Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Humans, Volume 13

Page 6

The illustration shows a man in simple robes kneeling to milk a spotted deer. Beside him sits a wooden bucket, and he holds a smaller bowl to catch the milk. This visual highlights the most famous ethnographic detail attributed to this land in historical records.

The Kingdom of Fusang

The Kingdom of Fusang original: 扶桑國 (Fusangguo). A legendary land in the far east. While some modern scholars have playfully speculated on a connection to the Americas, historically it was associated with the ends of the known world or, later, with Japan. is located to the east of the Kingdom of Greater Han original: 大漢國 (Dahanguo). In this geographical context, this refers to a semi-mythical region described in early Chinese histories as being located far to the northeast of China, beyond the known borders..

The inhabitants construct houses made of wooden planks original: 板屋 (Banyu), and they have no inner or outer city walls original: 城郭 (Chengguo). In traditional Chinese thought, the presence of city walls was a hallmark of civilization and defense; their absence here implies a land of peace or a different social order..

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Song original: 宋武帝 (Song Wudi), who reigned 420–422 CE during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, a person from Jibin original: 罽賓 (Jibin). An ancient kingdom usually identified with the region of Kashmir or Gandhara in Central/South Asia arrived in that country.

The people of that land raise deer as cattle original: 養鹿為牛 (Yang lu wei niu). This is a distinctive cultural marker in Chinese records, noting that the deer served the same domestic purpose as cows in China. and take their milk original: 取乳 (Qu ru) for nourishment.