The oldest was the _Shan King_, and consists of five volumes, devoted respectively to the northern, southern, eastern, western, and central mountain ranges. This is devoid of all reference to persons and habited places. It is simply an abstract of the results of a topographical survey which may not impossibly have been, as it claims, the one conducted by Yü. It contains lists of mountains and rivers, with valuable notes on their mineral productions, fauna and flora. It also gives lists of the divinities controlling or belonging to each mountain range, and the sacrifices suitable to them. There are few extravagances in this portion of the work. The remainder is devoted to a history of the regions without and within the four _hai_ or seas bounding the empire, and those constituting what is called the Great Desert. Here extravagant stories, myths, accounts of wonderful people, references to states, cities, and tribes are mingled with geographical notices which, from their repetition, show that this portion is itself resolvable into two distinct works of more modern date, whose origin was probably posterior to the wave of Taouist superstition which swept over China in the first six centuries of our era. I must add that the term, "within the four seas" does not imply the arrogant belief, as is generally supposed, that this Empire extended to the ocean on every side, the archaic meaning being the very different one of frontier or boundary region; while the word "desert" has a similar signification. In that more credible portion of the work which I believe to have been the original _Shan King_, references to dragons are infrequent. In some instances the _kiao_ (which I interpret as the gavial) is specifically referred to; in others the word _lung_ is used; thus, it speaks of dragons and turtles abounding in the Ti River, flowing from one of the northern mountains east of the Ho. From the context, however, an aquatic creature, and probably an alligator, is indicated. From the entire text I gather that the true terrestrial dragon was not an inmate of China, at all events after the period of Yü. I further infer that it was a feared and much respected denizen of the more or less arid highlands, whence the early Chinese either migrated or were driven, and from which point the dragon traditions flowed pretty evenly east and west, beat against the Himalayan chain on the south, and only penetrated India in a later and modified form. [Illustration: FIG. 55.--FLYING SNAKES FROM THE SIEN MOUNTAINS (CENTRAL MOUNTAINS). (_Shan Hai King._)] There is a short reference to the Ying Lung or winged dragon; it is as follows:-- "In the north-east corner of the Great Desert are mountains called Hiung-li and T'u K'iu. The Ying Lung lives at the south extremity. "[Commentary.--The Ying Lung is a dragon with wings.] "He killed Tsz Yiu and Kwa Fu. "[Commentary.--Tsz Yiu was a soldier.] "He could not ascend to heaven.