Chapter 642 Classic of Mountains and Seas 2

The Classic of Mountains and Seas also has an account of human geography. The "Classic of the Sea" contains a large number of descriptions of the social and cultural customs, economic development, and scientific and technological achievements of some regions at that time. There are many stories about the development of the territory by the ancestors, such as the "Overseas Northern Classic" mentions that "the minister of the Gonggong is called Xiang Liu's family, nine heads, to eat in the nine mountains." Where the willows arrive, it is Zexi. Yu kills the willow, its blood, can not tree grains (species). Yu Juzhi, three thousand and three frustrated, is thought to be the platform of the emperors. In the north of Kunlun, the east of Rouli. The willow is the one with nine human faces, and the snake body is green. Don't dare to 'shoot' in the north, afraid of the platform of co-workers. Taiwan is in the east, Taiwan is in all directions, there is a snake in the corner, the tiger is 'color', and the first rush to the south. ”

In fact, whether it is Xu Yang or most people, when they think of the Book of Mountains and Seas, they will immediately think of the Shenzeng fairy birds inside. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the earliest mythological books in China. And it is also a fairly comprehensive book, many mythical beasts in later generations, demon beasts are from this "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Perhaps the most important value of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" lies in the fact that it preserves a large number of myths and legends, which are not very familiar to people in addition to those that we are all familiar with, such as Kuafu's day-to-day, 'Jing' Wei reclamation, Yi's 'shooting' for nine days, and Kun Yu's control of water. For example, in the "Overseas North Classic": "The minister of the co-workers said that the Liu family, nine songs, to eat in the nine mountains." Where the willows arrive, it is Zexi. Yu kills the willow, its blood, can not be planted with grains. Yu Juzhi, three thousand and three frustrated, is thought to be the platform of the emperors. In the north of Kunlun, the east of Rouli. The willow is the one with nine human faces, and the snake body is green. Don't dare to 'shoot' in the north, afraid of the platform of co-workers. The stage is to the east. Taiwan Quartet, there is a snake in the corner, the tiger 'color', the first to rush to the south. "The legend of Yu killing Xiangliu is full of magical 'color' color, which can be studied from the perspective of literature or mythology, and can also be seen from the relationship between Gonggong, Xiangliu and Yu, which shows the struggle between ancient ethnic tribes.

As a mythological document, the Classic of Mountains and Seas has at least three values: first, it records the seven categories of ancient Chinese myths to varying degrees, second, it leaves a reliable textual basis for the mythological world space, and third, it preserves a large number of original objects that condense primitive cultural information, which contains potential mythological value. For the classification of Chinese mythology, it is not appropriate to adopt the classification principles of Western mythology based on the human consciousness and the growth process of the 'spirit' gods it embodies, but should take the main content of the myths, the basic 'spirit' gods, the internal structure and the important characteristics formed therefrom as the main basis. The Classic of Mountains and Seas has few records of myths that trace the origin of things (creation myths, tribal origin myths, cultural origin myths, etc.), while there are more records of hero myths and tribal war myths, which to a certain extent reflect the basic characteristics of Chinese history and culture and the value orientation of cultural 'spirits'.

These myths and legends that exist in large numbers in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are rare materials for our study of primitive religion today. For example: Wu Xianguo is in the 'female' Choubei, the right hand '' the green snake, and the left hand '' the red snake. In Dengbao Mountain, the witches are also from up and down. There is Lingshan, Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, Wu Luo Ten Witches rise and fall from here, and hundreds of 'medicines' are there. (The Great Wilderness of the West)

In the mythology of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, you can see not only the activities of shamans, but also the beliefs and worship of ancient peoples. In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are a large number of records of magical animals, these animals are mainly birds, beasts, dragons, snakes and the like, they often have magical powers. It is likely that these animals were the totem worship of the ancients. As quoted above, the text in the Overseas Western Longitude. "Wu Xianguo is in the 'female' Choubei, '' the green snake with his right hand and '' the red snake with his left hand. "The snake may be the totem of the country of Wuxian. For the study of religious beliefs in ancient China, the Classic of Mountains and Seas is an indispensable reference material.

The myths and legends in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are not only myths and legends, but at the same time, to a certain extent, they are history. Although their true 'nature' is greatly reduced due to the strong mythological 'color', they have left a shadow of history after all. Comparing several similar pieces of material can sometimes reveal the true face of history. For example, the record of the Yellow Emperor's battle against Chiyou in the "Great Wilderness North Classic" cited above, excluding its mythological "color", we can see a cruel war between ancient tribes, but it is extremely absurd, and it is difficult to see the truth or falsehood. Another example is the genealogy of the Yellow Emperor recorded in the "Great Wilderness West Classic" and "The Sea Classic": the Yellow Emperor's wife and ancestor, born Changyi. Changyi descends like water, giving birth to the Korean wave. The Korean Wave is the head, the ear, the human face, the beak, the body, the canal stock, the dolphin, and the Nao Zi is called a 'woman', and the emperor is born. ("The Book of the Sea") is born of old children, and old children are born of heavy Naili. The emperor ordered the re-dedication to heaven and ordered Li Qiong (Yin) to go to the ground. It is to go down to the earth, and it is at the west pole, so as to walk the sun, moon and stars. This pedigree has the legendary 'color' color and the 'sexual' nature of the divine genealogy, but it is basically the same as the "Great Dai Li Ji - Imperial Lineage", "Historical Records: Five Emperors Benji", and Huangfu Mi's "Imperial Century".

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is also a history of science and technology, which not only records the creations and inventions of ancient scientists, but also their scientific practice activities, and also reflects the scientific ideas at that time and the level of science and technology that has been reached. For example, regarding agricultural production, the "Great Wilderness Sea Neijing" contains: "Houji is the beginning of sowing a hundred grains", "Shujun is the beginning of cattle farming". "The Great Wilderness North Classic" contains: "Shu Jun is Tian Zu. Regarding the handicraft industry, "The Great Wilderness Sea Neijing" contains: "Righteousness is the beginning of ingenuity, and it is the beginning of the people's ingenuity." Regarding astronomy and calendars, "The Great Wilderness Sea Neijing" contains: "Choking Ming is twelve years old. "The Great Wilderness of the West" contains: "The emperor ordered to re-dedicate to the heavens and ordered Li Qiong to go to the ground. The lower earth is at the west pole, and the sun, moon and stars are the second. The list goes on and on. There are some records of natural phenomena that are particularly precious, which cannot be seen in other books, such as the "Overseas Northern Classic": "The god of Zhongshan is called the candle 'Yin'. It is regarded as day, twilight is night, blowing is winter, exhaling is summer, not drinking, not eating, not resting, and breathing is wind. Thousands of miles long. In the east of the non-{upper and lower month}. It is a thing, a human face, a snake body, red 'color', and lives at the foot of Zhong Mountain. ”

There are also records of the scientific and technological achievements of the ancestors in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". The Classic of Mountains and Seas records a large number of scientific and technological production achievements of thousands of agricultural cultures in China's pre-Qin era. It also records agricultural production: "Between the black waters in the southwest, there is a wide field. Houji is buried, and there are anointed rice, anointed rice, anointed millet, and anointed grass, and a hundred grains are self-generated, and the piano is sown in winter and summer. The bird sings and dances. Lingshou is fruitful, and the grass and trees gather. "From these primitive farming cultures, we can see the level of scientific and technological production of people at that time and the results of scientific and technological production. In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are many records about water conservancy, the manufacture of vehicles and boats, the use of ploughing cattle, the production of music and dance, and the game of throwing pots.

The literary value of the Classic of Mountains and Seas is rich and diverse, and it can be explored from many aspects. At the very least, the literary value of the Classic of Mountains and Seas can be interpreted and explored from the perspectives of the influence of mythological thinking (i.e., primitive thinking) on the literary creation tradition of 'Lang' comics, the expression of primitive logic, the rich emotional experience in humanistic care, and the aesthetic judgment of pragmatism. The Classic of Mountains and Seas contains a wealth of mythological thinking, which has a huge and far-reaching impact on the literary creation tradition of 'Lang' comics. The in-depth study of mythological thinking and the revelation of this influence are not only conducive to exploring the deep-seated influencing factors of the formation of the literary creation tradition of 'wave' comics from the source, but also to 'clarify' the laws of the formation and development of various literary phenomena.

The title of the book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was first seen in Sima Qian's "Historical Records: The Biography of Dawan": "To Yu Benji, all the monsters of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yu dare not speak." This shows that Sima Qian read the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". Before Sima Qian, the title of the Classic of Mountains and Seas should have existed long ago, and even earlier, although there was no title of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the literature of the Classic of Mountains and Seas should have existed for a long time.

Some scholars speculate that Qin Shi Huang, Lü Buwei and his 'door' guest, Qu Yuan should have read the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". The reason is that Qin Shi Huang's belief in seeking immortals abroad was due to his trust in ancient classics, and the latter two, because Lü's 'Spring' and Autumn contains many contents of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Tianwen contains a large number of the same content as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Qu Yuan's other articles also have the same descriptions as the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Zhuang Zhou may have read the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", because of the rich imagination in "Zhuangzi", it should benefit from the "absurd" content of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". Lao Dan should have read and sorted out the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", because he had been the director of the National Library of the Zhou Dynasty for a long time, he was fully qualified to read all kinds of classics and documents collected by the National Library of the Zhou Dynasty, which should include the geographical documents of the Zhou Dynasty and the previous dynasties. It should be pointed out that the Chinese's investigation of the distribution of mountains and rivers and tribes certainly did not start with the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". In fact, the knowledge, observation, and documentation of the natural and human environment can be traced back to the early days of human society.

