Body measurements, front view, Chinese woodcut, 1443

Unknown artist

Lettering: Image title: Yang ren chicun tu (Illustration of measurements on the supine figure) Other lettering: Human beings may be large or small, tall or short, so their bodily measurements cannot be based on the same unit. The chi and cun are longer or shorter according to their bodily dimensions. The same applies to the young and the old. From jiehou (the Adam's apple) to quepen (the Broken Basin -- supraclavicular fossa) is 4 cun. The circumference of the chest is is 4 chi 5 cun. The width of the breasts is 9½ cun. From the supraclavicular fossa down to [] [] (two archaic characters of uncertain meaning) is 9 cun. From [] [] to tianshu (the Celestial Pivot -- depression beside the umbilicus) is 8 cun. From tianshu to henggu (the Transverse Bone -- top of the symphysis pubis) is 6½ cun. From hengu to the top of sifu (the Four Supports - here, the bones of the lower legs) is 1 chi 8 cun. Hengu is 6½ cun long. From the armpit to jixie (the lowest rib) is 1 chi 2 cun. From jixie to bishu (the Ham Pivot - the trochanteric region) is 6 cun in length. From bishu down to xizhong (the middle of the knee) is 1 chi 9 cun in length. From the top to the bottom of neiguan (the Inner Pass - here, possibly the knee joint) is 3½ cun in length. From neifu (the bottom of the tibia) to neihuai (the internal malleolus) is 1 chi 3 cun in length. From the knee to the internal malleolus is 1 chi 6 cun. The internal malleolus is nearly 3 cun from the ground. The foot is 1 chi 2 cun long, and 4½ cun wide. From fushu (the instep) down to the ground is 3 cun in length.