《山海經》Vol. 16

At the remote northwestern border of the Great Wilderness lies a broken, incomplete mountain called Mount Buzhou. Legend tells of Gong Gong's failed attempt to seize the throne from Zhuan Xu, after which he angrily collided with the mountain, snapping the celestial pillar (the "bearing of guilt" refers to Gong Gong shouldering the blame). Two yellow divine beasts guard this place, near a river known as the "Water of Heat and Cold." To the west lies Damp Mountain, while Veil Mountain stands to the east. Another mountain nearby was where Yu the Great waged war against Gong Gong's tribe (the Qi Shi records describe Gong Gong as a red-haired, snake-bodied deity with a human face).

There exists a state called Shushi, founded by descendants of Zhuan Xu. Ten spirits, said to have transformed from Nuwa's intestines, dwell in the wilderness of Liguan (Nuwa, the ancient serpent-bodied, human-faced creator goddess, was said to undergo seventy transformations in a single day). A deity named Shi Yi governs the northwestern corner, measuring the cycles of the sun and moon by observing the "Wei Wind" (responsible for tracking the variations in solar shadows). Here also resides the mad bird with its five-colored feathered crest (known as the Yuanchu in the Erya).

Near the White People's Kingdom stretch the vast marshes of Longshan. Between the Northwestern Sea and the Red River live the Longjing people, whose legs measure five feet in length. The Western Zhou state (of the Ji clan) subsists on grains, with the most famous among them being Shu Jun, who was plowing the fields—he was the nephew of Hou Ji, descendant of Emperor Jun (also known as Emperor Ku), and the son of Tai Xi, inheriting his ancestors' agricultural techniques. Nearby also dwell the Chiguo Qishi tribe and the Twin Mountains.

At the center of the Western Sea stands Square Mountain, where grows the divine blue-green tree called the "Pine of Jugge" ("Ju" is pronounced like "Ju" in "Juxian"). This is the passageway for the rising and setting of the sun and moon. Across the Western Sea, west of the Red River, lies the Xianmin state, whose people consume grains and command four divine beasts.

In the northern Di tribes, there exists a divine bird. The Yellow Emperor's grandson Shi Jun, whose descendants established the Northern Di Kingdom, is connected to this legend. There stand three mountains: Mangshan, Guishan, and Yaoshan (the latter named for its abundance of cassia and yao trees). Upon these mountains dwells a divine being named Prince Changqin. His lineage traces back thus: Zhuanxu begat Laotong (according to the Shiben, Zhuanxu married Nülü, daughter of Tengfen's clan, who bore Laotong), Laotong begat Zhurong (also known as Chongli, who served as the Fire Official under Gaoxin and was titled Zhurong), and Zhurong in turn fathered Prince Changqin. Residing on Yaoshan, Prince Changqin was the earliest composer of musical harmonies.

This region is home to three types of magnificent five-colored divine birds: the Fenghuang (Phoenix), the Luan (mythical bird), and the Huang (male phoenix). Another peculiar creature resembles a rabbit with smooth, unbroken bluish skin across its chest, giving it an overall simian appearance.

Within the Great Wilderness stands Mount Fengju Yumen, where the sun and moon descend. Nearby rises Mount Lingshan, where ten shamans—Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Xie, and Wu Luo—traverse between heaven and earth, gathering celestial herbs (meaning these shamans ascend and descend the mountain collecting medicinal plants). The area also contains mountains where the Queen Mother of the West resides, along with Mount Haishan and Mount Heshan (all names of peaks within the celestial paradise of Taixu).

