ancient myths and legends in China, and it is an important work to study the myths of China.
In a word, Shan Hai Jing, as the earliest extant myth masterpiece in China, has the richest information about myths and legends, which is of irreplaceable importance and value for the study of ancient Chinese myths. It is the most concentrated work of China's mythological materials, and it is also an important source of the evolution of later myths and legends.
The chapter composition of Shan Hai Jing;
Shan Hai Jing consists of Shan Jing and Hai Jing. Mountain Classic records the myth of mountains and rivers in northern China, while Sea Classic records the myth and legend of Hailing Island in the southeast coast and south. Mountain Classics is divided into four chapters: Beishan Classics, Xishan Classics, Dongshan Classics and Zhongshan Classics.
Haijing is divided into three chapters: Donghai Jing, Nanhai Jing and Xihai Jing. Donghai Jing mainly describes the myths along the southeast coast, including the Shandong Peninsula and the coastal areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Nanhai Jing records the coastal myths of Guangdong and southern Guangxi. Xihai Jing involves the Xiajiang landscape myth in northern Guangxi, Guizhou and western Sichuan.
Although the Mountain Classic and the Sea Classic are different in chapters, the contents and types of mythological records are roughly the same, and they are all related to mountains, islands and gods everywhere. The book contains a wide range of myths, including gods, mountain gods, land gods, animal gods and so on. This is an important book to study the ancient myths of China.