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Jiankun Sun

Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas: A Chinese Classic Hardcover – Illustrated, June 1, 2021

by Anonymous (Author), Jiankun Sun (Author), Siyu Chen (Illustrator),

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The gorgeously illustrated contemporary edition of an ancient Chinese text—for fans of fantastic beasts everywhere

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 catalogued 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; others whose flesh cures disease or fends off nightmares, or whose pelt guarantees many progeny.

Drawn from The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Fantastic Creatures 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 managed to communicate with the soul of a 4,000-year-old beast and have brought forth its strange beauty. Their work has been rendered into English by the foremost translator of modern Chinese literature in the West.

Print length

376 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Arcade
Publication date

June 1, 2021
Dimensions

7 x 1.2 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

1950691381
ISBN-13

978-1950691388
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From the Publisher


Worshippers buried offerings such as fragrant grasses for these warriorlike equines.	Xiao Ape	The Fearsome Min Ox


Fenghuang Phoenix	Jiachong Two-headed God	Jiuwei hu Nine-tailed Fox, an uncanny animal and propitious symbol


Huangu Turtle	Conglon Mountain Goat	Woman from Quanxiongguo

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An essential read for anyone interested in fantastical creatures, perfect for fans of Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings and countless role-playing game bestiaries alike.”—Booklist, starred review

"For Americans like me, who learned to read from comic books, this book is a window to an entirely new world using the magic of comic book illustrations, which is universally understood. What a special treat to enter this kingdom of ancient Asian wisdom."—Francis Ford Coppola

“Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas is remarkable for its beauty, ancient perspective, attention to such key issues as the environment, and contemporary vision. The images are inventive, the text exciting, and the design magnificent. It is a masterpiece and a feat.”—Fiona Donovan

About the Author

Jiankun Sun, once known as the youngest "Genius of Chinese Cultural Studies," 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 a 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.

Siyu Chen, whose inspired illustrations provided the spark for this new edition, is a freelance illustrator. She graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing with bachelor's and master’s degrees, then studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she received her second master’s degree. Her published books include, besides Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), Songs of the South (Chu Ci). Her illustration work has been selected for the American Illustration Archive. She lives in Germany with her husband and two children.

Howard Goldblatt is a literary translator of numerous works of contemporary Chinese fiction from mainland China and Taiwan, including Nobel Prize–winner Mo Yan, five of whose works are published by Arcade (The Garlic Ballads; The Republic of Wine; Big Breasts and Wide Hips; Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out; Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh). He has also translated works by Liu Zhenyun (I Did Not Kill My Husband; The Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon; Remembering 1942, which are published by Arcade), Huang Chunming (The Taste of Apples), and Chen Ruoxi (The Execution of Mayor Yin). He taught modern Chinese literature and culture for more than a quarter of a century. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arcade; Illustrated edition (June 1, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1950691381
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1950691388
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.2 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #85,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #228 in Asian American Literature & Fiction
- #503 in Cultural Heritage Fiction
- #1,458 in Folklore (Books)

Customer Reviews:
78 ratings

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5 star		90%
4 star		6%
3 star		2%
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1 star		2%

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A drunken panda

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

Awesome art with excellent text. A wonderful book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

the illustration and the story is awesome and facinating.

Helpful

Kitty

Very Beautifully Drawn BUT...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2022

Verified Purchase

It is very beautifully drawn and illustrated, BUT it is not the full description of the creatures as there are some Gods within the book not noted they are GODS (kind of disrespectful IMO.) Baidi Shaohao, in such a short description, was reduced to a Fae-like creature of the Western Mountains but he is a God of Western Mountains that rules over the Season of Autumn. Another mention of a God being reduced to a creature is Dijiang, who is the primordial God of chaos and the Patron God of the mountain.

Regardless of the reduction of the Gods themselves, this book is worth having in your collection for easy and simple reads to gain your interest. However, always cross-reference and go do your research out of this book. Look at this book as a starting point to gain your interest before gaining the full knowledge of these creatures.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Maryerin Gray

Beautifully Illustrated

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 3, 2022

Verified Purchase

I am interested in Chinese Mythology. This book outlines the fabled creatures of the mountains and seas with intriguing stories and beautiful illustrations.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

May(Xiang)

Childhood time revisit. Timeless legend.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I grew up reading a series comic illustrations for kids from this legendary book in my mother tongue. Traveling was limited when I was a kid. This book offers exciting and mysterious adventure for the young spirit of mine with every now and then teaching points of life wisdom. In this world, time and space became unlimited, my mind could travel anytime to anywhere following the narrative of each story. Immersed in reading and imagining, the child me lost track of time. Wonderful times:) Looking back, I credit this legendary book for planting the seeds of open-mindedness, ability to imagine as well as spirituality in my heart as such a tender age. I feel thrilled to be able to read new version of this book created by enthusiastic and hardworking young generation of conventional cultural resonance. Thank you for your effort, and salute to your determination and stay true to your heart!❤️🙏👍

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Robert

A Magic

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

I read The Classic of Mountains and Seas when I was a child, but it was a difficult read due to its difficult languages, and I always wanted a version with vivid illustrations. Fantastic Creatures of the Mountains and Seas is a dream come true. It directly brings me to a magic ancient world where 4,000-year-old beasts and deities live. The English translation is beyond marvelous, the language is both poetic and descriptive. A great escape from this chaotic world, better than an vacation.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

EmilyB

Beautiful book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a beautiful book - compliments to the illustrator. The brief descriptions of the mythology is also welcomed. This book has been translated beautifully. I recommend to appreciators of Chinese mythology/mythology and to anyone who enjoys and can appreciate the quality and level of illustration talent that went into this publication!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jia xu

I feel so lucky I bought this book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

It's delightful to read. As the most ancient book in China, the English translation is better than the Chinese version to me. It feels like every creature has a story to tell. The illustrations are imaginative and remarkable. I hope all the illustrations can be the background images for my computer.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

AlexithymicDream

Stunning

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

A stunning rendition of an ancient classic. The illustrations are superb. Although I devoured this book over a couple of days, I took my time to savour the gorgeous illustrations and appreciate the finesse of the craft.

The text component is brief but always sparks interest.

A fantastic addition to the collection of anyone interested in Chinese folklore.

Ceci

Beautifully illustrated, short versions, not all stories

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 15, 2022

Verified Purchase

Love this book. The pictures are stunning. The stories are well written but light, they don't include all of the details but it's very interesting.

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