Kunyu Wanguo Quantu: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:World map-impossible black tulip-small.jpg|thumb|'''Impossible Black Tulip''' - small scale north polar projection version displayed in top of first left panel of first Chinese world map]] |
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[[File:Ricci map 1602.jpg|thumb|350px|Matteo Ricci map, 1602.]] |
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The '''Impossible Black Tulip''' is the first European-style [[World map]] in [[Classical Chinese|Chinese]].<ref name="Baran">{{cite news|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/12/16/tulip-map/|title=Historic map coming to Minnesota |last=Baran|first=Madeleine |date=December 16, 2009|publisher=Minnesota Public Radio|accessdate=12 January 2010|location=St. Paul, Minn. }}</ref> Cartographers refer to it as "the impossible black tulip of cartography", because of its rarity, importance and exoticism.<ref name="Abbe">{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/art/79576487.html|title=Million-dollar map coming to Minnesota|last=Abbe|first=Mary|date=12-18-2009|work= Star Tribune|publisher=Star Tribune Company|accessdate=12 January 2010|location=Minneapolis}}</ref> |
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[[File:Kunyu wanguo quantu.jpg|thumb|350px|The ''Kunyu wanguo quantu'', 1602.]] |
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==Description== |
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{{Chinese maps}} |
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The map is a very large, {{convert|5|ft|abbr=on|2}} high and {{convert|12|ft|abbr=on|2}} wide, [[Azimuthal equidistant projection|Azimuthal equidistant]] [[map projection|projection]] showing [[China]] at the center of the known world.<ref name="Abbe"/> The map was carved onto six huge blocks of wood and then [[Woodblock printing|printed]] in brownish ink on six panels of rice paper like a Chinese folding screen. It portrays both North and South America and the Pacific Ocean with reasonable accuracy. China is appropriately linked to Asia, India and the Middle East. Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa also are well delineated. |
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The '''''Kunyu Wanguo Quantu''''' (坤輿萬國全圖: "A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World") was a map of the world developed by [[Jesuit]] father [[Matteo Ricci]] during [[Jesuit China missions|his mission in China]]. This map was critical in expanding the Chinese knowledge of the world, and later the Japanese knowledge of the world as well when it was exported to Japan.<ref>''Japan and China: mutual representations in the modern era'' Wataru Masuda p.17 [http://books.google.com/books?id=Qh8ueI1OLEEC&pg=PA17]</ref> |
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Diane Neimann, co-manager of the Ford Bell Trust, notes that: "There is some distortion, but what's on the map is the result of commerce, trade and exploration, so one has a good sense of what was known then.<ref name="Abbe"/> |
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The ''Kunyu Wanguo Quantu'' was printed in 1602 with the help of [[Li Zhizao]].<ref name="Elman">''On their own terms: science in China, 1550-1900'' by Benjamin A. Elman p.127 [http://books.google.com/books?id=KPEpPhlzPg0C&pg=PA127]</ref> |
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==History== |
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Only seven copies are known to exist; two belong to [[The Vatican]], three to institutions in [[Japan]], and one in a private collection in [[France]]. The other was purchased in 2009 by the [[James Ford Bell]] Trust on behalf of the Bell Library at the [[University of Minnesota]], which intends to make digital copies available to researchers. The fragility of the [[rice paper]] and the map's rarity have given it the nickname "The Impossible Black Tulip of Cartography"<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/art/79576487.html | title=Million-dollar map coming to Minnesota | author=Mary Abbe | publisher=[[Minneapolis Star-Tribune]] | date=2009-12-18 | accessdate=2010-01-12}}</ref>; the name comes from an elusive variety of [[tulip]] sought historically by Dutch breeders.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bulb.com/templates/dispatcher.asp?page_id=21852 | title=The Elusive Black Tulip | publisher=bulb.com | accessdate=2010-01-12}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Impossible Black Tulip-world map, North and South America.jpg|thumb|Impossible Black Tulip-World map, 4th 5th and 6th panels showing North and South America]] |
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The map was begun in [[Zhaoqing]], in 1584 by the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] priest, [[Matteo Ricci]]. Ricci was one of the first Western scholars to live in China, master Chinese script and the Classical Chinese language. Matteo Ricci created the map at the request of the governor of Zhaoqing at the time, [[Wang Pan]], who wanted the document to serve as a resource for explorers and scholars. |
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Later, Ricci was the first Westerner to enter [[Peking]], bringing atlases of Europe and the West that were unknown to his hosts. The Chinese had maps of the East that were equally unfamiliar to Western scholars. In 1602, at the request of the [[Wanli Emperor]], working with Chinese scholars in what is now Beijing, Ricci completed a composite map that, among other things, revealed the existence of America to the Chinese. Ford W. Bell said: "This was a great collaboration between East and West. It really is a very clear example of how trade was a driving force behind the spread of civilization." |
