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Xianghejing 相鶴經 is a text on observing the bird species crane and interpreting their appearance. The author, also called Fuqiu Bo 浮丘伯 or Li Fuqiu 李浮丘, is said to have either lived during the time of the Yellow Emperor 黃帝 or during the reign of King Ling 周靈王 (r. 572-545 BCE) of the Zhou dynasty. He was befriended to Wang Zijin 王子晉 (Taizi Jin 太子晉, the oldest son of King Ling). Fuqiu Gong was allegedly an immortal living on Mt. Songshan 嵩山 who mastered the mouth organ (sheng 笙) and could ride on the back of flying cranes (qi he 騎鶴).
The earliest reference to a book called Fuqiu Gong xianghe shu 浮丘公相鶴書 is in the bibliographical chapter Jingji zhi 經籍志 in the official dynastic history Suishu 隋書, which states that the was already lost. The text is, however, still listed among the agricultural treatises in the Jiutangshu 舊唐書 and Xintangshu 新唐書 bibliographies.
The received version says that once the eight masters from the Huainan region (Huainan ba gong 淮南八公), collecting herbs, found the text. It seems that it originated in the 3rd or 4th century and took shape until c. 1000 CE. The text describes the shapes of cranes, methods of inspecting them, and how to keep them as quasi-domestic animals. It also gives hints on how to interpret their voices, and their relation to Daoists and immortality.
The text was re-edited by Wang Anshi 王安石 (1021-1086). Another revision was made by Zhou Lüjing 周履靖 (1549-1640).
| 鶴者，陽鳥也，而游於陰，因金氣依火精以自養。金數九，火數七，故稟其純陽也。 | The crane is a Yang bird, yet it moves through Yin [places]. It relies on the essence of the agent metal and the spirit of fire to nourish itself. Metal's number is nine, and fire's is seven; thus it inherits pure Yang nature. |
| 生二年，子毛落而黑毛易。三年，頂赤，爲羽翮。其七年小變，而飛薄雲漢。復七年，聲應節，而晝夜十二時鳴。鳴則中律。百六十年大變，而不食生物。故大毛落而茸毛生，乃潔白如雪，故泥水不能污。或即純黑，而緇盡成膏矣。復百六十年，變止，而雌雄相視，目睛不轉，則有孕。千六百年，形定。 | At two years of age, its down feathers fall, and black feathers grow in their place. At three years, its crown turns red, forming flight feathers. At seven years, it undergoes a minor transformation, and is able to fly through the Milky Way. After another seven years, its voice resonates with seasonal rhythms, and it cries twelve times a day and night, each cry aligning with the musical tones. After 160 years, the crane undergoes a great transformation, and no longer eats living things. Thus, its coarse feathers fall, and downy feathers grow, becoming pure white like snow, so that mud and water cannot soil it. In some cases, it becomes entirely black, and the dark hue turns to an oily luster. After another 160 years, the transformations cease. Then, when male and female gaze upon each other without shifting their eyes, conception occurs. After 1,600 years, the crane's form becomes fully perfected. |
| 夫聲聞於天，故頂赤；食於水，故啄長；軒於前，故後指短；棲於陸，故足高而尾周；翔於雲，故毛豐而肉踈。且大喉以吐故，修頸以納新，故天壽不可量。所以體無青黃二色者，土木之氣內養，故不表於外也。 | Its voice reaches Heaven, therefore its crown is red; it feeds from the water, therefore its beak is long; it rises from the front, therefore its hind toes are short; it rests on land, therefore its legs are tall and its tail encircles; it soars among the clouds, therefore its feathers are full and its flesh is sparse. Thus, its heaven-granted lifespan is beyond measure. The reason its body lacks green and yellow coloration is because it internally nourishes itself with the essences of earth and wood, and therefore, these do not manifest externally. |
| 聖人在位，則與鳳皇翔於郊甸。 | When a sage is on the throne, [cranes] soar alongside the phoenixes over the borderlands and sacred fields. |
It is transmitted in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Leishuo 類說, Wuchao xiaoshuo daguan 五朝小說大觀 and Shuofu 說郛 (Wanwei Shantang 宛委山堂 edition). The version found in the Yimen guangdu 夷門廣牘 differs critically from the other editions.