Page Thirty-One

Overseas [Continued]


Kingdom of the Hanging Passages original: "懸渡國" (Xuándù Guó). A region named for the precarious rope bridges and "hanging" mountain paths in the Hindu Kush or Karakoram ranges.	Kingdom of Persia original: "波斯國" (Bōsī Guó). Referring to the Safavid Empire or the general region of modern Iran, known to the Ming for its luxury goods.	Kingdom of Kunwu original: "昆吾國" (Kūnwú Guó). A legendary state famed in antiquity for its specialized red copper used to forge invincible blades.	Barbarians of the Five Creeks original: "五溪蠻" (Wǔxī Mán). A collective term for the non-Han ethnic groups inhabiting the rugged river valleys of the Hunan-Sichuan-Guizhou borders.	Kingdom of Zang original: "藏國" (Zàng Guó). A reference to the Tibetan plateau and its people.	God of the Climbing Mountain original: "登山之神" (Dēngshān zhī shén). A local deity presiding over high peaks and those who traverse them.	Tianwu original: "天吳" (Tiānwú). An eight-headed, eight-tailed water deity described as the Lord of the Valleys.	God of Metal original: "金神" (Jīn Shén). Also known as Rushou, the spirit associated with the West, the autumn season, and the element of metal.	God of Magpie Mountain original: "鵲山之神" (Quèshān zhī shén). The presiding deity over the first mountain system recorded in ancient legendary geographies.
Kingdom of Udyana original: "烏長國" (Wūcháng Guó). An ancient Buddhist center located in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan.	Kingdom of Bomeili original: "撥枚力國" (Bōméilì Guó). A phonetic rendering of a foreign locale, likely representing a port in the Mediterranean or the Persian Gulf.	Kingdom of Poluozhe original: "婆羅遮國" (Póluózhē Guó). A transcription for a distant kingdom, possibly referencing a region in the Indian subcontinent.	Kingdom of Meilugu original: "眉路骨國" (Méilùgǔ Guó). A phonetic transcription; historical geographers often associate this name with Morocco or Mamluk Egyptian territories.	Kingdom of Mecca original: "麻嘉國" (Májiā Guó). The holy city of Islam, which became well-known in China through the voyages of Zheng He.	God of Bell Mountain original: "鍾山之神" (Zhōngshān zhī shén). The deity residing on the mountain that marks the edge of the world's light.	Divine Lu original: "神陸" (Shénlù). Likely Lu Wu, the tiger-bodied guardian deity of the sacred Kunlun Mountains.	Torch Shadow original: "燭陰" (Zhúyīn). Also known as the Torch Dragon; a primordial being whose breathing creates the wind and whose blinking creates day and night.	Taifeng original: "泰逢" (Tàiféng). A mountain god possessing a human face and a tiger’s tail, capable of manipulating the weather and omens.