Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Humans, Volume 13

Page 11

The woodcut depicts a man from the Aliche nation. He is shown in a traditional fur-trimmed robe, a practical choice for the "mountains and forests" mentioned in the text. He holds a long staff, a common artistic shorthand in this encyclopedia for travelers or those from distant, rugged terrains. The illustration emphasizes a blend of "civilized" settled traits (the robe) and "wild" origins (the fur and staff).

The Aliche people live in mountain forests and possess walled cities; they practice agriculture and are situated a year's journey from the capital.

The Aliche original: 阿里車. A phonetic transcription. This name likely refers to a group in Central Asia or the Siberian frontier, possibly the Alans or a related tribe whose name was transliterated into Chinese characters. people build dwellings original: 廬. Refers to simple houses, huts, or cottages, distinguishing them from the portable tents of purely nomadic groups. and live together amongst the mountains and forests.

Despite their rugged environment, they possess walled cities original: 城池. Literally "walls and moats," this term signifies a settled society with organized defenses and permanent infrastructure.. They sustain themselves by farming the fields original: 種田而食. Literally "planting fields and eating," indicating a sedentary agricultural economy rather than a purely pastoral or hunter-gatherer lifestyle..

To reach Yingtian Prefecture original: 應天府. The "Prefecture of Responding to Heaven," which is modern-day Nanjing. It served as the capital during the early Ming Dynasty and remained a secondary capital and symbolic center thereafter. from their territory takes one year by horse original: 馬行一年. A standard way for Ming cartographers to express extreme geographic distance, highlighting the vastness of the world surrounding the Middle Kingdom..