Page Twelve

Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms

Volume 14: People

The Kingdom of Crossed Shins

The woodcut illustration accompanying this text depicts a man from the mythical Jiaojing Kingdom. He is shown with his legs permanently crossed at the shins, a defining characteristic of his people. The figure has a beard and curly hair, wearing a simple cloth wrap around his waist, standing in a way that emphasizes the unusual structure of his lower limbs.

The people of the Kingdom of Crossed Shins have shins that are bent and twisted, crossing over one another.

original: "交脛國" (Jiāojìng guó). Located in the southern regions in ancient Chinese cosmology, this kingdom is famously mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing). Legend says the inhabitants could not uncross their legs, even while walking or sleeping.

The people of this land possess shins shins: (脚脛, jiǎojìng) specifically referring to the lower leg bones that are bent and twisted original: "曲戾" (qūlì). This term implies a permanent, jagged, or crooked deformity rather than a voluntary movement. in such a manner that they cross one another original: "相交" (xiāngjiāo). Early commentators suggested that because their legs were crossed, they required assistance to stand up or that they walked with a distinctive gait, moving both legs simultaneously..

In the Ming Dynasty worldview, such physical "curiosities" were often interpreted as signs of the vast and diverse nature of the world outside the "Middle Kingdom" (China). The Sancai Tuhui categorized these peoples to provide a comprehensive, though often mythological, map of human existence across the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.