The Classic of Mountains and Seas Extra: The Real Kunlun and Its Hundred Gods
First, I want to refute Moxing Cangyue's claim that Kunlun was an ancient name for Earth.
Yes, I'm refuting myself. Later, I want to challenge some self-proclaimed archaeologists on Zhihu who are far too eager to agree with certain claims about Liangzhu, using methods like quoting passages out of context.
I often arrange text to lead readers along in just that way. So before anything else, I should challenge my own flights of fancy and show you how the subject looks from a more mainstream, official perspective.
This isn't a matter of one interpretation being definitely right and another definitely wrong. Many readings of ancient history differ chiefly in how rigorous they are—and whether their authors have an ulterior motive.
Everything I've said has been speculation for use in a novel, which is fair enough. But if I'm going to criticize certain intellectuals, I ought to start with myself.
Otherwise, someone will say, "At least their arguments are academic, serious hypotheses. Yours involve aliens. Are you claiming you're right?"
Of course not. If we're discussing this seriously, we can rule out aliens straightaway.
Fiction is fiction; scholarship is scholarship. Many of my wilder ideas appear only in free extras with little reach, but I first put forward the claim that Kunlun was Earth in the novel. So let's refute that first.
Kunlun could not have been a name for Earth. The ancient worldview was simple: the land was square, like a board, with the dome of heaven covering it like a lid.
That was the idea of a round heaven and square earth.
Some of you may wonder: if you placed a round lid over a square base, the edges wouldn't meet. Wouldn't there be gaps