China's First Knowledge of the Americas
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5003476 |
|---|---|
| Authors | L Carrington Goodrich (0009-0006-6469-6352, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1938 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 400 |
| Publication date | 1938-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Geographical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/209738 |
| OpenAlex | W2324228373 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
FIG. I The Chinese have had a long and honorable history as geographers and map makers.' The Sea and Mountain Classic L1 *f of about 300 B.C. reveals a certain though highly fanciful knowledge of the Asiatic world. After the conquests of the first emperor of the Ch'in (259-210 B.C.) and of the emperor Wu of the Han (I56-87 B.C.) the great historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145ca. 80 B.C.) and his capable successor Pan Ku (A.D. 32-92) were able to add a considerable amount of detail to this knowledge in the first two dynastic histories. The first maps of which there is any sure report date also from the time of the Ch'in founder. They were probably incised on wood. One was mentioned under dramatic circumstances in the year 227 B.C., and a collection of others was made for the imperial library. This collection escaped the destruction of the palace in 207 B.C. and seems to have remained unharmed for at least three centuries; for Pan Ku cites it twice in his chapter on geography in the History of the Western Han. 2 We do not know just what the maps showed; but it is said that, with them in his possession, the first Han emperor (247-195 B.C.) knew the defiles and the barriers, the enumeration of the population by homes and by individuals, the strong and feeble places, and the grievances of the people. By the third century of our era map making was so advanced that P'ei Hsiu * (A.D. 224-27I) could formulate the principles, six in all, on which cartography should rest. By this time maps were also outlined on silk or possibly on paper and were drawn to scale, two Chinese inches representing a thousand Ii. The scale was represented by means of squares. The map of China that P'ei Hsiu drew no longer exists, but a reconstruction of it was made in 1701, aind this may be consulted in Herrmann's reproduction.3 Another significant development at about this time was the begin
Ancient history · Archaeology · China · Geography · Political science · Chinese history and philosophy · History
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.08 |
| Citation span | 1955 - 2024 (70) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |