Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms

Figures, Volume 14

Page Eight

The Kingdom of Three Bodiesoriginal: "三身國" (Sānshēnguó). A mythical nation where the inhabitants are descendants of the legendary Emperor Di Jun. is located to the east of the Kingdom of Black Teethoriginal: "黑齒國" (Hēichǐguó). A legendary land in the southeast where people were said to dye their teeth black using plant juices. In ancient Chinese maps, it serves as a geographic marker for the distant edges of the known world.; its people possess a single head and three bodies. As shown in the accompanying illustration, this unique anatomy consists of one head joined at the neck to three distinct torsos, sharing a single base. This reflects the ancient Chinese fascination with "monstrous" or "strange" physiology as a way to categorize distant, unknown peoples.