Shenyijing 神異經

Shenyijing 神異經 "Classic of the deities and the extraordinary" is a collection of fantastic stories traditionally attributed to the Daoist master Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 (160-93 BCE) from the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE). The stories of the short book are arranged geographically in nine chapters, in a pattern very similar to that used in the Shanhaijing 山海經 "Classic of mountains and seas". But contrary to the latter, the 47 paragraphs of the Shenyijing does provide only few geographical information but concentrate on the bizarre stories of immortals, deities, and supernatural beings, like the Lord of the East (Dongwanggong 東王公), the winged tiger Qiong Qi 窮奇, Mt. Kunlun 崑崙 as the pillar of Heaven (tianzhu 天柱), or the "Jade Hen" from Mt. Fusang 扶桑山.

According to the imperial bibliography Jingji zhi 經籍志 in the official dynastic history Suishu 隋書, the Shenyijing was written by Dongfang Shuo and commented on by the Jin-period 晉 (265-420) scholar Zhang Hua 張華 (232-300). Both statements are probably incorrect because the book is not listed in the Han-period book catalogue Qilüe 七略, nor is any commentary mentioned in Zhang Hua's biography in the history Jinshu 晉書. The book, therefore, might have been compiled during the Southern Dynasties period 南朝 (420~589). This can be seen from the flowery literary style, which is similar to writings from the Southern Qi 南齊 (479-502) and Liang 梁 (502-557) periods.

The Shenyijing is included in the series Han-Wei congshu 漢魏叢書, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Longwei mishu 龍威秘書, Shuofu 說郛, Wuchao xiaoshuo 五朝小說, Shuoku 說庫 and the Siku quanshu 四庫全書. In 1990, the Shanghai Guji Press 上海古籍出版社 published a modern annotated version in a joint edition together with the books Mu Tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳, Hainei shizhou ji 海內十洲記 and Bowuzhi 博物志.