The Han Maps and Early Chinese Cartography∗

Bibliographic Data

ID8377262
AuthorsMei-Ling Hsu, Mei‐ling Hsu (University of Minnesota, corresponding author)
Year1978
Volume68
Issue1
Pages45-60
Publication date1978-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-8306.1978.tb01179.x
OpenAlexW2108315057
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited1

The two Chinese maps recently discovered in a Han tomb of the second century B.C. antedate by 1,300 years the two maps which were previously the earliest extant in China; elsewhere in the world they are predated only by the Babylonian clay tablets. These Han maps which are of high quality in terms of scale consistency, information content, and use of symbols are much more advanced than the Babylonian tablets. The two maps, one topographic and one military, portray effectively the terrain, roads, settlements, and military operations of an area in and around southern Hu-nan Province. All features on the maps are depicted with well-designed abstract symbols, and the military map is colored. These maps provide evidence of a much higher level of cartographic achievement in ancient China than had previously been realized

Cartography · Geography · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History

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