从《封禅书》到六朝小说:三神山说的形成与演变

战国至秦汉时期,三神山说在燕齐海上方士集团流传,并引发入海寻求三神山觅不死药的活动,缘于方士们将海市蜃楼当作了海外神山,从而造出三神山说。这一时期典籍并无关于海市蜃楼的记载,言及蜃也从不与吐气结楼台相联系。秦汉之后,人们认识到海市蜃楼是一种幻景,不再把它想象为海上神山。随着航海事业的迅猛发展,来往于南洋诸岛的海客增多,他们关于海外诸岛的见闻,被附会进三神山说的内容,从而使三神山说有了巨大的改变。

From Feng Shan Book to Novels of Six Dynasties:The Origin and Evolution of Three Fairy Mountains Theory

The development and evolution of three fairy mountains theory can be divided into two stages.From the Warring States period to the Qin and Han Dynasties,it spread in the Yan Qi maritime alchemists,and led to the activities of seeking three fairy mountains and immortality medicine in the sea.That’s because the alchemists took the mirage as overseas fairy mountains and created the three fairy mountains theory.Correspondingly,as late as the Qin and Han Dynasties,there was no record of mirage in the ancient books,and the clam was never connected with the mirage.After the Qin and Han Dynasties,people realized that mirage was not a real existence,and they no longer imagined it as fairy mountains on the sea.With the rapid development of navigation,more and more seafarers travelled to and from the South Ocean Islands.Their knowledge about the overseas islands was attached to the content of Three fairy mountains theory,which makes a great change in this theory.