Who is the author of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"?

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is an ancient Chinese book about strange things. It was generally written by the people of Chu or Bashu from the middle and late Warring States Period to the early and middle Han Dynasty. It is also an absurd and strange book. The author of the book is unknown. The ancients believed that the book was "written by curious people during the Warring States Period who took the "Biography of King Mu" and miscellaneously recorded "Zhuang", "Lie", "Li Sao", "Book of Zhou" and "Jin Cheng". Modern scholars also believe that the book was not written at one time and the author was not one person.

There are 18 existing chapters in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", and the contents of the remaining chapters have long been lost. The original *** has 22 articles with approximately 32,650 words. ***5 chapters of the Zangshan Sutra, 4 chapters of the Overseas Sutra, 5 chapters of the Overseas Sutra, and 4 chapters of the Great Wilderness Sutra. "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" contains 13 chapters, not counting the late Dahuang Jing and Hai Nei Jing. The content of Shan Hai Jing is mainly geographical knowledge in folklore, including mountains and rivers, roads, ethnic groups, products, medicines, sacrifices, witch doctors, etc. It has preserved many popular ancient myths, legends and fables, including Kuafu chasing the sun, Nuwa patching up the sky, Jingwei reclaiming the sea, and Dayu controlling floods.

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" has extraordinary documentary value. It is a reference for the study of ancient Chinese history, geography, culture, Chinese and foreign transportation, folk customs, mythology, etc. The mineral records in it are the earliest in the world. of relevant literature.

The version of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is complex, and the earliest version it can be seen is the "Biography of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" by Guo Pu of Jin Dynasty. However, the title of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is mentioned in "Historical Records", and the earliest book included in it is "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi". As for its real author, the predecessors believed that it was Yu, Boyi, and Yijian. It was edited and edited by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin of the Western Han Dynasty before it became a handed down book. Now many believe that the specific year and author of the book cannot be confirmed.

As for the nature of the content of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", ancient and modern scholars have different understandings. For example, Sima Qian bluntly said that its content was too absurd and nonsense, so he did not dare to use it as a reference when writing history. For example, Lu Xun believed that "Witches and alchemists were Book".

Most scholars now believe that "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is an early and valuable geographical work