Study On The "snake" Phenomenon In Shan Hai Jing

A lot of "snake" phenomenon appeared in Shan Hai Jing, some strange snakes can Indicate drought and flood, some gods'body are just like snake, some gods have snakes hanging from the ear…These phenomena have contributed to our understanding of the significance of the ancient folk belief is far-reaching. Looking back on the past, for a long time people thought, Shan Hai Jing is ridiculous, there were few people doing the research. Under the "snake phenomenon" of records, this article will analyze in 3 parts: First, strange snakes in "Shan Hai Jing"; Second, snakes as part of god's body; Third, Analysis of the phenomenon snake like hanging from the ear, Stepping on a snakes…Through research we found, the images of strange snakes attribute to that the ancestors didn't understand the natural characteristics of snakes. Some snakes had a very close contact with god: Snake is the embodiment of gods, or part of body composition. The gods which are associated with snakes, mainly are the gods of mountains. As the relations between snake and water, water snake is the embodiment of Gods. Because the strong fecundity, snake was is considered the totem of Nu Wa. phenomenon like snakes hanging from the ear, stepping on a snake are difficult to understand, the reason I think is which most scholars want to find this kind of "universal formula" that is impossible. So in this article, I will separate for three phenomena to analyze. A man whose ears are hanging snakes means general characterization of the divine, or means snake was his totem. One who stepping on snakes, snake is a means of transport into the earth to heaven. Holding a snake means he who can control the rainfall. The colors of the snakes are not symbolic, but means the snakes are poisonous. The one who can master the viper means who is associated with a divine power. Snake was often been eaten, or guard treasure and the tombs is the book, we can only speculate about the reasons. In short, if we known the "snake" better in the myth, we can known Shan Hai Jing better ,and it's also better for us to understand the ancestors and ancient society.