Ink and color on paper
This atlas set contains maps and tables corresponding to the administrative divisions of the Yingtian Prefecture, Zhenjiang Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, Chizhou Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, and Guangdezhou, with the table of Guangdezhou only partially preserved, and only one page left for the Chizhou Prefecture. Except for the Yingtian Prefecture Table, which has its title “Central Secretariat” labeled in the first line, all other tables begin with titles, followed by three sections detailing distances between locations, geographical features, and local products. The maps are vividly colored, adopting a bird’s-eye view perspective. Geographical elements are depicted using a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional views, without strict adherence to focal or vanishing point perspective. Each map includes the name of the prefecture (or <i>zhou</i>) in the upper right-hand corner of the frame, with the cardinal directions (i.e., North, South, West, East) labeled on the top, bottom, left, and right edges, respectively. The corners and edges of the map frames also provide corresponding information about distances listed in the tables. Each map focuses on the prefectural capital, which occupies a significant portion of the layout, with county seats positioned relative to the prefectural capital. For instance, in the <i>Ying Tian Prefecture Table</i>, “Central Secretariat” is labeled in the first line, and in the <i>Yingtian Prefecture Map</i>, “gongcheng” (imperial cities) can be found. Nevertheless, counties such as Jiangpu, Liuhe, and Gaochun are absent, and Guangyang County is also not found in Guangdezhou. This indicates that the atlas reflects the administrative boundaries of the Nanjing metropolitan region between 1373 and 1376, and that the maps were likely created around the same time, making them exceptionally valuable as surviving Yuan-era geographic maps are exceedingly rare today.