View source for Sancai Tuhui

{{Short description|1609 Chinese encyclopedia}}
{{ref-improve|date=February 2016}}
{{italic title}}
{{Chinese
| title = ''Sancai Tuhui''
| t = {{linktext|三才|圖|會}}
| l = collection of illustrations of the three realms
| s = 三才图会
| w = San<sup>1</sup>-tsai<sup>2</sup> Tu<sup>2</sup>-hui<sup>4</sup>
| p = Sāncái Túhuì
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|s|an|1|.|c|ai|2|-|t|u|2|.|h|ui|4}}
| pic = Sancai Tuhui World Map.jpg
| piccap = The world map [[Shanhai Yudi Quantu]] in ''Sancai Tuhui''
| j = saam1 coi4 tou4 wui6
}}
'''''Sancai Tuhui''''' ({{Lang-zh|三才圖會}}, {{respell|san|TS'EYE|_|TOO|khwey}}), compiled by Wang Qi ({{zh|c=王圻}}) and his son Wang Siyi ({{lang|zh-Hant|王思義}}), is a Chinese ''[[leishu]]'' encyclopedia, completed in 1607 and published in 1609 during the late [[Ming dynasty]], featuring illustrations of subjects in the three worlds of heaven, earth, and humanity. The work contains a large number of posthumous and contemporary depictions of [[Chinese emperor]]s.

==Title==
The title of this encyclopedia has been variously translated into English as "Illustrations of the Three Powers",<ref>http://ibs001.colo.firstnet.net.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=8190&idx=1&start=4{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> "Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms", "Pictorial Compendium of the Three Powers", and others; in the original title, "Sancai" ({{lang|zh-Hant|三才}}) refers to the three realms of "heaven, earth, and man", and "Tuhui" ({{lang|zh-Hant|圖會}}) means "collection of illustrations".

==Description==
This encyclopedia is organized into 106 chapters in 14 categories ([[astronomy]], [[geography]], [[biography|biographies]], [[history]], [[biology]], and such), with text and illustrations for the articles. Reproductions of this encyclopedia are still in print in China.

While it contains some inaccurate or mythological articles (for example, the articles on the [[horseshoe crab]] and the [[crane (bird)|crane]]), it also distinguished itself from the common "everyday encyclopedias" ({{lang|zh-Hant|日用類書}}, ''riyong leishu'') at that time by being accurate in some other articles (for example, accurate depictions of the [[Japanese people|Japanese]], [[Korean people|Korean]] and [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] people's [[clothing]], and a very accurate [[world map]] (the [[Shanhai Yudi Quantu]]).

==See also==
*[[Song Yingxing]]
*''[[Wakan Sansai Zue]]'' - A Japanese encyclopedia inspired by the Chinese ''Sancai Tuhui''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{in lang|zh}} http://www.ncl.edu.tw/rarebook/oldcol.htm
*{{in lang|zh}} https://web.archive.org/web/20050316001242/http://www.lib.ntu.edu.tw/dbs/dbs/ref/BOOKchin.htm
*{{in lang|zh}} https://archive.today/20031217211032/http://www.xhlib.net/xinshu02.htm (World Maps in the Ming Dynasty from the Shanghai Xuhui District Library)
*{{in lang|en}} http://www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/~ihpcamp/pdf/92year/wang-cheng-hua-2.pdf - Wang, Cheng-hua. {{cite web|url= http://www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/~ihpcamp/pdf/92year/wang-cheng-hua-2.pdf |title="Art and Daily Life: Knowledge and Social Space in Late-Ming ''Riyong Leishu''" }}&nbsp;{{small|(207&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]])}}, pp.&nbsp;8–9.
*{{in lang|zh}} http://horseshoecrab.sinica.edu.tw/15th.htm
*{{in lang|zh}} https://web.archive.org/web/20051128075412/http://www.fhk.gov.tw/fhkbook/hist/hist.asp-sq_no=45.htm
*{{in lang|en}} http://www.rice.edu//fondren/erc/projects/jingban/ (A map from the Chinese encyclopedia)

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[[Category:Ming dynasty literature]]
[[Category:Encyclopedias in Chinese]]
[[Category:Leishu]]
[[Category:1609 books]]

[[Category:17th-century encyclopedias]]