#Classic of mountains and seas

[anagatajavanese]

Mythology creatures in the Classic of Mountains and Seas

My first original illustration book about mythology creatures recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (and was forced to be published cause the fan con event was being held soon and I have to participate in selling my merchs there🗿) I shall call this "my first edition☠️" I only got 15 from more than 200 mythology creatures recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, a legacy of ancient chinese book and an exciting mystery, because there s no clear answer about its origin and the author, still debated and have been going on for thousands of years until now.

In short, the first authorship of The Classic of Mountains and Seas was traditionally ascribed to the figure Yu the Great, who was known as the founder of the first Dynasty in China, the Xia Dynasty, alongside with Bo Yi one of his ministers (YES AROUND 2070 BC🗿)

As an illustrator and writter this book, I believe that The Classic of Mountains and Seas is collection of documents from various unknown authors from century by century. Anne Birrell is the one famous translators of several ancient documents that were found, and I used her book entitled "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" as relevant research and reference for making this book. This contains a compilation of ancient Chinese mythical geography and mythological creatures and also discusses natural resources, culture, religion, folklore legends and includes content on ancient history, medicine and customs of various ethnic groups. I only focus on mythological creatures.

My goal is to research and illustrate 100 mythology creatures recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (more is better, wish I could achiev it by the time) and I m not always draw about this, I also follow the currently trends what young people likes, anything even though I dont know it I try being open to draw it🗿

Free to access and read my book (there s also my broken english translations in every description of the creatures)

[briefbestiary]

Beware, for despite its fairly harmless appearance at first glance, the sighting of the beast known as juru can only mean that war is on the horizon.

[journeytothewestresearch]

Yu the Great and Sun Wukong's Staff

This is my answer to the following reddit question:

Did the Ruyi Jingu Bang, as a tool used by Da Yu, exist before the novel?

Monkey's golden-hoop iron staff can be traced to the khakkhara and iron rod respectively used by his precursor in the 13th-century JTTW. The story doesn't mention anything about Yu the Great. The demi-god's connection to the staff is, as far as I know, unique to the standard 1592 edition of JTTW.

This association probably came about in a couple of ways. For example, there is a Chinese graphic similarity (and possible totemic connection) between Yu and a specific kind of monkey:

The generic Chinese primate names have identical pronunciations or spellings to those of the earliest Chinese emperors. For instance, the character 猱 (Nao) is considered as the ancestral name of the royal family of Shang dynasty (商朝 ca. 1600–1050 BCE) (Cao, 1997; Wang, 2001). This word is used to denote a primate species that is good at climbing. Similarly, the character 禺 (Yu) represents a long-tailed monkey. This word is the same as the character 禹 (Yu), a legendary emperor well known for his brilliance in regulating floodwater (Huang, 2011). This association between primates and the earliest emperors indicates a possible totemic status for primates (Niu, Ang, Xiao, et al., 2002, p. 91).

(The aforementioned Yu (禺) monkey was apparently well-known, for it is referenced several times in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing, 山海經, c. 4th-century to 1st-century BCE), a popular Chinese bestiary, in order to indicate the shape and size of certain primate-like animals (Strassberg, 2002, pp. 83, 84, 91, 99, 104, 122, 123).)

Also, Yu is known for imprisoning Wuzhiqi (無支奇 / 巫支祇), a monkey flood demon, beneath a mountain in Tang and Song-era folklore. This likely influenced Sun Wukong's punishment under Five Elements Mountain.

Therefore, all of this probably led to the author-compiler of the 1592 JTTW associating Monkey's staff with Yu the Great and his efforts to end the world flood.

Sources:

Niu, K., Ang, A., Xiao, Z. et al. (2002). Is Yuan in China’s Three Gorges a Gibbon or a Langur? International Journal of Primatology, 43, 822–866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-022-00302-1

Strassberg, R. (2002). A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. University of California Press.

[the-random-sentence-library]

"So in the end, God issued a command allowing Yü to spread out the self replacing soil so as to quell the floods in the Nine Provinces."

