Fantastic Creatures

of the Mountains and Seas

Illustrated by Chen Siyu

Annotated by Sun Jiankun

Tsinghua University Press

November 2015

128.00 （CNY）

Brief introduction：

The gorgeously illustrated contemporary edition of an ancient Chinese text – Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas is a new translation for contemporary readers of a classic Chinese text that is at once the geography of an ancient world， a bestiary of mythical creatures， and a book of cultural and medicinal lore. Illustrated throughout with more than 180 two-color drawings that are so sinuous they move on the page， it is a work for lovers of fantasy and mythology， ancient knowledge， fabulous beasts， and inspired art.

The beings cataloged within these pages come from the regions of the known world， from the mountains and seas， the Great Wastelands， and the Lands within the Seas that became China. They include spirits and deities and all sorts of strange creatures – dragons and phoenixes， hybrid beasts， some with human features， some hideous or with a call like wood splitting， or that portend drought or flood or bounty，" as well as others whose flesh cures disease or fends off nightmares， or whose pelt guarantees many progeny.

Drawn from the Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas， the book is the work of two members of China’s millennial generation， a young scholar and writer once known as the youngest “genius of Chinese cultural studies” and an inspired illustrator trained in China and the United States， who together have managed to communicate with the soul of a 4，000-year-old beast and brought forth its strange beauty. Their work has been rendered into English by the foremost translator of modern Chinese literature in the West.

Chen Siyu

She graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing with bachelor’s and master’s degrees， then studied illustration at School of Visual Arts in New York City， where she received her second master’s degree. She lives in Germany with her husband and two children. Currently， she works as a freelance illustrator and writer of picture books. Her illustration work has been selected for the American Illustration Archive.

Sun Jiankun

Once known as the youngest “genius of Chinese cultural studies”， he is now a graduate student of the Institute of History， Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. He excels in research on The Classic of Mountains and Seas （Shanhaijing） and was the first-prize winner of Fudan University’s Boya Cup national essay competition for his essay on The Classic of Mountains and Seas. He lives in Shanghai.

Nine-tailed Fox

There is a beast that looks like a fox but has nine tails. Its sound is like that of a human baby， and it is a man-eating animal; people who eat its flesh will become insusceptible to the temptation of various evil spirits.

The legendary nine-tailed fox lives deep in the Qingqiu Mountain， three hundred li （2 li = 1 kilometer） away from the Ji Mountain to the east. It looks like a fox with nine tails and its sounds resemble a human baby’s cry. But this kind of beast is man-eating. If people were to eat its flesh， they would be able to get rid of all kinds of evil spirits， just like Taoists who are protected by the mysterious talismans they carry. According to a local ballad， those who are lucky enough to see a nine-tailed white fox will eventually become a ruler. It is said that Da Yu fulfilled this prophecy and became emperor after he saw a nine-tailed white fox on Tu Mountain at the age of 30. The image of the nine-tailed fox appeared on the bronze wares of the Western Zhou Dynasty， and later appeared at the side of Xi Wang Mu （the Queen Mother of the West） along with a toad， a three legged crow， and other animals. From being a monster to becoming an auspicious sign， perhaps the fox finally became an immortal eventually and resided in the mythical Kunlun Mountain.

Phoenix

There is a bird that looks like a chicken with colorful feathers covered with patterns. It is called the fenghuang. The pattern on its head is said to be the character for virtue， with righteousness depicted on the wing， etiquette on the back， benevolence on the chest and honest on the belly. It is a bird that hunts in the wild and can sing and dance. If it appears， it will bring peace to the world.

The Fenghuang （also known as phoenix） is said to be the leader of 360 bird tribes. It looks like a golden pheasant with colorful feathers. Its head is green， symbolizing one of the five elements， wood; its neck is white， symbolizing metal; its back is red， symbolizing fire; its chest is black， symbolizing water; and its feet are yellow， symbolizing earth. Moreover， there are patterns on these feathers. The pattern on the top of its head resembles “virtue”， on the wing is “righteousness”， on the back is “etiquette”， on the chest is “benevolence”， and on the belly is “honesty”. Its body carries the four virtues of benevolence， righteousness， etiquette， and honesty. As soon as such an auspicious bird appears， it is said that the world will become peaceful.

Xi Wang Mu

Xi Wang Mu resides in a place called the Yu Mountain， 350 li to the West. She looks like a human being but with a leopard’s tail and a tiger’s teeth， and is good at howling. She decorates her wild and untamed hair with jade headdresses and takes charge of the stars of Li and Wucan.

Xi Wang Mu lives in the Yu Mountain， which is 1320 li away from the Kunlun Mountains to the West. However， this Xi Wang Mu is not a beautiful woman. Instead， she looks like a human being but with a leopard’s tail and a tiger’s teeth. Her howl is just like a beast’s. Her hair is wild and untamed， decorated with jade headdresses. She takes charge of calamities and the death penalty in the human world， which are linked to the Li and Wucan respectively， the two ominous stars in heaven. This Xi Wang Mu is not only ugly and a beast-like creature， but also is inauspicious because of taking charge of plagues and the death penalty. If King Mu of Zhou saw Xi Wang Mu with this appearance， perhaps the two would not have written poems for each other and fallen in love， leaving no romantic affairs for later generations.