【推荐1】In the South China Sea, there is a group of Jiaoren. Their tears become pearls (珍珠）after they fall. To the north of Kunlun Mountains, there is a monster (怪物）called Xiang Liu, which has nine heads with human faces but the body of a snake. These magic characters are from the ancient book Shan Hai Jing.

Shan Hai Jing, also known as The Classic of Mountains and Seas, is said to be at least 2, 200 years old. It is about culture and geography of China before the Qin Dynasty. The book has eighteen parts, talking about more than 550 mountains and 300 seas.

A famous story in the book is about Zhu Rong, the god of fire. He has a beast-like (野兽般的）body and a human face, riding around the sky on two dragons. He had a big fight with Gong Gong, the god of water, and won. But after the fight, the human world came into complete darkness. Then he brought fire to the world and taught humans how to use it.

Although it’s not clear who wrote it, Shan Hai Jing is an important ancient book and it is considered as one of the treasures of Chinese culture. People of all ages love the stories in the book. There are also many films, games and artworks made from it.

【推荐2】China has a long history, and many stories are hidden in ancient books, such as Shan Hai Jing, or Classic of Mountains and Seas. It is a fantastic geographical and cultural record of the pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology (神话).

It was once thought that mythical characters such as Yu the Great or Boyi wrote the book. However, the general agreement among modern scholars (学者) is that the book was not written at a single time by a single writer, but rather by many people from the period of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han dynasty. The exact writer of the book and the time it was written are still uncertain.

There is nothing more attractive in Shan Hai Jing than the mysterious monsters described in it. Here are some examples. On the mountain Raiseshake, there is an animal which looks like a long-tailed ape, but it has white ears. It crouches as it moves along and it runs like a human. Its name is the live-lively. If you eat it, you’ll be a good runner. There is another kind of wild animal in Mount Qingqiu. It looks like a fox but has nine tails. Its cry is similar to that of a baby. If you eat its meat, you will not be harmed by bad spirits. Also there is a bird in Mount Base. It looks like a chicken, but it has three heads, six eyes, six feet, and three wings. Its name is the esteem-add. If you eat it, you won’t keep falling asleep. These monsters give readers a look at the ancients’ understanding and imagination of some unknown things.

As a record of ancient Chinese mythology, Shan Hai Jing is undoubtedly attractive. It is an encyclopedia (百科全书) that can show ancient social life.