《山海經》以地理典籍之姿條列性地記載山川地貌,兼敘其中動植物特產,乍看之下顯得凌亂且缺乏整體系統,再加上其著作年代與著作者皆未有定論,使得此書之創作背景隱晦不明,更難以確認寫作意圖所在。本文旨在觀察《山海經》紊雜的記述筆調,試圖整理出架構此神話世界的空間特質以及蘊含於其中的秩序理路。 經由空間建構、生死觀、類物概念以及遠國異人等四項主題的觀察與討論,便能發現《山海經》一書雖看似是無稽漫衍的想像神話,實則卻是編寫者試圖建構的理想世界。藉由清晰明確的空間以及萬物秩序,《山海經》編寫者搭建出穩固、安定的海內外神聖境域,或為中原人居之所,或為海外世界窮極之處,因地域遠近不同而採用不同的空間祝聖方式,但共同的目的皆是要掃除混沌,將天下化為神聖之「常境」。《山海經》中的人、物亦與其所處之空間特質緊密扣合,兼具尋常與神異之空間特質的山經由常物與非常之物組成,而地處荒遠的海經則為身形特異之異族所居住,且其人其物又各自存在物類體系與分類意義,共同營建出全書秩序井然之世界觀。總言之,山海經實是一本以真實世界為基礎,用想像加以秩序化的理想世界之文字集成。
As a geographical literature, Shan Hai Ching describes and records the landscape and scenery of the world, as well as the relevant local living things by itemizing its descriptions. At the first glance, it looks confused, disordered and ill-systematized. Moreover, its authors and the time it was written was left unknown. Thus, the lack of the relevant information about its creation makes it impossible to clarify the intention of the authors. This study aims to specify the spatial characteristics of this mythological world, as well as the order of the thought involved, by observing the ill-organized descriptions in Shan Hai Ching. Four main topics are discussed in the current study: the creation of the imaginary space, the philosophy of life and death, the conception of categorization, and the foreigners from afar in Shan Hai Ching. By a thorough study of the four topics, it emerged that though Shan Hai Ching seems like fantastic myth, it in fact illustrates the ideal world which the authors attempted to create. By the clear illustration of the order of the space and all things in the world, the authors of Shan Hai Ching created stable and tranquil sacred areas within and abroad. These areas may be in either Central Plains or the end of the world. Different modes of spatial divinization apply to different areas according to the distance. The purpose of spatial divinization is to wipe away chaos and transform the whole world into a holy “common place”. The characters and things in Shan Hai Ching are closely related to the features of the spaces they exist. For example, on the one hand, the Shan Ching, which contains both common and uncanny spatial features, is composed of descriptions of both common and uncommon characters and things. On the other hand, the Hai Ching, which contains unusual spatial features, is composed of descriptions of aliens with strange appearance who live far away. Furthermore, the categorization of the characters and things in Shan Hai Ching also implies the well-ordered world view of the book. In sum, based on the descriptions of the real world, Shan Hai Ching is a literature in which a fictitious ideal world is built and orderized with the authors’ imagination.