《山海经》所载发源于昆仑之丘的南方赤水,是以蜀地的岷江为背景加以表述,往往以西海为参照系,反映的是楚文化的观念。南方赤水名称的生成,是五行说把南方与赤色相配的产物。出自昆仑之丘的黑水、青水、白水,也生成于五行说。西北海外的赤水,处于太阳照射不到的幽暗之地,是旱神所处的空间,生态条件极其恶劣。赤指遮蔽、藏伏,这是西北海外赤水名称的文字学依据,并且与五行说对北方所作的认定相契合。《山海经》对极北地区名物描述所用的赤,均取其遮蔽藏伏之义。《山海经》有关南北赤水所作的描述,有实与虚的差异,但是,都在五行学说掌控之中。 The Chishui in the South, originating from the Kunlun Qiuhsi, is described in the background of the Minjiang River in Shuhai. It often uses the West Sea as its reference frame and reflects the concept of Chu culture. The formation of the name of Chishui in the south is the product of the five elements that make the South fit with the red color. Blackwater from the Kunlun hills, green water, white water, also generated in the five elements said. Chishui northwest of overseas, in the dark of the sun does not reach the land, is the space where the drought god, ecological conditions are extremely poor. Red-shaded, hidden, this is the name of the northwest Chishui philosophical basis for the text, and with the five elements that made the identification of the north fit. “Shan Hai Jing” on the polar north of the description of the name of the red, are taken to cover the hidden meaning. The description of the Ching Hai Ching-kuo about the Chishui of the North and the South has the difference between real and imaginary. However, they are all under the control of the Five Elements theory.