CHAPTER 13 · 44 passages
Within the Eastern Seas
海內東經
Select a chapter to begin. Hover over or tap a Chinese character to see its pinyin pronunciation. Select an underlined name to explore its Taiji card. Keyboard: focus a passage, then use Left and Right Arrow to inspect characters. Escape closes pronunciation.
English
This is the region within the seas, southward from the northeastern corner.
English
Jùyàn [鉅燕] lies in the northeastern corner.
English
The country of Gài [蓋] lies south of Jùyàn [鉅燕] and north of Wō [倭]. Wō [倭] belongs to Yàn [燕]. Cháoxiǎn [朝鮮] lies east of Lièyáng [列陽], north of the sea and south of the mountains. Lièyáng [列陽] belongs to Yàn [燕].
Translator’s note
These political and geographical relationships are statements of the source, not claims about modern boundaries.
English
Liègūyè [列姑射] lies among the sea and river islets.
English
In Léi [雷] Marsh is the Léi Shén, with a dragon's body and a human head; he drums upon his belly. This lies west of Wú [吳].
English
Dū [都] Island lies in the sea. Another account calls it Yù [郁] Island.
English
The Lángyá [琅邪] Terrace lies amid the Bó [渤] Sea, east of Lángyá [琅邪]. North of it is a mountain. Another account says it lies amid the sea.
English
Hányàn [韓鴈] lies in the sea, south of Dū [都] Island.
English
Shǐjiū [始鳩] lies in the sea, south of Yuánlì [轅厲].
English
Mount Kuàijī [會稽] lies south of the great country of Chǔ [楚].
English
There are three Jiāng [江] rivers of Mín [岷]: the first issues from Mount Wèn [汶], the northern from Mount Màn [曼], and the southern from Mount Gāo [高]. Mount Gāo [高] lies at Dū [都]. The waters enter the sea to the west, south of Cháng [長] Island.
Translator’s note
This received river description has difficult syntax and an unusual westward direction; it is not corrected to fit modern geography.
English
The Xī [淅] River issues from Sāntiānzǐdōu [三天子都], in the east and northwest of Mǐn [閩], and enters the sea south of Yújì [餘暨].
Translator’s note
The transmitted punctuation separates 三天子 and 都在東; 三天子都 is understood as the mountain-name also found elsewhere in the work.
English
The Lú [廬] River issues from Sāntiānzǐdōu [三天子都] and enters the Jiāng [江], west of Péngzé [彭澤]. Another account gives the mountain-name Tiānzǐzhāng [天子鄣].
English
The Huái [淮] River issues from Mount Yú [餘], which lies east of Cháoyáng [朝陽] and west of Yìxiāng [義鄉]. It enters the sea north of Huáipǔ [淮浦].
English
The Xiāng [湘] River issues from the southeastern corner of Shùn [舜]'s burial place, circles it to the west, and enters below Dòngtíng [洞庭]. Another account gives “southeast, western marsh.”
Translator’s note
東南西澤, the alternative wording, is uncertain and is not expanded into a definite river route.
English
The Hàn [漢] River issues from Mount Fùyú [鮒魚]. Emperor Zhuānxū [顓頊] is buried on its southern slope, his nine consorts on its northern slope, guarded by four Shé.
English
The Méng [濛] River issues from Hànyáng [漢陽] and enters the Jiāng [江] to the west, west of Nièyáng [聶陽].
English
The Wēn [溫] River issues from Mount Kōngdòng [崆峒], at Línfén [臨汾], and enters the Sǎ [灑] to the south, north of Huàyáng [華陽].
English
The Yǐng [潁] River issues from Mount Shàoshì [少室], which lies at Yōngshì [雍氏]. It enters the Huái [淮] to the south, north of Xīyān [西鄢]. Another account gives Gōushì [緱氏].
English
The Rǔ [汝] River issues from Mount Tiānxī [天息], in Liángmiǎn [梁勉] Township, and enters the Huái [淮] to the southwest, northwest of Jí [極]. Another account says the Huái [淮] lies north of Qīsī [期思].
English
The Jīng [涇] River issues from the mountains north of the Long Wall, at Yùzhì [郁致], north of Chángyuán [長垣]. It enters the Wèi [謂] to the north, north of Xì [戲].
Translator’s note
謂 is retained as written; it is commonly understood here as a variant or error for 渭. The stated direction is also retained.
English
The Wèi [渭] River issues from Mount Wūshǔtóngxué [烏鼠同穴], flows east into the Hé [河], and enters it north of Huàyīn [華陰].
English
The Bái [白] River issues from Shǔ [蜀], flows southeast into the Jiāng [江], and enters beneath the walls of Jiāngzhōu [江州].
English
The Yuán [沅] River issues from mountains in Xiàng [象] Commandery, west of Xínchéng [鐔城]. It flows east into the Jiāng [江], enters west of Xiàjuàn [下雋], and joins the waters within Dòngtíng [洞庭].
Translator’s note
The source's 山出 and 入東 are awkwardly ordered; the translation follows their apparent river-route sense without changing the named places.
English
The Gàn [贑] River issues from the eastern mountains of Nièdōu [聶都], flows northeast into the Jiāng [江], and enters Péngzé [彭澤].
English
The western Sì [泗] River issues northeast of Wú [吳], runs south and southwest, passes west of Húlíng [湖陵], then turns southeast toward the eastern sea and enters north of Huáiyīn [淮陰].
English
The Yù [鬱] River issues from Xiàng [象] Commandery, flows southwest into the southern sea, and enters southeast of Xūlíng [須陵].
English
The Sì [肆] River issues from Línjìn [臨晉], runs southwest and then southeast into the sea, and enters west of Fānyú [番隅].
English
The Huáng [潢] River issues from the mountains northwest of Guìyáng [桂陽], flows southeast into the Sì [肆], and enters west of Dūnpǔ [敦浦].
English
The Luò [洛] River issues from the mountains west of Luò [洛], flows northeast into the Hé [河], and enters west of Chénggāo [成臯].
English
The Fén [汾] River issues north of Shàngyǔ [上窳], flows southwest into the Hé [河], and enters south of Píshì [皮氏].
English
The Qìn [沁] River issues east of Mount Jǐngxíng [井陘], flows southeast into the Hé [河], and enters southeast of Huái [懷].
English
The Jì [濟] River issues from Dōng [東] Hill south of Mount Gòng [共], cuts across Jùlù [鉅鹿] Marsh, flows into the Bó [渤] Sea, and enters northeast of Lánghuái [琅槐] in Qí [齊].
Translator’s note
南東丘 can also be divided differently; the place-name and direction follow one reading of the received sequence.
English
The Lǎo [潦] River issues east of Wèigāo [衛臯], flows southeast into the Bó [渤] Sea, and enters at Liáoyáng [遼陽].
English
The Hūtuó [虖沲] River issues south of the city of Jìnyáng [晉陽], runs west to the north of Yángqū [陽曲], then east into the Bó [渤] Sea, entering beyond the north of Zhāngwǔ [章武].
Translator’s note
The word 越 before 章武 is rendered as “beyond”; the transmitted clause admits other divisions.
English
The Zhāng [漳] River issues east of Shānyáng [山陽], flows east into the Bó [渤] Sea, and enters south of Zhāngwǔ [章武].
English
The country of Gūyè [姑射] lies in the sea, attached to Liègūyè [列姑射], to the southwest, with mountains encircling it.
English
A Dà Xiè lies in the sea.
English
The Líng Yú [陵魚] has a human face, hands and feet, and a fish's body. It lies in the sea.
English
A Dà Biān dwells in the sea.
English
The settlement of Míngzǔ [明組] lies in the sea.
English
Mount Pénglái [蓬萊] lies in the sea.
English
The market of the Dàrén [大人] lies in the sea.
English
On the day bingxu in the fourth month of the first year of Jiànpíng [建平], your servant Wàng [望], an attendant awaiting appointment under the Grand Master of Ceremonies, collated and corrected this text. Your servant Gōng [龔], Palace Attendant and Superintendent of the Imperial Household, and your servant Xiù [秀], Palace Attendant, Commandant of the Imperial Carriages, and Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, supervised its examination.
Translator’s note
This is the transmitted editorial colophon, repeated from the earlier chapter. 建平 is an era-name, and bingxu [丙戌] a day in the sixty-day cycle.