Chinese Maps: Images of "All Under Heaven"

Chinese Maps: Images of "All Under Heaven"
ISBN-10
0195859499
ISBN-13
9780195859492
Category
Reference / General
Pages
88
Language
English
Published
1996
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Author
Richard Joseph Smith

Description

For nearly two thousand years the Chinese Emporer, self-proclaimed ruler of 'All under Heaven', demanded the obedience not only of his subjects within China but also of peoples throughout the known world. Maps played a crucial role in the administration of this vast system of states. Charts offoreign lands and images of the 'barbarians' that populated them presented the world as the Chinese wanted it to be seen: with the Middle Kingdom as lord and other states as vassals paying tribute to it. In this richly illustrated history, Richard J. Smithshows how the Chinese depicted foreign lands and peoples in maps and encyclopedias through the centuries. He discusses the debates surrounding the production of maps, as well as their technical aspects and political, military and administrativeuses. Reproductions of many of the most beautiful and noteworthy maps of the Chinese world accompany the text. More than simple refelections of the lands and peoples they depict, these maps and illustrations are documents that reveal the evolving values of the grand and powerful society that produced them

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