In the eyes of many people, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is not only an ancient book describing ancient legends, but also an absurd and strange book. There are a total of 18 volumes of its hand-me-down editions, including 5 volumes of the Book of Mountains and 13 volumes of the Book of the Sea, with about 31,000 words. The book records about 40 Fang countries, 550 mountains, 300 waterways, more than 100 historical figures, and more than 450 gods.
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Among China's vast historical classics, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is a work of unique value. It can be said to be the earliest "encyclopedia" in China, and it is also a great work that records the geography and origin of civilization of the Chinese nation. But its obscurity is prohibitive for many. Today, CEIBS has invited the French sinologist Rémi MATHIEU to tell us about this strange book. Hemi Matthew was the first translator to translate the Classic of Mountains and Seas into French, and his translation is the only French version today.
Heimi Mathieu says that the book brings together a wide variety of knowledge and reflects the ancient Chinese view of the real and imagined world, and it is this complexity that makes it a unique book. Since the Yiwen Zhi of the Book of Han, all books have been placed in a specific category defined by historians of the imperial court. However, this is not the case with the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", and it is difficult or even impossible to classify according to the book taxonomy, because each section, almost every paragraph, belongs to a different category. Attempts to limit it to a genre of works have always ended in failure, because it is impossible to define what is indefinable: The Classic of Mountains and Seas is one such unique literary genre.
By Hemy Matthew
Source: imagepphcloud.thepaper.cn
The first outstanding feature of the Classic of Mountains and Seas is that it provides us with a holistic overview of the geographical and cartographic knowledge of China and its neighbors, and it can be said that the science of geography was born in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which contains all kinds of descriptive, naming information about food, medicine, and sacrifices, with all kinds of provisions, in this sense, the information provided by the Classic of Mountains and Seas is unique in this period of Chinese history.
By Hemy Matthew
Source: img3.jiemian.com
Although there are now few of these original narratives left, those that still exist provide us with valuable lessons that shed light on the way Chinese thought about the world at the time, and shed light on the origins of the world. This is the second outstanding feature of the Classic of Mountains and Seas: it allows us to learn about many stories that have not been recorded and preserved in Confucian orthodox literature. The main difference between the Classic of Mountains and Seas and other works that may fall into this category is that the former places the narration of these stories on the earth (and sometimes the sky as well), while the latter describes them as historical events. While China has always tried to historicize myths, the stories here are "spatialized" because they are associated with places or groups of places that belong to a country or a world region.
By Hemy Matthew
Source: img.cyol.com
Source: p1.itc.cn
The third merit of the Classic of Mountains and Seas is that it provides the inhabitants with a comprehensive overview of the offerings and offerings made to the gods. On this point, it can almost be called "religious geography". It provides us with a rational display of the geography of a non-Chinese ethnic group. We can say that this work opens up for the first time a form of ethnography (i.e., a reflection on the social organization of different ethnic groups and considered groups of people, and it is difficult to talk about "ethnology" at this time in the history of Chinese thought). This is another merit of the work, which gives us the opportunity to get to know those peculiar peoples who inhabit the periphery of Chinese territory.
By Hemy Matthew
The four goddesses of the Book of Mountains and Seas
Source: doudehui.com
Source: p9.itc.cn
本期主讲人黑米.马修先生像个宝藏,是法国汉学界一颗内敛又闪亮的明珠,翻开其履历,自1973年获汉语博士,1979年获文学博士后,其一生都任职于法国国家科学研究中心 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)。
The keynote speaker of this issue is Mr. Heimi Matthew
Since 1979, when he annotated and translated his first book "The Biography of Mu Tianzi", he has been writing for 40 years:
In 1983, he published two volumes, "Research on Ancient Chinese Mythology and Ethnography": "The Classic of Mountains and Seas",
In 1985, he compiled the first volume of the Chinese Language: Words of the Princes
In 1989, he compiled "Anthology of Ancient Chinese Myths and Legends",
In 1992, he co-authored with Charles Le Blanc "Myth and Philosophy in Early Imperial China": A Study of Huainanzi
1992 Translation of "In Search of the Soul of Ganbo"
In 2000, he published Demons and Miracles in Chinese Literature during the Six Dynasties: Fantasy and Anecdotes from Gan Bao's Sou Shen Ji
2003年与Charles Le Blanc合著《道家哲学家 II》:《淮南子》(刘安)
In 2004, he translated and published Chu Ci: "Chu Ci" belongs to Qu Yuan, Song Yu and other ancient Chinese poets, 4th century BC - 2nd century AD
In 2006, Confucius was published
In 2007, he co-edited with Charles Le Blanc in A Critical Study of Chinese Mythology
2008 compilation of Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching, a new translation, based on the latest archaeological discoveries (three complete versions: Wang Bi, Ma Wangdui, Guo Dian)
2009 "Confucian Philosopher" by Charles Le Blanc (Confucius, Mencius, Mencius, Zeng Tzu Kazuzi)
In 2012, he published "Liezi"
In 2012, he published "The Light of Peony": How to Understand China
In 2013, he published "Xunzi": "The Theory of Heaven"
In 2015, he edited the bilingual version, "Encyclopedia of China"
In 2015, he edited the Anthology of Chinese Poetry
In 2021, he compiled the Confucian Documents of the Pre-Qin Dynasty of Guodian (c. 4th century BC)
In 2022, he published "Taoist Philosophers I" (Laozi, Liezi, Zhuangzi, etc.)
A French sinologist has devoted his life to the study of Sinology, and has made efforts and contributions to French Sinology with his rich and thick knowledge structure and broad vision. He is the cultural ferryman that Mr. Dong Chun said. It is the French monk system mentioned in Teacher Li Xiaohong's lecture, which allows people who really do learning to do it with peace of mind. Use the title of Mr. Zhu Mu's lecture: and pick up Fangfei and return Taixi. The people who do the work of learning silently are the ones who give Fang Fei.
Heimi Matthew said: We should not stop reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas because it provides us with countless pleasures and knowledge.
Heimi Matthew's message to CEIBS
Webinar Time:
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Premiere Platform:
CEIBS Platform:
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Bilibili:中欧书院
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Past CEIBS College Reviews:
Li Xiaohong, winner of the Julian Prize for Chinese Studies, talks about "The Prize for Sinology and the Inheritance of Sinology in France"
"Let's take Fang Fei and return to Taixi": Zhu Mu talks about the translation of French literature in the past 120 years
After 12 years of waiting, listen to Shen Dali's talk about "dragon culture" and its misinterpretation in the search for a universal coexistence
France's "first person in Chinese": Mr. Bai Lesang talks about his 50 years of Chinese life
Spring 1987: A French student interviewed a Chinese student on folk music
Dong Chun recalled the Chinese complex of Belmondo father and son, and told the past of the Sino-French cultural ferryman
CEIBS Academy is a cultural forum that brings together experts and scholars from various fields in China and Europe, and is a platform for online and offline exchanges in both Chinese and foreign languages. While having both the academic and non-governmental nature of traditional Chinese academies, it is also committed to diversity and openness, and realizes exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and European civilizations in multiple languages, channels and forms by focusing on the common areas between China and Europe.