Annotated Atlas of Jiangxi Province

Ming dynasty (1368�1644), Wanli period (1573�1619), undated, ca. 1600

Album of 2 frontispiece leaves and 78 leaves of maps and corresponding texts; overall dimensions of album: 35.2 x 30.0 cm; frontispiece leaves in ink on tangerine gold-sprinkled paper, each leaf: 28.8 x 26.6�26.9 cm; map leaves in ink, color, white pigment, and gold on silk; text leaves in ink on silk; each leaf: approx. 35.0 x 30.0 cm; each map: approx. 28.6�29.0 x 26.4�26.7 cm; each text: approx. 28.8�29.0 x 26.6�26.8 cm

Inventory number: 224/1600/9055

This late Ming geographical work is the oldest extant atlas of Jiangxi but is no longer complete.� It now contains 37 maps, including a general map of the province, 6 maps of the superior prefectures of Raozhou, Fuzhou, Jianchang, Ganzhou, Ji'an, Yuanzhou, and individual maps of 30 counties.� Names of structures, such as schools, temples, monasteries, and pagodas, are in ink within white-pigmented cartouches (mostly vertical but with a few horizontal ones), while natural landforms, like mountains and peaks, are indicated in gold ink set against rich mineral hues.� Rivers and water bodies are not named on the maps, but the more significant ones are mentioned in the explanatory notes, along with information pertaining to the history, topographical features, strategic establishments, and folk customs of each administrative unit.� The overall map of Jiangxi on facing leaves functions as a schematic layout of the administrative divisions in the province as well as a table of contents, since each prefecture and county indicated would have been represented by a more detailed single-leaf map and accompanying descriptive text.