The Classic of Mountains and Rivers

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is an ancient Chinese text about mythic geography and monsters. It is one of the founding books about Chinese mythology and it is said to be dated before Qin China, the first dynasty of Imperial China which spanned between 221 and 206 b.C., but the version currently available comes from around the early Han dynasty, which means somewhere between 202 b.C. and 220.

The book is divided into eighteen sections and, when it comes to geography, it describes over 500 mountains and over 300 waterways. It also contains an incredible account of creatures and monsters, so much that it is usually described as a bestiary, even if the main declared focus is in fact geography: it contains the description of around 277 different animals and creatures, vastly exaggerated.

1. 南山經 Nánshān Jīng – Classic of the Mountains: South
2. 西山經 Xīshān Jīng – Classic of the Mountains: West
3. 北山經 Běishān Jīng – Classic of the Mountains: North
4. 東山經 Dōngshān Jīng – Classic of the Mountains: East
5. 中山經 Zhōngshān Jīng – Classic of the Mountains: Central
6. 海外南經 Hǎiwàinán Jīng – Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: South
7. 海外西經 Hǎiwàixī Jīng – Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: West
8. 海外北經 Hǎiwàiběi Jīng – Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: North
9. 海外東經 Hǎiwàidōng Jīng – Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas: East
10. 海內南經 Hǎinèinán Jīng – Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South
11. 海內西經 Hǎinèixī Jīng – Classic of Regions Within the Seas: West
12. 海內北經 Hǎinèiběi Jīng – Classic of Regions Within the Seas: North
13. 海內東經 Hǎinèidōng Jīng – Classic of Regions Within the Seas: East
14. 大荒東經 Dàhuāngdōng Jīng – Classic of the Great Wilderness: East
15. 大荒南經 Dàhuāngnán Jīng – Classic of the Great Wilderness: South
16. 大荒西經 Dàhuāngxī Jīng – Classic of the Great Wilderness: West
17. 大荒北經 Dàhuāngběi Jīng – Classic of the Great Wilderness: North
18. 海內經 Hǎinèi Jīng – Classic of Regions Within the Seas

The accounts are usually written by what were defined as Fangshi, “technical specialists” that are variously translated with words that span from alchemist, astrologer, exorcist, doctor, magician, monk, necromancer, physician, and wizard. Which is quite amusing in itself.

The original book can be purchased in different translations and different editions, like this one.

The reason I’m talking to you about this, it’s that I recently got a beautiful illustrated book illustrated by Shan Ze.

This book is the inspiration of the illustrator Shan Ze gained from his reading of Shan Hai Jing. After consulting a great many books such as Huai Nanzi and The Dictionary of Chinese Gods And Monsters, the author spent three years conceiving and painting hundreds of fine pictures of beasts and monsters, turning the old and obscure words into fine pictures with concise original text and interpretation, visualizing the ancient Chinese legend of monsters with imagination.

A couple of illustrations can be found here, although I can’t really figure out what the blog is about and I can’t guarantee that all illustrations are in fact from this artist.

The book is huge and incredible (and all in Chinese, so I have to read it through the lens of the cell phone, which makes it rather slow): it has birds with flowing tails and incredible claws, beautiful dragons and hybrids resembling centaurs. The book can also be seen here, with some additional pictures.