Advertisement
How European maps of China helped paint a picture of the Middle Kingdom during the age of exploration
- 127 European maps of China made during the Ming and Qing dynasties feature in a book which shows how the Middle Kingdom was seen in the West, and by itself
12-MIN READ12-MIN
2
The Kangxi emperor is unhappy.
By 1686 the second Qing monarch to rule from Beijing had largely completed the pacification of Ming territory, and was following earlier rulers in defining his newly established domain on paper. For foreign conquerors, this making of maps is particularly important.
To ensure the stability of their minority rule, the Manchu invaders adopted the traditions of the Chinese Confucian bureaucracy, at least in public, and supported the view that everything of importance was part of their empire. Anything else was minor, barbarian, peripheral and supplicant.
Little was known of the rest of the world, and if it appeared on maps it was drawn very small. Kangxi was thus not so much asserting ownership of limited territory, as taking a census of everything that mattered.
Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice