Such imagery is based upon and expands Western Han (206 BCE–8 CE) prototypes and suggests an important association between these figures and the afterlife that is not discussed in textual sources. Possessing iconographic uniformity in a time of growing regionalism, these images represent immortals as transient figures moving through an intermediate realm where they are often joined by deer, tigers, dragons, birds, heavenly horses (tianma 天馬), and other animals. Immortals (xian 仙) are depicted as feathered sprite-like or dragon- or snake-tailed figures climbing stylized mountains or floating in swirling cloudscapes on tomb reliefs from the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 ce). Yet it continues its important task of maintaining territorial relations indirectly-through rituals at sacred sites. The study further argues that Daoist sacred geography after the Han continues the cosmological ideals of the Shanhai jing but without the original administrative purposes. The cosmological model of the Shanhai jing stands in opposition to that promoted in the Yugong (Tribute of Yu), a text on geography in the Confucian classics. After analyzing the structure, contents, compilation history, and dates of this complex text, I argue that the Shanhai jing originally was intended as a guidebook for administrating resources and territorial relations at the Qin and early Han courts, and followed a specific cosmological model similar to that found in early Daoist texts. This study argues that the later Daoist sacred geography of sacred mountains and grotto-heavens is a continuation and elaboration of the one envisioned in the Shanhai jing. If you enjoy this story, and want more mythology, you can pick up either the Chinese version or the English version of the 《山海经》on Amazon.The Shanhai jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas) is a description of the sacred geography of early China. In this case, 为 means “become” or “into”, so the phrase 化为 mean “transform into”. One note on grammar: this passage uses a less well-known definition of the character 为. One god mentioned in passing here is 炎帝 Yán dì, the Fire Emperor, a semi-mythical figure from ancient history.
There are a few proper names of people and places, which I’ve highlighted in the Chinese text. The version of 《精卫填海》 that we’re going to read today is the modern Chinese translation of the classical Chinese. Because this language can be difficult even for native speakers, classic texts are often translated into modern Chinese. The languageīooks written prior to around 1920 are mostly written in classical Chinese, which is kind of like Shakespearean English. But sometimes it can have a positive meaning: dogged determination in the face of overwhelming odds. In other words, the 精卫 is the Chinese equivalent of Sisyphus from Greek mythology, the king cursed by Zeus to roll a bolder up a hill for all eternity, and “精卫填海” describes a similarly Sisyphean task. Filling up the sea with pebbles is, obviously, a futile, pointless, and never-ending job, which is exactly what this phrase now describes.
This particular passage is the origin story of the famous 精卫 jīng wèi, a mystic bird that spends its time trying to fill up the ocean (填海) with sticks and pebbles.īut 精卫填海 is not just a story from antiquity, it has also become an idiom in modern times.
Shan hai jing english trnaslation manual#
The《山海经》is kind of a zoologist’s manual of magical creatures: it describes where they live, what they look like, what they eat, and sometimes, how they came to exist. This passage comes from the 《山海经》shān hǎi jīng, or The Classic of Mountains and Seas, an ancient compendium of mythological beasts that was formalized during the Han Dynasty – that’s around the same time as the Roman Empire. Today, we’re going to take look at a short text that’s almost 2000 years old.
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