《山海经》

《山海经》

《山海经》是一部神话地理志，成书于战国时期至汉代初期，全书现存18篇，其中《山经》5篇、《海经》9篇、《大荒经》4篇。这一古籍以山为纲，详细描述了每座山的地理位置、走向及动植物形态、矿产分布，记叙了河流发源、流向以及主要水系和支流的分布情况。

《山海经》还记录了上古时期人们的生活状况和思想活动，涵盖上古地理、历史、神话、天文、动物、植物、医学、宗教、人类学、民族学、海洋学、科技史等方面内容， 勾勒出了上古时期的文明与文化状态，被视为上古社会生活的百科全书。此外，《山海经》保存了大量的上古神话传说、巫术信仰和种种奇思妙想，如夸父追日、女娲补天、精卫填海、后羿射日、大禹治水、黄帝战蚩尤等故事，寄托了华夏先民奇幻瑰丽的想象，成为后世文学家、艺术家的灵感宝库。

Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas)

Shan Hai Jing, a mythological and geographical text, was compiled from the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.) to the early Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). The extant text consists of 18 chapters, including five on mountains, nine on seas, and four on the wilderness. The book focuses on mountains, and provides detailed descriptions of their location and orientation as well as their flora and fauna and the distribution of minerals. It also documents the sources, flows, and distributions of major water systems and their tributaries.

Shan Hai Jing also records the living conditions and intellectual pursuits of ancient people, covering a wide range of subjects such as geography, history, mythology, astronomy, flora and fauna, medicine, religion, anthropology, ethnology, oceanography, and the history of science and technology. It outlines the civilization and culture of the ancient period and is regarded as an encyclopedia of ancient society. It also contains numerous ancient myths, witchcraft beliefs, and imaginative ideas, such as the stories of Kuafu chasing the sun, Nvwa mending the sky, Jingwei filling the sea, Houyi shooting the suns, Yu controlling the floods, and Huangdi fighting Chiyou. These stories embody the fantastic imagination of the ancient Chinese, and have been a source of inspiration for writers and artists of later periods.