Historical Chinese Efforts to Determine Longitude at Sea

Bibliographic Data

ID21715571
AuthorsRichard De Grijs (0000-0002-7203-5996, Macquarie University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue1
Pages54-74
Publication date2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Astronomical History and Heritage (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1440-2807
PublisherChina Science Publishing & Media Ltd. (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3724/sp.j.1440-2807.2022.01.02
OpenAlexW4319015622
LanguageEN
References cited8

High-level Chinese cartographic developments predate European innovations by several centuries. Whereas European cartographic progress—and in particular the search for a practical solution to the perennial 'longitude problem' at sea—was driven by persistent economic motivations, Chinese mapmaking efforts responded predominantly to administrative, cadastral and topographic needs. Nevertheless, contemporary Chinese scholars and navigators, to some extent aided by experienced Arab navigators and astronomers, developed independent means of longitude determination both on land and at sea, using a combination of astronomical observations and timekeeping devices that continued to operate adequately on pitching and rolling ships. Despite confusing and speculative accounts in the current literature and sometimes overt nationalistic rhetoric, Chinese technical capabilities applied to longitude determination at sea, while different in design from European advances owing to cultural and societal circumstances, were at least on a par with those of their European counterparts

Geodesy · Geography · Latitude · Longitude · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

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