The above is the situation of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" before Sima Qian, and after that, the evolution of the version of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is basically documented. Among them, the version of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" edited by Liu Xiu (Liu Xin) in the late Western Han Dynasty can no longer be seen directly. The earliest version of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that can be seen now is the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" of the Jin Dynasty scholar Guo Pu, which has the engravings of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, and is also the earliest version of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that can be seen and confirmed so far (2013), it includes 5 articles of the "Classic of Mountains" and 13 articles of the "Book of the Sea", the age of each volume of the work is inconclusive, of which 14 volumes are works of the Warring States Period, 4 volumes are works of the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, and there are engraved copies of the Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. Most scholars believe that Guo Pu's "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" should be the version co-edited by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin (i.e., Liu Xiu) in the Han Dynasty, based on the fact that the frontispiece of Guo Ben's "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" has an article on Liu Xiu's "The Table of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", and Liu Xiu clearly said that he presented 18 volumes of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", but the ancient books he dedicated have not survived for a long time, and the content has not been examined.

Guo Pu, a scholar in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, sorted out the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and made a "fine" and detailed annotation, which was of great help to understand the original text of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". The existing "Classic of Mountains and Seas" are all derived from Guo Pu's annotations, and if there is no annotation by Guo Pu, this precious ancient book may be lost in the long river of history. Moreover, Guo Pu's version of the "Commentary on the Classic of Mountains and Seas" is annotated, praised, and illustrated, but the original picture of Guo Ben has long been lost, and the more important version, the "Commentary on the Classic of Mountains and Seas" by Yuan Ke, the attached "illustration" of 150 pictures, most of them are the drawings of Wu Renchen's "Classic of Mountains and Seas" book, and most of the other versions of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" with drawings are also the drawings of the Ming and Qing scholars' "Classic of Mountains and Seas" version (the ancient drawings attached to the earlier versions of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" before the Ming and Qing dynasties have also been lost, and the drawings of the Classic of Mountains and Seas that are known now are all single' illustrations, without geographical orientation).

Later, according to Yuan Ke's Proofreading of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the more important editions of the Classic of Mountains and Seas and their research monographs include the Supplement to the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Yang Shen) and the Interpretation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (with pictures, Wang Chongqing) written by scholars of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the Annotations on the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Wu Renchen), the Preservation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (with pictures, Wang Fu), the New Correction of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Bi Yuan), the Notes on the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Hao Yixing), and the Geography of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Wu Chengzhi).

In the first 80 years of the 20th century, due to various reasons such as the change of dynasties, wars, Japanese fascist invasion of China, and political movements, no monograph on the study of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" was published in Chinese mainland. According to the statistics of Zhang Butian's book "Introduction to the Classic of Mountains and Seas", since the 80s of the 20th century, China has published monographs on the study of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", such as Yuan Ke's "Proofreading of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Proofreading of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Complete Translation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", Xu Xianzhi's "Exploring the Origin of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Notes on the Classic of Mountains and Seas", Yu Quanzhong's "The New World of Chinese Ancient Culture: The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Overseas Classics", Fu Yongfa's "The Discovery of Shenzhou: A Geographical Examination of the Classics of Mountains and Seas", "The Mystery of the Classics of Mountains and Seas" by Gong 'Yu'hai', and "The Mystery of the Classics of Mountains and Seas" by Wang Hongqi and Sun Xiaoqin. The newly painted Divine Atlas of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (with "Notes on the Classic of Mountains and Seas"), Ma Changyi's "Illustrated Illustration of the Ancient Classic of Mountains and Seas" (updated edition after 2007), Zhang Butian's "Introduction to the Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Interpretation of the Classic of Mountains and Seas". In addition, Wang Shancai is the editor-in-chief of the book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas and Chinese Culture", and has published a collection of papers in five academic seminars on the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", such as the first national "sexual" academic seminar on the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" (Chengdu, 1983) published the book "New Exploration of the Classic of Mountains and Seas" (the author's paper "The Classic of Mountains and Seas Commentary (Selection)" is also included). It should be added that Ding Zhenzong (Malaysia)'s "Cracking the X-Files of Ancient China in the Classic of Mountains and Seas".

This is all that has appeared in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" so far, but the mountains and seas in Xu Yang's hands are indeed different from what is recorded in these history books. This set of silk silk is likely to be the set of "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that Sima Qian had borrowed from the historical records!

As for what other secrets there are in this strange set of silk silks, the next chapter will be revealed...