Manshu/Influences

Cartographic

The fairly detailed geographic knowledge of the region detailed in the text does not seem to be widely adopted the dynasties following the Tang. One example is the much-lauded map of China in the Forest of Stelae （碑林） in Xi'an, sometimes considered a marvel of Song Dynasty cartography, which shows a very confused and very blank view of the region. Only the Stone Gate (石门) and Qujing (曲靖) are shown in relatively correct locations. Lake Dian (滇池) and an unidentified place known as Black River Mouth (黑水口) are shown bordering a south-easterly flowing river, directly to the west of Annan (安南府; ie. Hanoi) which, while probably referring to the Red River (红河), veers southward more like the Mekong River (澜沧江) and spuriously misses its mark, where it should have flowed through Annan (安南府) and onward to the South China Sea.

This may suggest that the Manshu (蠻書) was not widely reproduced or distributed, pointing to it being more of a Tang period political text prepared prior to the Tang armies' invasions rather than a broadly distributed dossier. The Yunnanese region was probably of limited interest to the majority of literate Chinese of these periods, being remote, relatively dangerous and possibly of limited trade value and historical/political significance.