100 words of reflections after reading the Western Mountain Classic of Shan Hai Jing

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was written about 4,000 years ago. The original authors were Xia Yu and Boyi.

The whole book is divided into two categories: "The Classic of Mountains" and "The Classic of Seas", with 18 volumes and 31,000 words.

The book contains more than 450 strange and strange beasts with superhuman powers, covering geography, history, plants, animals, minerals, medicine, ghosts and gods, sacrifices to gods, clans and tribes, etc. .

The reason why I like the book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" so much is because the monsters in it are very strange. Some monsters can cure diseases, some monsters will cause natural disasters when they appear, and some monsters have their own names. The cry.

The strangest thing is that the Queen Mother of the West, who has the best impression on me, actually looks like a human, but has the tail of a leopard, the teeth of a tiger, is good at roaring, and has messy hair on her head. It's really incredible.

Among them, there are two kinds of strange animals that I will never forget: the Holuo fish-it lives on a Qiaoming Mountain.

Qiao Shui originates from this mountain.

It has ten bodies but only one head. The sound it makes is like a dog barking. If people eat its meat, carbuncle can be cured.

Transformed into a snake - Yangshui originates from Yangshan in the middle.

There are many transformed snakes in Yangshui. They have faces like humans, bodies like jackals, and a pair of wings like birds, and can crawl like snakes.

The sound it makes is like a human scolding.

Rarely vocal. This animal rarely speaks.

Once pronounced, it will cause a huge flood.

Even if your imagination is enriched, you will still be surprised when you see the scenes and animals described in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

What is displayed in front of you is a magical place full of strange flowers and plants, beasts and monsters: there are many colorful laurel trees and beautiful jade on Zhaoyao Mountain; take a bite of Zhu Yu and take a piece of lost valley with you. , you can embark on a journey without getting lost or hungry; be careful of the vipers and strange snakes on Yishan Mountain, and what kind of Li Li is, but it is not your little pig. It barks like a dog, so don't mess with him.

Many names of mountains, waters and trees that have never been heard before, especially those monsters with strange names, are surprising.

It sounds like a deification, but how could the ancestors record it so vividly? It makes people think of another world.

After reading this book, I felt the long history of China.

Chapter 2: Thoughts after reading "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"

My mother and I have just finished reading the youth edition of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" as a parent-child family. This is an encyclopedia-style book full of fantasy. A classic novel, the exaggeration in some places reminded me of "The Adventures of Puff King", but the style is completely different.

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" tells stories from Nuwa's patching up of the sky, Shennong's Yan Emperor, Jingwei's reclamation of the sea, Xuanyuan's Yellow Emperor, Yi shooting for nine days, Dayu's control of floods, etc. to the establishment of the Xia Dynasty in Qi. Each story is more magical and exciting than the last.

The book also describes the famous mountains and rivers distributed in the east, west, south, north and south, and the strange animals and plants in the famous mountains and rivers, as well as the peculiar customs and customs of many surrounding ancient countries or tribes that were called domestic and overseas at that time.

What impressed me the most was: when the Yellow Emperor became more powerful than the Yan Emperor, the Yan Emperor was defeated, and his subordinate Chiyou wanted to seek revenge from the Yellow Emperor, the Yan Emperor said: "I have been through life and death just to let the people live a good life. Instead of letting the people die in the war." This fully shows that Emperor Yan is a good leader who cares about the people.

What makes me feel strange is: there is a kind of fish in the northern mountains and rivers, which has one head and eight bodies, which is really strange; there is also a kind of bird, which has one head, three eyes and four wings. Three tails, so strange!

What makes me laugh is: There is a fish in the southern mountains and rivers. Its body is like a snake, but its head is like a human. People who eat its flesh can live a long life.

Reading this book gave me a deeper understanding of "Phoenix Nirvana".

The book says that the phoenix is ??an auspicious bird in the southern mountains. After death, a fire will ignite all over the phoenix, and then it will be reborn in the fire and gain stronger vitality than before. This It’s the “Phoenix Nirvana”.

The phoenix will only appear when the world is at peace, and it will only live on the sycamore tree. No wonder people often say in life that "a sycamore tree at home attracts the golden phoenix".

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is a masterpiece of classical literature. It is recommended that everyone read it when you have time, and you will definitely gain something from it.

Chapter 3: Thoughts after reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is a pre-Qin ancient book. It mainly describes ancient geography, products, mythology, witchcraft, religion, etc. , also includes some contents on ancient history, medicine, folk customs, ethnicity, etc., and also records many strange events with the nature of myths and legends. It can be called a unique encyclopedia in ancient my country.

The geographical location of the things recorded in this book is centered on the Central Plains of China and spread out in all directions.

