The Country of Tibet吐蕃國
1The Tibetans who live in tents
已東吐蕃國。純住氷山雪山川谷之間。以氈帳而居。無有城郭屋舍。處所與突厥相似。隨逐水草。其王雖在一處。亦無城但依氈帳以為居業。土地出羊馬猫牛毯褐之類。衣著毛褐皮裘。女人亦爾。土地極寒。不同餘國。家常食麨。少有餅飯。國王百姓等。總不識佛法。無有寺舍。國人悉皆穿地作坑而臥。無有床席。人民極黑。白者全布。言音與諸國不同。多愛喫虱。為著毛褐。甚饒蟣虱。捉得便拋口裏。終不棄也
Tibet (吐蕃國), east of here, lies wholly among ice mountains, snow mountains and river valleys, and they live in felt tents (氈帳). They have no walled towns and no houses. The way they live is like that of the Turks, and they move about following water and grass. The king does stay in one place, and even he has no walled town; a felt tent is all his dwelling.
The land yields sheep, horses, yaks (猫牛), blankets and coarse wool. They wear coarse wool and leather coats, and the women do the same. The land is very cold, unlike other countries. At home they always eat barley flour, and cakes and rice are few.
The king and the people know nothing at all of the Law of the Buddha, and there are no monasteries. The people of the country all dig a pit in the ground and lie in it, and they have no beds and no mats. The people are very dark of skin, and one who is fair is very rare. Their speech too is unlike that of the other countries.
They like to catch lice and eat them. Because they wear coarse wool they have nits and lice in plenty, and whatever they catch they throw straight into the mouth, and they never throw one away.