Woodcut from Tong ren shu xue zhen jiu tu jing (Illustrated Manual of Acupoints on the Bronze Man) by Wang Weiyi, published in 1443 (8th year of the Zhengtong reign period of the Ming Dynasty), illustrating the system of proportionate body measurements.
This illustration consists of a simple outline drawing of a human body, viewed from the front. Captions on the image indicate the distances between various landmarks on the surface of the body, as an aid in establishing the location of acupoints and the paths of the channels at the front of the body. For instance, the sides of the head are labelled: 'From the front of the ears to the ermen point is 1 cun 5'; the face is labelled 'Distance between the cheekbones 7 cun', etc. The units of measurement are the chi [Chinese foot] and cun [Chinese inch], the length of the cun being based on the proportions of the individual's body, i.e. 1 cun = the distance from the base of the middle finger to the end of the crease of the middle joint. 10 cun = 1 chi.
See 'Lettering' for further details.
NB. There are close similarities between this image, L0037494 and L0037955.