It describes that the five volumes of the "Shan Jing" start from the south, in the order of south, west, north, east, and middle, and finally reach the central part of Kyushu; the eight volumes of the Hai Jing are divided into four overseas classics and four domestic classics. , is also described in the order of south, west, north, east, and middle; the four volumes of the Dahuang Jing are described in the order of east, west, south, and north; the last volume is Hai Nei Jing.

Since "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was written, because many of the contents in the book are so-called "absurd", after thousands of years, the book has not been recorded in official history, nor has it been widely read by scholars. It has been passed down from generation to generation, and therefore has rarely been altered by future generations. To a large extent, it retains the style of the original book and many precious ancient materials and information.

When I wrote "Baimiaozi Mountain Rock Paintings" in 20XX, I read through the original text and the vernacular version of "Shan Hai Jing" several times, and I had some feelings. I will write down the relevant feelings below for the purpose of a superficial understanding. The key to learning is participation. Please ask experts and colleagues to correct me if I feel inappropriate.

1. The long-lasting controversy over "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"

There are still major controversies in the academic community about the author, time and content of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". The Classic of Mountains and Seas is far from being recognized by people.

The title of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was first seen in "Historical Records". Sima Qian said in "Historical Records": "As for all the monsters in "The Chronicles of Yu" and "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", I dare not mention them. "It wasn't until about a hundred years later, when the Han Dynasty became emperor, that Liu Xiang and Liu Xin's father and son were ordered to collate and compile the poems and poems of the classics, and then this book was made public.

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" covers a wide range of topics and its content is very complex. From ancient times to the present, there have been many disagreements as to what kind of book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" should be classified into.

"Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" lists it in the form and method category of numerology. "Suishu·Jingjizhi" and below mostly classify it as a geography book. The Qing Dynasty's "Sikuquanshu General Catalog" "Abstract" called it "the most ancient novel", while Lu Xun regarded it as "the most ancient witchcraft book".

Therefore, after the publication of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", there have been debates surrounding its content, the time of its writing, and the author of it.

According to the "orthodox" statements of Liu Xiang, Liu Xin and his son, and Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the authors of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" were Dayu and Boyi. However, people found in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that what happened in the Great Because of the historical facts after Yu and Boyi, the "Yu and Yi theory" has been questioned.

After that, although Yan Zhitui of the Sui Dynasty insisted on the old theory, when faced with the loopholes in the book, he explained it by saying that "it was not included in this article but by later generations."

Since then, the author of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" has become the subject of research by many scholars, and various hypotheses have come out one after another.

Contemporary scholar Yuan Ke believes that "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is actually the work of an unknown person, and it was not written by one person at one time.

What is intriguing is that some foreign scholars have extended the perspective of the author of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" abroad and made the very surprising conclusion that "The Classic of Mountains and Seas was not written by Chinese people".

And so on.

Mr. He Youqi believes: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas is composed of two parts: The Classic of Mountains and the Classic of Seas. The content is very different, and the style of the text is also very different, indicating that they are independent and parallel to each other. two kinds of books."

"It is believed that "Haijing" comes from "Yu Benji". When Liu Xiang and his son took over the books of the school secretary, they compiled "Shan Jing" and "Yu Benji" together and changed the title to a new one. It is called "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", which is why this book first appeared in "Yi Wen Zhi" and why "Yi Wen Zhi" no longer records "The Classic of Mountains" and "The Book of Yu". Judging from the all-encompassing content of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", we can also look at the time when each chapter of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was written. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was not written by one person in one moment, but should be compiled through collective creation and accumulation.

Although "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was edited by multiple people, its main editors should still be Xia Yu and Boyi. This view has certain historical roots.

It can be said that "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was first edited by Xia Yu and Boyi, and then continued by later generations, and finally became the masterpiece "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

2. Thoughts on the geographical scope described in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Some scholars believe that the geographical location mentioned in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the "Nanshan Classic" starts from the Zhoushan Islands in Zhejiang in the east, reaches western Hunan in the west, and reaches the South China Sea in Guangdong in the south, including today's Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian. , Guangdong, and Hunan provinces; some scholars believe that the "Western Mountain Classic" starts from the mountains and the Yellow River between Shaanxi in the east, starts from the Shaanxi and Gansu Qinling Mountains in the south, reaches the northwest of Yanchi in Ningxia, and reaches the Altyn Mountains in Xinjiang in the northwest; some scholars believe that "The Classic of Western Mountains" The "Beishan Jing" approximately starts from Helan Mountain in the Tengger Desert of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia in the west, reaches the eastern foothills of Taihang Mountain in Hebei Province in the east, and reaches the north of the Yin Mountain in Inner Mongolia in the north; the "Dongshan Jing" approximately covers present-day Shandong and northern Jiangsu and Anhui, and the "Zhongshan Jing" approximately extends from The west of the Central Plains reaches the northwest edge of the Sichuan Basin; some scholars believe that the geographical location mentioned in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is within the scope of certain provinces in China, etc. There are different opinions.

