《山海经》四方神与风名考

Inquiring into on the Names of Gods and Wind in Four Orientations in The Classic of Mountains and Seas

《山海经》四方神名分别是东方折丹、南方因乎、西方石夷、北方,四方风名分别是东方俊、南方民、西方韦、北方。古人认为,太阳的日循环是经由东南西北的顺序运行的,东南西北四极点正对应着一日的朝、午、夕、夜四时。《山海经》四方神名的名义正好体现了太阳在朝、午、夕、夜四时,或者说东、南、西、北四极的特点。

The names of gods in four orientations in The Classic of Mountains and Seas are in turn Zhe Dan （The Eastern god）, Yin Hu （The Southern god）, Shi Yi （The Western god） and Yuan （The Northern god）. Accordingly the names of wind are Jun, Min, Wei and Yan. The ancients considered that the circulation of the sun was in a clockwise order from The East to The North, and apices of these four orientations exactly corresponded with the times of the morning, the midday, the evening and the night in a day. In conclusion, the names and meanings of gods in four orientations in The Classic of Mountains and Seas reflect the characters of the sun in these four periods of times or the four orientations resnectively.