Quote randomly selected from page 81 of Anne Birrell's nonfiction book Chinese Mythology: An Introduction

Additional notes: This quote is in and of itself part of a block quote whose citation is given as (Shan Hai Ching, Hai nei ching, SPPY 18.8b-9a). Shan Hai Ching is also romanized as Shanhai jing and translates to Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Quote was selected at random from a book chosen at random from my local library.

[sitstanddesk]

We are dedicated to the promotion of Chinese mythology in the Shanhaijing（The Classic of Mountains and Seas）. We are looking for cultural and creative products about the Shanhaijing for everyone. You can also contact us (shanhai@shanhai.store)for a personalized order.

[thewritehag]

Tarot deck based on #1 Ancient Myth Masterpiece Book, via @Kickstarter

I'm a sucker for mythology based tarot decks. The archetypal iconography of tarot is a perfect format for learning about a culture's folklore. This specific deck is dedicated to the

Classic of Mountains and Seas

(Informational Wikipedia link ^^^)

A sprawling text from Chinese mythology. The kickstarter campaign details has greater information.

The art is also so rich and beautiful. The inspiration for which is a specific figure from the story. The artist explains it very well:

I hope it gets fully funded. It's a story and I love stories.

[ruibaozha]

Do you know of a downloadable pdf of The Classic of Mountains and Seas?

Hello!

Yes absolutely. My friend @the-monkey-ruler has kept a reliable archive of these kinds of media where you don’t need to pay to access them.

I have a different PDF called A CHINESE BESTIARY Strange Creature’s from the GUIDEWAYS THROUGH MOUNTAINS AND SEAS that I can’t attach to this answer. If you are comfortable and interested in this other version, please reach out directly and I can arrange sending the full pdf to you.

Here is a nine headed phoenix from a Qing edition

Nine tailed fox, companion of the Queen Mother of the West

[classic-art-favourites]

Sunset over Yalta by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1861.

[downfalldestiny]

Beautiful Oran 🌊🇩🇿 !.

[anagatajavanese]

Bifang | The Classic of Mountains and Seas

My 11th illustration of 山海经(Classic of Mountains and Seas) - 毕方(Bìfāng) It looks like a crane, with one foot, red patterns, green body and white beak, often associated with fire and seen as an omen of inexplicable fires. The legend once said that the appearance of Bifang will indicate a strange fire, some other source said that the appearance of Bifang foreshadows a big fire. Bifang's name comes from the crackling sound made when bamboo and wood burn. It is the god of fire and wood, and lives in trees.

[briefbestiary]

A meat-devouring beast upon the mountain. Tulou are just one of several legendary beasts described to live upon one of the legendary mountains of Chinese myth and legend.

[bieborwanyis]

myth: the disappearing god of swallowing mountains and rivers

「岁在乙巳 天下大吉」

painted for year of snake.

[christiangeistdorfer]

PETER COLLINS at the 1957 MODENA GRAND PRIX

[dicebound]

Day 13 - Evocative Environments Honestly, I have to say Dungeon Crawl Classics is really good at this. Of the few adventures I've read or played in, each one had a unique and memorable seres of locales that made me want to come back. Our playthrough of its most famous one-shot, Sailors on the Starless Sea, still lives rent free in my head - in part because of the stellar environments within. It is also very well supported in the one-shot and campaigns department, with an absolutely massive library to pick from. I'm particular excited to give their Chained Coffin series a try, as the applachian inspired Shudder Mountain setting therein is just everything I want in a fantasy weird western.

[dual-domination]

@fixaidea Apparently I can write a fanfic out of a summary and a compulsion for Chinese mythology.

Your ask answer is already at 4k and I still have more to add there. It's been fun.

[charring58]

#theClassicofMountainsandSeas, also known as Shanhai jing (Chinese: #山海经),[1] formerly romanized as the #ShanhaiChing,[2] is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography[3][4] and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed since the 4th