Week 5 Session: Omens and uses

Kind

鳥, the word the record uses

Form

like an owl with a human face, four eyes, and ears; it calls its own name

Habitat

令丘之山, on the third southern route

Omen

見則天下大旱 — where it appears, the world goes dry

Record

1. 南山經 · 南次三經 · 令丘之山Southern Mountains · third southern section · Mount Lingqiu

   有鳥焉，其狀如梟，人面四目而有耳，其名曰顒，其鳴自號也，見則天下大旱。

   There is a bird there, shaped like an owl, with a human face, four eyes and ears. It is called 顒, it calls its own name, and where it appears, the world goes dry.

Its omen is shared word for word with at least five unrelated creatures, so the omen cannot be a property of this bird.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.

Kind

蛇, the word the record uses

Form

a snake with one head and two bodies; also a quail-like yellow bird with a red bill; also a six-legged, four-winged snake written 肥𧔥

Habitat

渾夕之山 in the north, 英山 and 太華之山 in the west

Omen

見則其國大旱 and 見則天下大旱 — that state goes dry, or the world does

Use

食之已癘，可以殺蟲 — the bird cures pestilence and kills vermin

Records

1. 北山經 · 北山經之首 · 渾夕之山Northern Mountains · first northern section · Mount Hunxi

   有蛇一首兩身，名曰肥遺，見則其國大旱。

   There is a snake with one head and two bodies. It is called 肥遺. Where it appears, that state goes dry.

2. 西山經 · 西山經之首 · 英山Western Mountains · first western section · Mount Ying

   有鳥焉，其狀如鶉，黃身而赤喙，其名曰肥遺，食之已癘，可以殺蟲。

   There is a bird there, shaped like a quail, yellow-bodied with a red bill. It is called 肥遺. Eat it and it cures pestilence, and it can kill 蟲, vermin.

3. 西山經 · 西山經之首 · 太華之山Western Mountains · first western section · Mount Taihua

   有蛇焉，名曰肥𧔥，六足四翼，見則天下大旱。

   There is a snake there. It is called 肥𧔥, and it has six feet and four wings. Where it appears, the world goes dry.

One name over a snake, a bird and a third thing, with contradictory omens and a use belonging to only one of them. 郭璞 notices and writes 疑是同名, a suspicion rather than a ruling. The worst case in the book, and the anchor of week 8.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.

Kind

獸, the word the record uses

Form

like an ox with tiger markings, its voice a groan; it calls its own name

Habitat

空桑之山, on the second eastern route

Omen

見則天下大水 — where it appears, the world floods

Record

1. 東山經 · 東次二經 · 空桑之山Eastern Mountains · second eastern section · Mount Kongsang

   有獸焉，其狀如牛而虎文，其音如欽。其名曰軨軨，其鳴自訆，見則天下大水。

   There is a beast there, shaped like an ox with tiger markings, its cry like a groan. It is called 軨軨, it calls its own name, and where it appears, the world floods.

Its omen is the flood counterpart of 顒's drought, in the same words. The formula has two settings and neither depends on the animal.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.

Kind

鳥, the word the record uses

Form

like a crane, one-footed, red-marked on a blue ground, white-billed

Habitat

章莪之山, on the third western route

Omen

見則其邑有譌火 — where it appears, that town has uncanny fires

Record

1. 西山經 · 西次三經 · 章莪之山Western Mountains · third western section · Mount Zhang'e

   有鳥焉，其狀如鶴，一足，赤文青質而白喙，名曰畢方，其鳴自叫也，見則其邑有譌火。

   There is a bird there, shaped like a crane, with one foot, red markings on a green ground and a white bill. It is called 畢方, it calls its own name, and where it appears, that town has uncanny fires.

The omen is fire, and it is local. The drought it is popularly credited with belongs to other creatures entirely.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.

Kind

獸, the word the record uses

Form

like a sheep, nine tails, four ears, eyes set in its back

Habitat

基山, on the first route

Use

佩之不畏 — wear it and you are not afraid

Record

1. 南山經 · 南山經之首 · 基山Southern Mountains · first southern section · Mount Ji

   有獸焉，其狀如羊，九尾四耳，其目在背，其名曰猼訑，佩之不畏。

   There is a beast there, shaped like a sheep, with nine tails and four ears, and its eyes on its back. It is called 猼訑. Wear it and you will not be afraid.

Nine tails on a sheep, with no relation to 九尾狐 or 陸吾 that the text admits. Whether nine tails is a character or a coincidence is week 12's problem.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.

Kind

龜, the word the record uses

Form

bird-headed, viper-tailed in one record and turtle-tailed in the other; sounds like wood splitting

Habitat

怪水 below 杻陽之山, and 豪水 below 密山

Use

佩之不聾，可以為底 — wear it against deafness, and against calluses

Records

1. 南山經 · 南山經之首 · 杻陽之山Southern Mountains · first southern section · Mount Niuyang

   其中多玄龜，其狀如龜而鳥首虺尾，其名曰旋龜，其音如判木，佩之不聾，可以為底。

   In it there are many 玄龜, shaped like a turtle but with a bird's head and a viper's tail. They are called 旋龜, and their sound is like wood splitting. Wear one and you will not go deaf, and it can be used against 底, calluses.

2. 中山經 · 中次六經 · 密山Central Mountains · sixth central section · Mount Mi

   其中多旋龜，其狀鳥首而鼈尾，其音如判木。

   In it there are many 旋龜, shaped with a bird's head and the tail of a 鼈, a soft-shelled turtle. Their sound is like wood splitting.

Two records, one name, two tails, and only one of them carries a use. Either the species is wrong or the tail is not a character.

Quoted from 山海經 (the Classic of Mountains and Seas), 四庫全書本，郭璞注 — the Siku Quanshu text with 郭璞's (Guō Pú) commentary. Interlinear notes removed; the base text is otherwise unaltered.