Episode 10: Female Demon: The Goddess Expelled from the World

Among the cultural heritage of ancient China, the Classic of Mountains and Seas is undoubtedly a very unique book.It is known as China's oldest geographical museum and describes in detail the geographical features, product resources, historical heritage and colorful folk customs of various places.However, it is precisely these seemingly real and credible descriptions that hide supernatural elements such as religion, mythology, and witchcraft, constructing a mysterious world full of fantasy.

In this mysterious world, people use rituals such as burning incense, wearing heavy makeup, and beating gongs and drums to try to communicate with God and expel the monster named “郃”.Ba, as a god that symbolizes drought, its appearance often heralds the coming of disaster, causing drought, no rain, and no harvest wherever it goes.Such beliefs and customs not only reflect the ancient people's helplessness and fear of natural disasters, but also reflect their desire for a better life and their worship of supernatural powers.

The strange beasts recorded in the Book of Mountains and Seas are full of fantasy and mystery.These strange beasts not only have different shapes, but also have extraordinary abilities. They ignore the normal biological order and exist in this mysterious world in a mixed way.The depiction of these strange beasts is not only an imagination and exaggeration of unknown creatures in nature, but also a manifestation of people's worship and awe of supernatural powers.

Although many of the descriptions in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" have strong religious, mythological, and witchcraft overtones, we cannot simply regard them as absurd and weird works.On the contrary, it reflects the ancient people's cognition and imagination of the world, and is their unique thinking and expression on issues such as nature, society, and life.These thoughts and expressions not only enrich our cultural heritage, but also provide valuable clues for us to understand the beliefs, customs and cultural mentality of ancient societies.