Classic of Mountains and Seas

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is an ancient Chinese text combining geographical descriptions with myths, folklore, and accounts of extraordinary peoples, creatures, and places.

Chinese mythology: A body of traditional Chinese stories about gods, spirits, culture heroes, and the origins of the world. The text preserves many myths and supernatural beings within its descriptions of places.
Classic of Mountains: The portion of the Classic of Mountains and Seas organized around descriptions of mountain ranges and their products. Its linked mountain routes and inventories form a major part of the work's structure.
Liu Xiang: A Han dynasty scholar and librarian who catalogued and edited many texts in the imperial collection. He is traditionally associated with arranging the work's transmitted textual form.
Jingwei: A bird in Chinese mythology that repeatedly carries twigs and stones to fill the sea. The text gives an early account of this tale of persistence and loss.
Classic of Mountains and Seas in art: The adaptation of beings and landscapes from the text in Chinese painting, illustration, and decorative arts. Artists have repeatedly turned its verbal catalogues into images of extraordinary creatures.
Chinese geography: The study and description of China's physical regions, landscapes, and places. Geographical descriptions provide the text's organizing framework, even when they depart from observable terrain.
Classic of the Seas: The portion of the Classic of Mountains and Seas describing regions beyond or around the central lands. Its accounts extend the work's geography toward distant and maritime spaces.
Liu Xin: A Han dynasty scholar and astronomer who continued his father Liu Xiang's bibliographic work. He is also associated with the editorial history through which the text was transmitted.
Kunpeng: A gigantic fish that transforms into a vast bird in the opening of the Zhuangzi. This celebrated creature belongs to the wider mythic world associated with ancient Chinese texts.
Chinese bestiary: A collection or tradition of descriptions and images of animals, including fabulous creatures. The work is a major source for later compilations of China's marvelous beings.

Linked from 6 pages