What does Shan Hai Jing say?

Shan Hai Jing is an ancient book of China, written by Chu or Bashu people from the middle and late Warring States Period to the early Han Dynasty. It is also a fantastic book. The author of this book is unknown. The ancients thought that this book was "the work of the curious people in the Warring States period, Zhuang Zaji, Biography, Lisao, Zhou Shu and Jincheng". Modern scholars also believe that writing a book is not an instant, and the author is not a person.

There are 18 articles in Shan Hai Jing, and other chapters have long been lost. The original ***22 articles, about 32650 words. * * * There are 5 Tibetan Mountain Classics, 4 overseas Classics, 5 domestic Classics and 4 Wild Classics. There are 13 chapters in Hanshu, not counting the later wild classics and family classics. The contents of Shan Hai Jing are mainly geographical knowledge in folklore, including mountains and rivers, Taoism, nationalities, products, medicines, sacrifices and witch doctors. It has preserved many famous ancient myths, legends and fables, including Kuafu's day by day, Goddess's mending the sky, Jingwei's reclamation and Dayu's harnessing the water.

Shan Hai Jing has extraordinary literature value, which can be used as a reference for studying China's ancient history, geography, culture, Chinese and foreign transportation, folk customs and myths, among which the mineral records are the earliest related documents in the world.

The edition of Shan Hai Jing is complicated, so the earliest edition is the Biography of Shan Hai Jing in Guo Pu. But when it comes to Historical Records, the title of Shan Hai Jing, the earliest bibliography is Hanshu Yiwenzhi. As for the real author of this book, many predecessors thought that it was Yu, Bo Yi, and was collated by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin in the Western Han Dynasty before it was handed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, many people think that the exact date and author of this book cannot be confirmed.

Ancient and modern scholars have different understandings of the content and nature of Shan Hai Jing. For example, Sima Qian bluntly said that its content was too absurd to be used as a reference for making history. For example, Lu Xun thought it was "the book of wizards and alchemists". At present, most scholars believe that Shan Hai Jing is an early and valuable geographical work.