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Massive Chinese map among first to identify 'Ka-na-ta'
Missionary's creation marks confluence of Eastern, Western cartography
By Mark Iype, Canwest News ServiceJanuary 13, 2010
A rare 400-year-old Chinese-language world map that for one of the first times identifies "Ka-na-ta" as the territory that would one day become Canada went on display in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
The map, created in 1602 by the Italian missionary, Matteo Ricci, was the first in Chinese to show the Americas, and is one of only two copies in good condition. Because of its rarity and fragility, it became known as the "Impossible Black Tulip."
The document, on display at the Library of Congress, places China at the centre of the world.
While it is not the first world map to use the term "Ka-na-ta" -- the first was in 1547 -- it is the first confluence of Eastern and Western cartography.
"It is the beginning of the East-West story," said Ford Bell, the trustee of the James Ford Bell library at the University of Minnesota, which owns the map. "It is a stunning sight that is incredibly dramatic when you stand in front of it."
The four-metre-by-two-metre map is printed on paper affixed to wood panels.
It gives detailed descriptions of different parts of the world with annotations in Chinese characters and pictures.
Several places in the Americas are named, including Chih-Li (Chile) and Wa-ti-ma-la (Guatemala). Florida is described as "the Land of the Flowers," and the Great Lakes are clearly marked.
According to Daniel Crouch, a map expert with rare book seller Bernard J. Shapero in London, England, Canada is one of the best-described areas on the map.
Shapero rare books is the antiquities dealer that sold the map to the Bell library for $1 million U.S. in October.
Crouch calls the map a virtual "encyclopedia of Western knowledge at the time."
But, he said, the map was a masterful piece of propaganda for the Jesuit mission.
"Really, it was a diplomatic stroke of genius," he said. "It was quickly adopted as being the truth about the world, and placing China at the centre only cemented his place in the eyes of the Chinese emperor."
Ricci drew the map at the request of Emperor Wanli, and it was a way for the Jesuits to gain favour in China.
"It's very clear that they were looking to promote trade and open up the country," said Bell.
Ricci, called the Apostle of China, was the first to be granted entrance to the Chinese court at Beijing. With the favour of the emperor, he was able to open the closed kingdom for several decades so the Jesuits could spread their Christian message.
Fraser Taylor, a cartographer at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the map is significant in that it shows the Western Hemisphere for the first time, but he wouldn't describe it as a Chinese map.
"It is a western map drawn in China to indicate China's position in the world," he said. "In their eyes, they were the centre of the world."
There are only six copies of the map in existence. The others are in Japan, France and at the Vatican. No other copies survived when the Chinese destroyed all things Western in the 18th century as the country resealed its borders in a fit of nationalism, said Crouch.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matteo_Ricci
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/利玛窦
Missionary's creation marks confluence of Eastern, Western cartography
By Mark Iype, Canwest News ServiceJanuary 13, 2010
A rare 400-year-old Chinese-language world map that for one of the first times identifies "Ka-na-ta" as the territory that would one day become Canada went on display in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
The map, created in 1602 by the Italian missionary, Matteo Ricci, was the first in Chinese to show the Americas, and is one of only two copies in good condition. Because of its rarity and fragility, it became known as the "Impossible Black Tulip."
The document, on display at the Library of Congress, places China at the centre of the world.
While it is not the first world map to use the term "Ka-na-ta" -- the first was in 1547 -- it is the first confluence of Eastern and Western cartography.
"It is the beginning of the East-West story," said Ford Bell, the trustee of the James Ford Bell library at the University of Minnesota, which owns the map. "It is a stunning sight that is incredibly dramatic when you stand in front of it."
The four-metre-by-two-metre map is printed on paper affixed to wood panels.
It gives detailed descriptions of different parts of the world with annotations in Chinese characters and pictures.
Several places in the Americas are named, including Chih-Li (Chile) and Wa-ti-ma-la (Guatemala). Florida is described as "the Land of the Flowers," and the Great Lakes are clearly marked.
According to Daniel Crouch, a map expert with rare book seller Bernard J. Shapero in London, England, Canada is one of the best-described areas on the map.
Shapero rare books is the antiquities dealer that sold the map to the Bell library for $1 million U.S. in October.
Crouch calls the map a virtual "encyclopedia of Western knowledge at the time."
But, he said, the map was a masterful piece of propaganda for the Jesuit mission.
"Really, it was a diplomatic stroke of genius," he said. "It was quickly adopted as being the truth about the world, and placing China at the centre only cemented his place in the eyes of the Chinese emperor."
Ricci drew the map at the request of Emperor Wanli, and it was a way for the Jesuits to gain favour in China.
"It's very clear that they were looking to promote trade and open up the country," said Bell.
Ricci, called the Apostle of China, was the first to be granted entrance to the Chinese court at Beijing. With the favour of the emperor, he was able to open the closed kingdom for several decades so the Jesuits could spread their Christian message.
Fraser Taylor, a cartographer at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the map is significant in that it shows the Western Hemisphere for the first time, but he wouldn't describe it as a Chinese map.
"It is a western map drawn in China to indicate China's position in the world," he said. "In their eyes, they were the centre of the world."
There are only six copies of the map in existence. The others are in Japan, France and at the Vatican. No other copies survived when the Chinese destroyed all things Western in the 18th century as the country resealed its borders in a fit of nationalism, said Crouch.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matteo_Ricci
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/利玛窦
