山海入梦，城遇未来：当上古异兽与现代科技共绘东方奇幻新境《山海城市志》系列前言

我是插画师张代华，以“新中式奇幻叙事”为创作核心，用水彩为媒介，构建一个《山海经》瑞兽与当代城市共生的奇幻世界。

《山海经》开篇云：“天马行空，往来于天地之间。”
这句古老的神话意象，成为了我整个系列的起点与灵感——那些沉睡在古籍里的上古神兽，从未真正远去，它们只是换了一种方式，守护着我们今天的城市。

《山海城市志》系列，正是以此为初心：将《山海经》中的白泽、凤凰、貔貅、九尾狐、鲲鹏、应龙、开明兽、烛龙等瑞兽，与哈尔滨、西安、上海、杭州、深圳、北京、重庆等城市一一对应。我用水彩的晕染与东方线条的韵律，让神话的磅礴意境与现代都市的烟火气息相融，让上古神兽的守护之姿，映照在每一座城市的天际线上。

这是一场跨越千年的对话，一次神话与现实的碰撞，更是我对传统文化与当代城市精神的致敬。愿这些瑞兽，继续守护着我们的城市，也守护着每一个人的天马行空。

 

【English】

Preface to the Shan Hai Jing: Urban Chronicles Series

I am Zhang Daihua, an illustrator whose work centers on “New Chinese Fantasy Narrative”. Using watercolor as my medium, I build a fantastical world where mythical beasts from Shan Hai Jing coexist with contemporary cities.

The opening lines of Shan Hai Jing speak of “celestial horses galloping freely, traveling between heaven and earth.”
This ancient mythical image became the starting point and inspiration for my entire series. The primordial beasts that slumber in ancient texts have never truly left; they have simply found new ways to guard our modern cities.

The Shan Hai Jing: Urban Chronicles series is created with this vision at its core: matching auspicious beasts from Shan Hai Jing—including Bai Ze, the Phoenix, Pixiu, the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kun Peng, the Ying Dragon, the Kai Ming Beast, and Zhu Long—with cities across China such as Harbin, Xi’an, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Chongqing. Through watercolor washes and the rhythm of Eastern linework, I blend the grand imagery of mythology with the vibrant atmosphere of modern cities, letting the guardian spirits of these ancient beasts reflect in the skylines of each metropolis.

This is a dialogue spanning thousands of years, a collision between mythology and reality, and my tribute to both traditional culture and the spirit of modern cities. May these auspicious beasts continue to guard our cities, and also the free-spirited imagination in every heart.