'Classic of Mountains and Seas: An Illustrated Guide to Chinese Mythical Creatures' Unveiled in London

On March 12, 2024, the London Book Fair opened at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London, UK. Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House, a subsidiary of Central China Media Group, presented the English version of "Classic of Mountains and Seas: An Illustrated Guide to Chinese Mythical Creatures" at the Book Fair, and introduced the activity of "The Adventures of Oriental Mythical Creatures - An Immersive Experience of the VR Metaverse". Meanwhile, the copyright of the book's English version was promoted on March 13 in the China exhibition area.

2024年3月12日，伦敦书展在英国伦敦奥林匹亚展览中心开幕。中原出版传媒集团旗下的中州古籍出版社携带英文版《山海经：中国神兽图鉴》亮相此次伦敦书展，推岀“东方神兽奇遇记——VR元宇宙沉浸式体验”，并于3月13日在中国展区举行图书英文版权推介会。

Regarded as the precious cultural heritage of Chinese nation, the classic works of traditional Chinese culture, containing valuable ideas, humanistic sentiments, and moral norms, are of great value in addressing human issues. "Classic of Mountains and Seas", the earliest compilation of physical geography and human geography, embodying the ancient exploration of the nature by Chinese people, filled with fascinating wisdom and imagination, makes it one of the representative works of classic Chinese traditional culture. The renowned British author J. K. Rowling once specifically mentioned the oriental mythical creature "Zouwu (驺吾)" from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in an interview about the movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".

中华传统文化经典著作不仅是中华民族的宝贵文化遗产，其涵盖的思想观念、人文情怀、道德规范，对解决人类问题有着重要价值。《山海经》这部最早的自然地理志和人文地理志，蕴含着中国人对世界自然的早期探索，充满着迷人的智慧和想象力，是中华传统文化经典的代表作之一。英国著名作家J.K.罗琳曾在电影《神奇动物在哪里》的访谈中，专门提到来自《山海经》中的东方神兽“驺吾”。

The book is one of the few original audio picture books in China that utilizes AR technology to create and tell the stories of the mythical creatures of the mountains and seas from the perspectives of "biology" and "natural history". The immersive experience of the VR metaverse Activity centered around this book has attracted the attention from lots of international publishers and readers. By integrating the book with new technological innovations, the event blends the virtual world of mountains and seas with real people and scenes, breaking the "dimensional barrier" and creating an interactive and immersive reading visual feast for readers.

《山海经：中国神兽图鉴》是国内少有的采用AR技术，从“生物学”“博物学”的视角来创作山海神兽、讲述山海神兽故事的原创有声绘本。该书VR元宇宙沉浸式体验吸引了众多国际出版人和读者的关注。活动通过将图书与新科技创新融合，让虚拟的山海世界与现实的人与场景相交融，打破“次元壁”，为读者打造了一个可交互的沉浸式阅读的视觉盛宴。

It is reported that since the launching of Chinese version of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: An Illustrated Guide to Chinese Mythical Creatures" in June2023, it has been presented at various exhibitions such as China's National Book Fair and the China International Copyright Expo, receiving enthusiastic responses. And the immersive metaverse exhibition activity has been warmly welcomed by many young readers.

据悉，该书中文版自2023年6月在国内推出后，先后亮相全国图书交易博览会、中国国际版权博览会等多个展会，反响热烈，其一体打造的元宇宙沉浸式展演活动深受广大青少年读者的欢迎。（中文来源/河南日报 记者/胡春娜 编译/童林 审校/焦丹）