There exists the prosperous Land of Womin ("womin" meaning fertile earth), inhabited by the Womin people. They feast on phoenix eggs and drink sweet dew, enjoying every delicacy imaginable. The land abounds with ganhua trees, ganzha trees, white willows, regenerating "sight-meat" (a self-renewing flesh), three-colored steeds, and precious jades like xuangui and yaobi (xuangui being another jade variety mentioned in the Mu Tianzi Zhuan). White langgan trees grow here (pure white trees, while the south has beautifully grained black varieties), alongside mineral deposits of white cinnabar and blue cinnabar (black cinnabar also exists—the Classic of Filial Piety states it appears when a ruler's virtue reaches mountain peaks). Silver and iron ore are plentiful, with luan birds singing freely, phoenixes dancing gracefully, and all beasts living in harmony. Truly, this is an earthly paradise.

In the wilderness of the Land of Plenty (a mythical fertile region), three azure divine birds dwell with crimson heads and black eyes. One is named Dali, another Shaoli—both are messengers of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu, the supreme goddess of Daoism). There also stands the Xuanyuan Terrace (an altar to the Yellow Emperor), where archers dare not draw their bows westward out of reverence for its majesty.

Beyond lies the remote Dragon Mountain, where the sun and moon descend. Three murky waterways called the "Three Mires" serve as the water source for the Kunwu tribe (an ancient clan). A figure clad in blue robes, shielding its face with sleeves, is known as the "Corpse of the Ugly Maiden" (possibly the remains of a shamaness). Further east lies the Land of Women (a legendary all-female realm), along with Peach Mountain, Meng Mountain, Cassia Mountain, and Barren Mountain. Nearby stands the Land of Men (an all-male realm) and Mount Yanzhou.

Upon Mount Yanzhou, a five-colored divine bird sings to the heavens, called the "Crying Bird." Here, hundreds of musical and dance traditions flourish. The people of Xuanyuan Country have human faces and serpentine bodies, dwelling south of the River Mountains in the most auspicious lands (legend says residing near Mount Qiong wards off misfortune). These people live eight hundred years, with the longest-lived enduring millennia.

On a small island in the Western Sea resides a deity with a human face and bird's body, wearing two azure snakes as earrings and treading upon two crimson snakes—named Yanzi.

In the Great Wilderness stands the Mountain of Sun and Moon, the boundary of heaven, where the celestial gate is guarded by Wuju (a heavenly deity), and the sun and moon descend here. A limbless god, with upturned feet growing from its head, is called "Xu" (the sighing deity). Zhuanxu (one of the Five Emperors) fathered Laotong, who in turn bore Zhong and Li (two gods governing heaven and earth). The Heavenly Emperor commanded Zhong to lift the heavens upward and Li to press the earth downward (in ancient times, gods and humans mingled freely until Zhuanxu appointed Zhong as Celestial Minister to oversee deities and Li as Fire Minister to govern mortals, thus separating heaven and earth).

This passage describes the wondrous phenomena recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing) concerning the farthest western regions. At the western extremity lies a place called "Ye," which governs the cyclical movements of the sun, moon, and stars. There resides a deity with backward-facing arms named Tianyu (the crimson-skinned Yu Spirit), as well as a woman bathing the moon—Changxi, wife of the Heavenly Emperor Dijun, who gave birth to the twelve moons. This is said to be the origin of the moon-bathing ritual.

The Mysterious Cinnabar Mountain (Xuandan Shan), known for its black cinnabar deposits, is home to multicolored divine birds with human faces and hair. Other sacred birds like the Azure Bird and Yellow Bird gather here, their presence foretelling the fall of nations. There is also a pool named Mengji, the remnants of a battlefield from the war against Zhuanxu.

In the Great Wilderness stands Mount Ao'aoju, where the sun and moon descend. Here roams a strange beast called Pingpeng, with a head on each side of its body. Near the Witch Mountain (Wushan), Ravine Mountain (Heshan), and Golden Gate Mountain (Jinmen Shan) lies the corpse of the deity Huangji. The area teems with mythical creatures like the two-winged bird (Biyi Niao), white-feathered birds, and the ominous Crimson Celestial Dog (Tian Gou), whose appearance heralds war.

