Since Sima Qian, the debate about the author(s) of the book has been going on for more than two thousand years.
The earliest records of …

The book is not a narrative, as the "plot" involves detailed descriptions of locations in the cardinal directions of the Mountains, Regions Beyond Seas, Regions Within Seas, and Wilderness. The descriptions are usually of medicines, animals, and geolog…

Earlier Chinese scholars referred to it as a bestiary, but apparently assumed it was accurate. In fact, the information in the book is mythological. It is not known why it was written or how it came to be viewed as an accurate geography book. …