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It followed a first map by Ricci, printed in 1584, named ''[[Yudi Shanhai Quantu]]''.<ref name="Elman"/> [[Ferdinand Verbiest]] would later develop the ''[[Kunyu Quantu]]'' in 1674. |
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Several prints of the map were made in 1602. Only seven original copies of the map are known to exist and only two are in good condition. There are two in the [[Vatican]], three in Japanese institutions, one in a private collection in France and one recently sold in London.<ref name="Abbe"/> |
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==See also== |
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* ''[[Wanguo Quantu]]'' |
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== |
==Bell Trust copy== |
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The [[James Ford Bell Trust]] announced in December 2009 that it had recently acquired one of the two good copies from a London books and maps dealer for $1 million. Ford W. Bell, president of the [[American Association of Museums]] and a trustee for the James Ford Bell Trust, said in an interview with [[Minnesota Public Radio]]'s [[All Things Considered]]: "These opportunities don't present themselves very often. This map was the only one on the market, and the only one likely to be on the market. So we had to take advantage of that opportunity. |
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The [[Library of Congress]] displayed the map for the first time in North America on Jan. 12, 2010, and will remain there for three months, where it will be [[Image scanner|scanned]] to create a permanent [[digital image]] available to scholars. The map will then be breifly exhibited at the [[Minneapolis Institute of Arts]], before moving to its permanent home at the James Ford Bell Library at the [[University of Minnesota]] .<ref name="Baran"/> |
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[[Category:Old maps of the world]] |
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[[Category:1602 works]] |
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==External sources== |
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==References== |
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Revision as of 20:40, 12 January 2010
The Impossible Black Tulip is the first European-style World map in Chinese.[1] Cartographers refer to it as "the impossible black tulip of cartography", because of its rarity, importance and exoticism.[2]
Description
The map is a very large, 5 ft (1.52 m) high and 12 ft (3.66 m) wide, Azimuthal equidistant projection showing China at the center of the known world.[2] The map was carved onto six huge blocks of wood and then printed in brownish ink on six panels of rice paper like a Chinese folding screen. It portrays both North and South America and the Pacific Ocean with reasonable accuracy. China is appropriately linked to Asia, India and the Middle East. Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa also are well delineated.
Diane Neimann, co-manager of the Ford Bell Trust, notes that: "There is some distortion, but what's on the map is the result of commerce, trade and exploration, so one has a good sense of what was known then.[2]
History
The map was begun in Zhaoqing, in 1584 by the Jesuit priest, Matteo Ricci. Ricci was one of the first Western scholars to live in China, master Chinese script and the Classical Chinese language. Matteo Ricci created the map at the request of the governor of Zhaoqing at the time, Wang Pan, who wanted the document to serve as a resource for explorers and scholars.
Later, Ricci was the first Westerner to enter Peking, bringing atlases of Europe and the West that were unknown to his hosts. The Chinese had maps of the East that were equally unfamiliar to Western scholars. In 1602, at the request of the Wanli Emperor, working with Chinese scholars in what is now Beijing, Ricci completed a composite map that, among other things, revealed the existence of America to the Chinese. Ford W. Bell said: "This was a great collaboration between East and West. It really is a very clear example of how trade was a driving force behind the spread of civilization."
Several prints of the map were made in 1602. Only seven original copies of the map are known to exist and only two are in good condition. There are two in the Vatican, three in Japanese institutions, one in a private collection in France and one recently sold in London.[2]
Bell Trust copy
The James Ford Bell Trust announced in December 2009 that it had recently acquired one of the two good copies from a London books and maps dealer for $1 million. Ford W. Bell, president of the American Association of Museums and a trustee for the James Ford Bell Trust, said in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered: "These opportunities don't present themselves very often. This map was the only one on the market, and the only one likely to be on the market. So we had to take advantage of that opportunity.
The Library of Congress displayed the map for the first time in North America on Jan. 12, 2010, and will remain there for three months, where it will be scanned to create a permanent digital image available to scholars. The map will then be breifly exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, before moving to its permanent home at the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota .[1]
External sources
References
- ^ a b Baran, Madeleine (December 16, 2009). "Historic map coming to Minnesota". St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d Abbe, Mary (12-18-2009). "Million-dollar map coming to Minnesota". Star Tribune. Minneapolis: Star Tribune Company. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
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