此《宣大山西三镇图说》由时任宣大山西三镇总督的杨时宁主持编修。全书共三卷，前有三镇总图，以统其纲。后分为：宣府镇、大同镇、山西镇。按镇、路、城堡逐级分别叙述，图说结合，边防形势一览在目。此内含明万历三十一年彩绘本及 1941 年景明万历时期刊本（郑振铎玄览堂丛书）。
明朝中后期，国力衰微，边备松驰，“北虏南倭” 问题突出。边外的蒙古族右翼首领俺答兴起后，不时南下寇边，明、蒙边界战争不断。北边三镇宣府、大同、山西因其特殊的地理位置，决定了它们内屏京师外抗强敌的战略位置十分重要。
时任宣大山西三镇总督的杨时宁，一方面顺应边疆史地撰述大量涌现的潮流，另方面按朝廷的要求，于万历三十年（1602 年）组织文武将吏对宣府、大同、山西三镇进行实地调查，图画条说各镇的形胜、要害、边防情况。这项工作于万历三十一年（1603 年）十二月结束。杨时宁将此次工作的结果，编辑、整理为《宣大山西三镇图说》。该书既提出备边方略，也是北方三镇的战备地图，具有极高的实用性和实效性。
This “Illustrated Illustrations of the Three Towns of Xuanda Shanxi” was edited by Yang Shining, who was then the Governor General of the Three Towns of Xuanda Shanxi. The whole book consists of three volumes, with a general map of three towns at the beginning to unify its outline. Later divided into: Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, and Shanxi Town. Describing each town, road, and castle level by level, with a combination of illustrations and descriptions, the border defense situation is summarized in detail. This includes the painted edition of the 31st year of the Ming Wanli era and the published edition of the Jingming Wanli era in 1941 (Zheng Zhenduo Xuanlangtang Series).
In the mid to late Ming Dynasty, the national strength declined and the border defense became lax, leading to a prominent issue of “northern invasion and southern invasion”. After the rise of the Mongolian right-wing leader Anda outside the border, he occasionally went south to invade the border, and the border wars between Ming and Mongolia continued. The three northern towns of Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi, due to their special geographical location, have determined their strategic position as the inner screen of the capital and the outer defense against strong enemies, which is very important.
Yang Shining, who was then the Governor General of the Three Towns of Xuanda Shanxi, on the one hand followed the trend of writing a large number of border history and geography, and on the other hand, in accordance with the requirements of the court, organized civil and military officials to conduct on-site investigations of Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi in the thirtieth year of the Wanli reign (1602), with picture strips describing the shape, key points, and border defense situation of each town. This work was completed in December of the 31st year of the Wanli reign (1603). Yang Shining edited and organized the results of this work into “Illustrated Illustrations of the Three Towns in Shanxi Province”. This book not only proposes strategies for border preparation, but also serves as a war readiness map for the three northern towns, with high practicality and effectiveness.

历史上的今天 ( 35 )：