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.
