Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms, Volume 32

original: "Sancai Tuhui"; a renowned pictorial encyclopedia from the Ming Dynasty.
Humanity, Volume 12
Page 12 (Reverse side)

The Kingdom of Siam

The Kingdom of Siam original: "Xianluo Guo"; a name derived from the 14th-century unification of the Xian (Sukhothai) and Luohu (Lavo/Ayutthaya) kingdoms is located to the south of Champa a historical Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in modern-day central and southern Vietnam.

The social customs of this land place great importance on the teachings of the Buddha original: "Shijiao", and as a result, many of the inhabitants are monks. Their style of dress and ornamentation is identical to that of the people of Champa. A peculiar physical trait noted by observers is that the men of this nation have hair covering their entire bodies.

The accompanying woodcut illustrates a Siamese man with prominent body hair, dressed in a simple waist wrap and platform-style sandals, standing near a flowering branch—a classic Ming dynasty ethnographic representation that blends observation with folklore.