96 Shells as evidence of the Migrations. 
the 23rd century B.C., but other authorities are inclined to 
take a more moderate view. ° 
One of these early Chinese works, the “Shan Hai 
King,” presents us with some extraordinary information 
revarding the existence and origin of pearls. According 
to Streeter,“ “the 4th book of this work, or ‘ The Classic 
of Mountains and Rivers,’ refers to the Li river, one of the 
affluents of the Tung-Ting Lake, which drains the north- 
west portion of Hunan. ‘In it are many Chu-pick fish’ 
(or water animals). ‘These look like /wzgs, but have eyes 
and six feet, and they have fear/s. They taste sour but 
pleasant, and are not unwholesome.’ . . . The same work 
also states that wild animals were found which looked like 
sucking-pigs, but have /ear/s.” The identity of the 
curious Chu-pick fish is not clear. Streeter says their 
existence is confirmed in Liishi’s edition of the “ Book of 
Confucius,” and remarks: “they are probably cuttle-fish 
with six tentacles.” Cuttle-fish, however, are essentially 
marine animals, and, moreover, possess at least eight arms, 
or tentacles. As mentioned previously (p. 92), concretions 
of carbonate of lime, resembling pearls, are found in some 
forms of freshwater crustaceans, such as the crayfish, but 
here again, though eyes are present, these animals have 
eight legs. It is not unlikely that the pearl-bearing 
animals in question were freshwater mussels, the addition 
of the eyes and feet being due to some confusion in the 
translation of the passage. 
In the oldest Chinese dictionary, the “ Bh’-ya,” pearls 
are mentioned as precious products of Shensi in the 
western part of the Empire. As Shensi is an inland 
province in the very heart of China, these again must 
have been freshwater pearls,” 
74 Streeter, of. c#/., p. 63. 
78 Jhid,, pp. 27 and 253. 
a i 