South of the Western Sea, along the shifting sands between the Red River and Black River, towers the divine Mount Kunlun. Its guardian is a deity with a human face and tiger's body, adorned with white stripes, while beneath the mountain flows the Weak Water—so light that even feathers cannot float upon it. Encircling this sacred peak is the Blazing Mountain, capable of incinerating all things (similar to the legendary volcanoes of Southeast Asia, where fireproof cloth is woven from the fur of fire-resistant rats).

In the legends recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Queen Mother of the West (a goddess from ancient mythology) resided in the Kunlun mountain range. She had tiger-like fangs, a tail, and lived in caves. Ancient texts note that she didn't dwell permanently on a single mountain but moved between various peaks in the Kunlun system, including Mount Yu and Mount Yan.

In the Great Wilderness stood Mount Changyang, where the sun and moon descended. The Land of Frigid Wilderness was home to two goddesses named Nü Ji and Nü Qi (who held fish and chopping boards). The Kingdom of Shouma also had notable figures: Nan Yue Quzhou gave birth to Nü Qian, who in turn bore Ji Ge. The descendants of Ji Ge, the Shouma people, possessed extraordinary traits—they cast no shadows when standing and produced no echoes when shouting (indicating their unusual physical constitution). The climate there was unbearably hot, making it uninhabitable for ordinary people.

Even more peculiar was the "Headless Corpse of Yougeng" (a headless creature similar to Xing Tian), which stood holding a spear and shield. Legend tells that when King Tang of Shang attacked the tyrant Jie of Xia at Mount Zhang, he beheaded Yougeng, yet the headless body fled and eventually hid in Mount Wu (in present-day Chongqing).

There was also a man named Wu Hui, whose son Zi Qi was born without a right arm (a "one-armed" person; Wu Hui was the younger brother of Zhu Rong, the Fire God). The Kingdom of Gaishan grew vermilion trees with red bark. In the polar regions lived one-armed people (the Hetu Yuban also records one-legged beings).

Mount Dahuang was another place where the sun and moon set. There lived three-faced people, descendants of Zhuanxu (one of the Five Emperors). Among them was a peculiar figure called "Three Faces, One Arm," who was born missing his right arm.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas records extraordinary sights beyond the southwestern seas. In the desolate lands south of the Red River and west of the Flowing Sands, there existed a race of three-faced people (with three faces on a single head). According to legend, Wang Qing, the Governor of Xuantu, once questioned an elder in the kingdom of Wozu, who also mentioned strange beings with an additional face growing from their necks appearing by the coast—they starved to death due to an inability to communicate.

There was a divine figure named Xia Hou Kai (also known as Xia Qi), who wore two green snakes draped over his ears and rode two dragons. He presented beautiful women to the Heavenly Emperor three times and stole the celestial melodies Nine Variations and Nine Songs from the heavenly court (originally the music of the Heavenly Emperor, which Xia Qi obtained through divination). On the high plateau known as the Fields of Heavenly Mu, rising two thousand ren (an ancient unit of measurement), Xia Qi first performed the Nine Shao dance and music.

The text also describes the kingdom of the merfolk (a land of fish-bodied, human-faced beings), descendants of the Flame Emperor Shennong. Their leader was named Ling Qian (pronounced similarly to "contract"). The descendants of Ling Qian, the Shi people, could freely traverse between heaven and earth (meaning they could ride clouds and mists). There was a strange fish called the "Fish-Wife," half-dried and withered, linked to the cycle of life and death of Emperor Zhuanxu (legend says Zhuanxu died and was reborn as the Fish-Wife). When great winds arose and floods surged, snakes would transform into fish—this was the secret of the Fish-Wife’s rebirth.

Additionally, the text mentions: the Zhu bird (yellow-headed and red-bodied, with six heads and six legs), the Great Wu Mountain rich in metal deposits, and the Changyang Mountain in the remote northwest. These accounts are steeped in mythological imagery, reflecting the ancient imagination of the unknown world.