《山海经》是一部内容丰富的中国远古社会百科全书，涉及历史、地理、民族、神话、家族、动物、植物、矿产、医学等。《山海经》包罗之广，内容之奇诡，历代书籍罕有匹敌。

Shanghaiching, which is an inclusive encyclopedia in ancient China, covers history、geography、nation、myth、family、animals、 plants、mineral products、the medical science and so on. The extensive coverage as well as its fantastic content makes it truly exceptional in the past dynasties.

全书共约31，000字，分为十八卷，从卷一“南山经”到卷五“中山经”称为《五藏山经》，从卷六“海外南经”到卷十八“海内经”称为《海经》。两部分合起来，总称《山海经》。

It is an encyclopedia in total 18 volumes with more or less 31,000 characters. The first five volumes, from Volume One( South Mountain Scripture) to Volume Five( Middle Mountain Scripture), are called Five Mountains Scripture; The last thirteen volumes, from the Volume Six( Overseas Scripture) to Volume Eighteen ( At Home Scripture) , are called Sea Scripture; Shanghaiching is all about the combination of these two parts.

《山经》以五方山川为纲，记述的内容包括古史、草木、鸟兽、神话、宗教等。《海经》除著录地理方位外，还记载远国异人的风貌。

In the Mountain Scripture, it makes a descriptive record of the ancient history、grass and trees、 animals and birds、myth、religion and etc by introducing five mountains. In the Sea Scripture, it not only describes the geographical orientations but also makes records of the people with extraordinary talents from remote countries.

全书记载了100余个国家、近3,000地名、447座山、300余条水道、204个神话人物、300多种怪兽、400多种植物、100余种金属和矿物。

It has a comprehensive record of about 100 countries、nearly 3000 places、447mountains、about 300 waterways、204 mythological figures、more than 300 monsters、over 400 plants and about 100 mental and minerals.