{"product_id":"mappemonde-dorigine-chinoise-xviie-siecle","title":"Antique map - 17th-century Chinese world map","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis globe is a fascinating piece that illustrates the \u003cstrong\u003ecultural \u003c\/strong\u003eand \u003cstrong\u003escientific\u003c\/strong\u003e encounter between the \u003cstrong\u003eEast\u003c\/strong\u003e and the \u003cstrong\u003eWest\u003c\/strong\u003e. 🌍\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e⛩️ Although its style and annotations are Chinese, it is directly inspired by the work of the Italian Jesuit missionary \u003cstrong\u003eMatteo Ricci\u003c\/strong\u003e, who was the first to introduce modern European cartography to China at the end of the sixteenth century. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis map is a later version, probably from the eighteenth century, derived from the famous \u003cstrong\u003eKunyu Wanguo Quantu\u003c\/strong\u003e, which means \u003cstrong\u003e\"the map of the ten thousand countries of the world\"\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e🏯 Matteo Ricci's original was created at the request of \u003cstrong\u003eEmperor Wanli \u003c\/strong\u003eto show the imperial court that China was only part of a much larger world. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn this planisphere, we observe an ingenious adaptation: so as not to offend the sensibilities of the Middle Kingdom, which considered itself the center of the world, Ricci placed China\u003cstrong\u003e at the center of the map\u003c\/strong\u003e, thus shifting Europe to the edges. This is a layout that, moreover, has remained the standard for many maps produced in Asia to this day.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe geographical outline reveals the knowledge of the time with astonishing precision for some continents and poetic approximations for others. We can clearly distinguish the outlines of Africa, Europe, and Asia, while the Americas and the southern land are represented in a more speculative manner. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe annotations in Chinese characters do not merely name places, they sometimes describe the customs of the inhabitants or natural curiosities, thus mixing \u003cstrong\u003erigorous geography \u003c\/strong\u003eand \u003cstrong\u003efantastic travelogues\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn a technical level, this version uses an \u003cstrong\u003eoval projection \u003c\/strong\u003ethat was very popular in European atlases of the Renaissance. The delicate colors and the use of ink recall the codes of \u003cstrong\u003etraditional Chinese painting\u003c\/strong\u003e, making this document a hybrid object. 🖌️\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt was not used solely for navigation, but above all as a \u003cstrong\u003ediplomatic\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eeducational \u003c\/strong\u003etool for Chinese scholars, allowing them to grasp the overall shape of the Earth while retaining their own cosmology. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday, it remains a \u003cstrong\u003eprecious testimony \u003c\/strong\u003eof the way ideas circulate and transform from one end of the planet to the other.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"cartopolo","offers":[{"title":"50 x 70 cm \/ Creative paper 200 gsm","offer_id":52792652857687,"sku":"MAPCHINOISEXVIIA","price":34.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"70 x 100 cm \/ Creative paper 200 gsm","offer_id":52792652890455,"sku":"MAPCHINOISEXVIIB","price":59.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0578\/7854\/4418\/products\/Bazeek_carteancienne_MAPPEMONDECHINOISE_XVIII_affiche.jpg?v=1702564611","url":"https:\/\/cartopolo.fr\/en\/products\/mappemonde-dorigine-chinoise-xviie-siecle","provider":"Cartopolo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}