Catalogue of Chinese ancient maps in the Library of Congress

Author: Li Xiaocong (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: This book is one of the achievements of the "Investigation, Collection, and Research of New Historical Materials on Ancient Sino-foreign Relations" project by the Peking University Research Center for Ancient Chinese History, a key research base in humanities and social sciences in China's universities, supported by the Ministry of Education. It is also a result of collaborative research with the Library of Congress in the United States. All the maps in this book have been authorized by the Library of Congress for publication. Ancient Chinese maps, with their high spiritual and scientific and technological content, symbolize the cultural level of the nation. The transmission of Chinese ancient maps overseas has spread the brilliance of Chinese civilization to the world, promoting the integration of human civilization and culture, and advancing humanity's understanding of the Earth's spatial environment. Therefore, Chinese ancient maps are a valuable part of human cultural heritage. To adapt to the needs of the rapidly developing modern society, humans should continuously learn from history. Traditional Chinese maps drawn by ancient people provide temporal and spatial information for studying history. The maps collected in this book are preserved in the Special Collections of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, and are traditional Chinese maps drawn with conventional artistic techniques. The book is divided into four volumes:
Volume I: World Maps, Maps of Foreign Lands, and National Overview Maps.
Volume II: Regional Maps: Provinces, Prefectures, States, Districts, and Counties.
Volume III: Thematic Maps: Cities, Palaces, Gardens, Tombs, and Thematic Maps.
Volume IV: Thematic Maps: Rivers, Mountains, and Coastal Maps.
The Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress preserves approximately 300 Chinese hand-drawn and woodcut maps, including long scroll maps, fan maps, and rubbings of stone-carved maps from the 12th century onwards.