However, from a practical point of view, historian Ling Chunsheng's view may be more realistic, that is: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is centered on the Central Plains of China, extending to the South China Sea Islands in the south, and reaching Southwest Asia in the west. , a "Geographical Chronicle of Ancient Asia" that extends from Siberia in the north to the Pacific in the east and the west. It records the geography, natural history, ethnicity, religion and many other valuable materials of most of ancient Asia.

If you try to limit the geographical scope of the "Book of Mountains and Seas" to a few provinces in China, you may be biased.

3. Understanding of the two nouns used frequently in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"

(1) Four Seas.

In ancient times, it generally referred to the East China Sea, the West China Sea, the South China Sea and the North Sea.

It also generally refers to places within the sea, and also refers to all parts of the country.

"Erya·Shidi" Jiuyi, Badi, Qirong and Liuman are called the Four Seas.

Within the sea is China, and beyond the four seas are the four wildernesses and the four poles.

Jia Yi's "On Guo Qin" "has the meaning of sweeping the world, encompassing the universe, and encompassing the four seas."

"The Battle of Chibi": "Then Jingzhou was defeated, and the world was shocked." "Afang Palace Fu": "After the six kings were finished, the whole world -."

(2) Great wilderness.

Refers to the extremely remote areas beyond the four seas②.

Desolation generally refers to desolate places, but also refers to geographically far, remote places, desolate places, and remote areas.

"Selected Works·Zuo Si ": "It comes from the wilderness and travels beyond the east pole.

Liu Kui notes: "The wilderness means overseas. "Desolation cannot be cured.

"Xunzi · Strengthening the Country": "Therefore, the one who is good at the sun will be king, the one who is good at the time will be domineering, the one who repairs the leakage will be in danger, and the one who is in great desolation will perish. Yang Liang's note: "The great wilderness means that everything is deserted without treatment." "

A correct understanding of the concepts and the categories of these two terms used extensively in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" may avoid having too narrow assumptions about the geographical locations mentioned in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". < /p>

4. The writing of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and the estimation of the time of occurrence of the things described in it

Since the things mentioned in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" are very old, the writing process of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" The time and date are not known in detail by current people.

From a phenomenological analysis, the earliest time of the narrative should be before the Xia Dynasty.

The Xia Dynasty began in the 21st century BC. , has been more than 4,000 years ago. However, judging from the content of many legends recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", some legends may have occurred much earlier than 4,000 years ago, and some events and stories may have been the beginning of mankind's entry into the Neolithic Age. What happened in the past may be legendary stories.

Many of the deeds recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" were not invented at that time, so people could only rely on language and brain to remember things, generation after generation. It is in the period of oral transmission history.

Only after the creation of Chinese characters by Cangjie, the historian of the Yellow Emperor, did we have written history.

The content recorded in "Shan Hai Jing" should include written characters. Some historical facts and legends before the invention.

Chapter 4: Thoughts after reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas

This book is indeed good, because every creature and every different race has a picture. It's still in color.

As soon as I opened this book, I was immediately attracted by the map of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. At that time, the water level seemed to be higher, and a small part of my hometown, Shandong, was actually under water, and every day A kind of magical animal, the mountains and rivers where the plants are located are all connected one after another. After seeing it, I am almost speechless.

The customs of various "countries" and different ethnic groups are well described. For example, it is mentioned in the book that a country with one leg, one eye, one ear, one hand and one foot may be a problem with the clothing of such residents, which always covers one hand and foot, so it is recorded like this.

However, I am a little dissatisfied with the author of this book. If you buy the book, you will know it, because when the author explains some kind of strange monster, if the monster is too beyond common sense, especially nowadays Biological and physical knowledge, they would immediately say: That is a recording error, or a witchcraft activity disguised by people!

I personally think that the Book of Mountains and Seas is too far away, and people’s thinking at that time, Especially for the person who wrote this book, there is really no way to test what his purpose was! We have not personally experienced those years, so we can write a book based only on people’s current understanding of society and nature.

Said: "It should be like that at that time..." It is like using our own thinking to study what others are thinking, but it seems that there will be no results.

"Mountains and Seas". The Classic was written from the Warring States Period to the early Han Dynasty.

Records 40 kingdoms, 550 mountains, 300 waterways, and more than 100 historical figures.

More than 400 mysterious and strange beasts.

