山海經

Transliteration: Shanhai jing

Author

Unknown

Language

Classical Chinese

Year

c. 4th-1st century BC

Country

China

Genre

Nonfiction Book (Treatise, History, Biography, or Book-Length Essay)

east asiazhou dynastymythology

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The Classic of Mountains and Seas, also known as Shanhai jing, formerly romanized as the Shan-hai Ching, is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text trace back to the 4th century BCE, but the present form was not reached until the early Han dynasty. The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels. It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology.