By Zeng Pengling

九尾狐：“青丘之山，有兽焉，其状如狐而九尾，其音如婴儿，能食人，食者不蛊。”——《山海经·南山经》Nine-tailed Fox: “On the Qingqiu Mountain, a fox-like cannibal with nine tails yelps like a baby.”—Classic of South Mountain, Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Note:The Classic of Mountains and Seas, a Chinese ancient literary classic, was written by the Chu (now Hubei and Hunan Provinces) people or the Bashu(now Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality) people from the middle and late period of the Warring States to the early Han Dynasty. The book has 22 articles in total, about 32,650 words, among which 18 articles are left now. It is divided into Classic of Zangshan (5 articles),Classic of Areas Overseas (4 articles), Classic of Regions Within the Seas (5 articles),and Classic of Great Wildness(4 articles). This major source of Chinese mythology brings together a treasure trove of rare data and colorful fiction about mythicalfigures, rituals, medicine,natural history, and ethnic peoples of the ancient world. The book preserves many ancient legends and fables, including Kuafu Running After the Sun,the Goddess Mending the Sky,Jingwei Trying to Fill the Sea, and Emperor Yu Taming the Flood.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas has extraordinary literary value and serves as a reference for the study of ancient Chinese history, geography, culture,Chinese and foreign traffic, folk customs, and mythology. The book has many versions and the earliest one is the Biography of the Classic of Mountains and Seas compiled by Guo Wei of the Jin Dynasty. Nowadays most scholars in China believe that the Classic of Mountains and Seas is a highly valuable geographical work with a long history.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, which depicts all varieties of monsters, freaks, and folktales full of peculiarity and imagination,is the source of Romanticism in China. Tao Yuanming, a poet of the Jin Dynasty, once wrote:“While I scan the classics of the Zhou Dynasty and the charts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the mysteries of the universe are unveiled in front of me.Why should I be discontented?”

The legendary beasts in the ancient book, Classic of Mountains and Seas, are brought back to life by a contemporary photographer named Huanhuan.

Huanhuan, a post-90s girl who now lives in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, once worked as a model.She found that taking photos of others was more her passion than having her photo taken. Huanhuan chose to be a commercial photographer, turning herself from a model into a shooter.

As a little girl, Huanhuan had long been captivated by the fantastic ghosts and monster stories told by her grandmother. There are mysterious and rare animals, such as the bewitching fox with nine tails,the mermaid weeping pearl-tears, and the fl yingfish with long wings. When Huanhuan grew up, she came across the Classic of Mountains and Seas and was obsessed with this book. Each time reading it, shefinds herself touring in the mysteries that she always dreamed about in her childhood.

乘黄 焕焕/摄 Shenghuang by Huanhuan

After Huanhuan had been working as a photographer for some time, an idea flashed to her mind: why not recover and represent the rare animals in the Classic of Mountains and Seas through the camera. Huanhuan immediately took action. Since 2017, Huanhuan has designed and completed more than a dozen photo series that feature the beasts and monsters from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The fantasy world narrated in the ancient book has been restored through the camera lens of Huanhuan. The various beasts recreated by Huanhuan are full of spirituality,or are glamorous and fascinating,or savvy and enchanting. Behind these photographic works of distinct personal style is Huanhuan’s relentless pursuit of aesthetic perfection, which is almost nitpicking.

《山海经》 Classic of Mountains and Seas

如魮之鱼：“滥水出于其西，西流注于汉水，多如魮之鱼，其状如覆铫，鸟首而鱼翼鱼尾，音如磬石之声，是生珠玉。”——《山海经·西山经》“The Lan River is sourced from the west and flows westward into the Han River. There are many rhodeus-like fish in the water and looks like the inverted spear, but with the bird’s head and the fish’s fins and tail. The sound of this fish is like tapping the monolith and can spit out the jade.”—Classic of West Mountain, Classic of Mountains and Seas.

毕方：“一足，赤文青质而白喙，名曰毕方。其鸣自呼也，见则邑有譌火。”——《山海经·西山经》Bifang: “There is an animal called bifang, which has red patterns, dark feather and white beak. Its singing corresponds with the name bifang. The presence of bifang gives promise of blaze in cities.” —Classic of West Mountains, Classic of Mountains and Seas.

For each shooting, preparation is always extremely laborand resource-intensive. First,Huanhuan chooses a subject—a kind of rare beast in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Then she reads all the materials she can find about it to obtain general information of its image,characteristics, and living environment. Then, she finishes the designing job. After that, she makes clothing and accessories,which is one of the most difficult parts of pre-production. For instance, the feather cloth of the bird Bifang was glued by hand,each feather one by one, by Huanhuan. At least a few all night studio sessions are a “common occurrence” for each photo series.Another example is her phoenix photo. The flamboyant phoenix garment was made up of 7,000 peacock feathers, which took three full days to create. Every day Huanhuan and her team worked from daybreak to the early morning hours. “My back is barely straight,” said Huanhuan. As for some corners and scales, the materials bought from the market can hardly match the charm of the legendary beasts. In order to perfectly present her philosophy,Huanhuan sometimes resorts to high technology. For example, the horns of her Shenghuang were made using a 3D printer after several trial printings. Above all,Huanhuan does not care how hard the whole process is, but just concentrates on each and every detail in her works.

鲛人：“氐人国在建木西,其为人人面而鱼身,无足”——《山海经·海内南经》Mermaid: “The kingdom of Diren lies west of Jianmu. Its people all have a human face and a fish’s body and they are without feet.”—Classic of Areas within the Seas:South, Classic of Mountains and Seas.

After preparing the clothing and accessories, Huanhuan has to choose the proper environment for shooting. She aims tofind and restore the natural environment described in the book. For this reason, she goes to various places,such as mountains, lakes, and deserts to search for the most ideal and natural background. For example, when shooting the series of the Nine-Tailed Fox and South Sea Butterfly, Huanhuan flew to the Gobi Desert in Dunhuang in Northwest China.

However, the various uncertainties in the process add to the difficulty of shooting. In July of 2017, when Huanhuan took her first shots of the series of “Sheng huang—Classic of Mountains and Seas” in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, a surprising downpour forced them to give up the scene, despite the placid river being perfect for the shoot just a few hours prior. What’s more, the cosmetic bag fell into the water and was washed away.The heavy rain caused the river to soar, and Huanhuan was trapped in the river. Fortunately,Huanhuan escaped the danger and completed the shoot. When it comes to this shooting, Huanhuan still feels regret that they had to redo it, for the once clean river had become muddy during the rainfall.

Huanhuan’s photographic works are full of her personal style: bizarre and enchanting, but full of reasonable imagination.Since Huanhuan is fascinated by Chinese traditional culture, she hopes to let more people know about the charming legendary animals and interesting Chinese myths in her own way—through photography.

链接：《山海经》是一部中国古代志怪典籍，大体是战国中后期到汉代初中期的楚人或巴蜀人所作。《山海经》全书原共22篇，约32650字，现存18篇，分《藏山经》5篇、《海外经》4篇、《海内经》5篇、《大荒经》4篇，主要内容是地理知识，包括山川、道里、民族、物产、药物、祭祀、巫医等。书中还保存了夸父逐日、女娲补天、精卫填海、大禹治水等脍炙人口的远古神话传说和寓言故事。

《山海经》具有非凡的文献价值，对中国古代历史、地理、文化、中外交通、民俗、神话等方面的研究，均有重要参考意义。《山海经》版本复杂，现可见最早版本为晋代郭璞所辑《山海经传》。对于《山海经》内容性质，现中国大多数学者认为，《山海经》是一部早期的、具有很高价值的地理著作。

中国志怪古籍《山海经》中记载了大量古代怪人、怪事、怪物，全书充满想象，极尽古怪，却又奇特浪漫，引人入胜。陶渊明《读山海经》诗云：“泛览周王典，流观山海图。俯仰终宇宙，不乐复何如？”

古籍《山海经》中的奇珍异兽在一位90后摄影师的镜头中“活”了过来。

焕焕，90后成都女孩，曾被摄影师挑中做模特，但她十分热爱摄影，钟情于摄影创作，于是，她从“镜中人”转身成为“掌镜人”——一名商业摄影师。……