Mapping China: A cartographer’s dream | The Economist
▻http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21594229-two-books-tell-fascinating-tale-rediscovered-map-china-cartograp
A cartographer’s dream
Two books tell the fascinating tale of a rediscovered map of China
Jan 18th 2014 | From the print edition
Mr Selden’s Map of China: Decoding the Secrets of a Vanished Cartographer. By Timothy Brook. Bloomsbury USA; 240 pages; $25. Profile Books; £18.99.
London: The Selden Map and the Making of a Global City, 1549-1689. By Robert Batchelor. University of Chicago Press; 344 pages; $45.
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/h3kavamnvg8osi9/china_map_2.png
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/cpn9bxwhykeb898/china_map.png
MAPS can be tools for trade, but they can also be weapons of war; for centuries cartographers have embraced both aims. Nowhere has captivated the minds of Western mapmakers as much as fabled Cathay. Finding a sea route to China inspired many of the great explorers. European maps of the past 400 years tell the story of empire and the efforts to prise China open for trade. In the 19th century the navigators finally succeeded.