Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Humans, Volume 13

Page 7

The woodcut depicts a man identified as a "Black Khitan" sitting on the ground beside his horse. He wears a distinctive robe with a spotted pattern, likely representing leopard or other animal skins, which signaled "exotic" status to Ming dynasty readers. He holds a long staff or whip, emphasizing the equestrian culture of the Central Asian steppes.

The Black Khitan

The Black Khitan original: 黑契丹 (Heiqidan). These are the Kara-Khitan, also known as the Western Liao. The name "Kara" is the Turkic word for "black," which the Chinese translated literally. They were a sophisticated empire that blended Chinese administrative traditions with Central Asian culture. possess walled cities and human settlements original: 城池人烟 (Chengchi renyan). Literally "cities, moats, and human smoke." This phrase indicates a settled, civilized society with permanent architecture and a significant population, distinguishing them from purely nomadic tribes..

The men and horses of the Jin original: 金人馬 (Jin renma). Refers to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234). The Jin were the rivals who drove the Khitan people out of Northern China, leading to the Khitan migration westward to found the Kara-Khitan state. once reached this land.

To travel from this region to Yingtian Prefecture original: 應天府 (Yingtianfu). In the Ming dynasty context, this refers to Nanjing, the southern capital. The text uses this well-known metropolitan center to provide a sense of scale for the reader. takes one year by horse.