It integrates geography, local history, ethnography, folklore, witchcraft and a large number of primitive myths.

In ancient times, most scholars believed that "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was written by Xia Yu and Boyi. Today, this theory seems to be pure nonsense.

Whether it is viewed from its all-encompassing content or from the different dates at which each chapter was written, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" was not written by one person at a time, but was compiled collectively.

Because the content of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is very extensive and cannot be completed by private individuals, even the leadership group of a clan or tribe can only form part of it.

Due to the limitations of geographical and transportation conditions in ancient times, it was impossible for a tribe to understand each situation.

Therefore, it can only be accumulated through oral transmission by wizards, and compiled into books in the later generations of the Great Unification.

The responsibilities of early wizards determined the structure of their cultural knowledge. They knew everything from astronomy, geography, history, religion, biology, medicine, imperial lineage, major technological inventions, etc., so "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" "The content is very mixed.

Most of the mountains, waters, countries, nations, animals, plants, minerals, medicines, etc. recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" are unique, but some are common.

However, whether it is unique or common, it is an aspect of ancient history, geography, and customs.

Therefore, if you want to understand ancient mountains and rivers geography, folk customs, strange beasts and birds, gods and demons, gold and jade treasures, natural minerals, and myths and stories, you must read "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

The well-known myths and legends preserved in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" include Jingwei's reclamation of the sea, Kuafu's pursuit of the sun, Yi's shooting of nine days, Yu Gun's control of floods, and the Japanese workers' anger at Mount Buzhou. , not only reflects the contradiction between man and nature in the form of fantasy, but more importantly, gives people positive encouragement; and those such as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west every day, the monthly waxing and waning of the moon, the changes in cold and heat throughout the year, etc. Descriptions of the natural world were not only written by ancient people to explain natural phenomena, but more importantly, to give people the courage to explore

Part 5: Thoughts after reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas

Possibly Many people first heard of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" through Lu Xun's article - "A Chang and the Classic of Mountains and Seas".

As described in the article, when Lu Xun was young, his eldest mother found a crudely engraved copy of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", which was cherished by his "brother" several times, and he recalled it decades later When I got up, it was still fresh in my mind.

Thinking about it carefully, this "brother" was attracted by some paintings of "nine-headed snakes" and "human-faced horses" at that time. Take this "Book of Mountains and Seas", they are just some strange paintings. Beast? With this doubt, I opened this thick book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Even if your imagination is enriched, you will still be surprised when you see the scenes and animals described in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".

What is displayed in front of you is a magical place full of strange flowers and plants, beasts and monsters: there are many colorful laurel trees and beautiful jade on Zhaoyao Mountain; take a bite of Zhu Yu and take a piece of lost valley with you. , you can embark on a journey without getting lost or hungry; be careful of the vipers and strange snakes on Yishan Mountain, and what kind of power they have, but your little pig barks like a dog, so don’t mess with him.

Many names of mountains, waters and trees that have never been heard before, especially those monsters with strange names, are surprising.

It sounds like a deification, but how could the ancestors record it so vividly? It makes people think of another world.

He can even imitate Brother Xiao Xun and frighten the Hydra or the beautiful snake.

In addition to the vivid and magical natural scenes, people and immortals are indispensable in this world.

But have you ever seen the people from the Chest Country who have holes in their chests and don’t need to sit in a sedan when going out? Two people insert sticks through the holes and lift them away. Have you ever seen a person with three heads? It's a country of women, a country of one eye, a country of long arms, where all the people you can imagine live and reproduce.

The ancestors once again gave me a huge surprise.

While we marveled and feared these horrifying scenes several times, I was also moved by some of the mythical allusions: Kuafu "chased with the sun" and "died of thirst before reaching the road, abandoning "The battle turned into Deng Lin" tells me to persevere; Xingtian "uses the breast as the eye, uses the navel as the mouth, and uses the stems to dance" tells me to be tenacious; Jingwei "often holds the wood and stones from the Western Mountains and digs them into the East China Sea." Tell me to be firm.

There are many heroes and great men in heaven and earth who use their spirits to live a wonderful, meaningful and great life for future generations.

Just like Gun and Yu Bili fought for the safety of the people, people have been imitating their spirit in living and learning for many years.

Perhaps this is what people place their trust in deification, or what deification gives us. In addition to good wishes and splendid civilization, this is more important and needs to be passed down! To this day, people are still trying to understand, explore, and archeology primitive civilization through "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", and it is also the only existing work that preserves the most information on ancient Chinese mythology. Its value, whether in history, geography, religion , medicine, or otherwise, are huge.

And I can only understand its value by turning my amazement at the superficial comments into serious study.