The Origin of Shan Hai Jing
Shan Hai Jing is an ancient book by China, which records the strange stories in ancient times. Generally, it was written by Chu or Bashu people from the middle and late Warring States to the early Hanzhong.
It is also an absurd book. There are different opinions about the author of this book. The ancients thought this book was "the successful work of curious people who took biographies of Zhuang, biographies of Li Sao, Zhou Shu and Jincheng during the Warring States Period". 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 the rest chapters have been lost. Legend has it that the original * * * has 22 articles with about 32,650 words.
Including 5 Tibetan classics, 4 overseas classics, 5 domestic classics and 4 wild classics.
There were only 13 copies of Shan Hai Jing in the history of the Han Dynasty, not counting the later wild classics and family classics.
The Content and Significance of Shan Hai Jing
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 and fables, including Kuafu's daily reclamation, Jingwei reclamation and Dayu flood control.
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 Shan Hai Jing Zhuan by Guo Pu in Jin Dynasty. 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". Most scholars believe that Shan Hai Jing is an early and valuable geographical work.