What is the Classic of Mountains and Seas? China's Oldest Book of Myths

The Shanhaijing (山海经) is China's oldest and most comprehensive bestiary. Its title means the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It catalogs 550 mountains, 300 rivers, and over 200 mythical beasts. The author is unknown, though tradition attributes it to Yu the Great. It was likely compiled over centuries by multiple hands. The creatures within are not just dragons and phoenixes. There is the Zouwu, a rainbow-colored creature that appears in lands of benevolence. The Feiwei, a six-legged, four-winged serpent that heralds drought. The Feng, a boar-shaped beast that embodies greed. Every page is a window into how ancient China understood the natural world and the supernatural forces within it. The Shanhaijing is not a storybook. It is a geography, a zoology, and a cosmology rolled into one — always asking what lies beyond the next mountain. At MythRealms, every piece is an homage to this text.