ABSTRACT
Mountain spirits and lake monsters reflect human cognition of landscape. After Xinjiang was incorporated into Qing territory in 1757, a number of scholars from China proper entered Xinjiang and compiled local chronicles and travel books. Up to the mid-19th century, these scholars described two critical elements of the mythic world of Xinjiang: (1) symbology of dragons in eastern Xinjiang where Han migrants were concentrated and (2) symbology of sheep, wolves, and eagles in areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups. This chapter argues that during the formation and evolution of the mythic world of Xinjiang during the Qing Dynasty, four factors played key roles: the natural environment, social and economic conditions, ethnic groups, and politics. The natural environment provided the foundations for this legendary world of mountain spirits and lake monsters. Different ethnic groups created specific figures of mountain spirits and lake monsters based on local natural conditions and relations between humans and nature. Changing social, political, and economic conditions led to new mythical embodiments. Mountain spirits and lake monsters allow us to probe into local change from new perspectives, thus helping us to understand how Han migration into Xinjiang altered ecological practices, and by extension, mythical expression.
