Mao Kun map
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/WuBeiZhi.jpg/300px-WuBeiZhi.jpg)
Mao Kun map, usually referred to in modern Chinese sources as Zheng He's Navigation Map (traditional Chinese:
Origin
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Mao_Kun_map_-_Langkawi%2C_Kedah%2C_Penang.png/220px-Mao_Kun_map_-_Langkawi%2C_Kedah%2C_Penang.png)
The map is thought by sinologist J.J.L. Duyvendak to have been part of the library of Mao Kun, a collector of military and naval material, who might have acquired it while he was the governor of Fujian.[3] The map was included in Wubei Zhi edited by his grandson Mao Yuanyi, and therefore had been referred to in the past as the "Wubei Zhi chart".[1] In order to distinguish it from other maps in Wubei Zhi, the map was named after Mao Kun by Western scholars such as J. V. G. Mills who studied the map, and therefore came to be known as Mao Kun map in Western sources.[4]
The introduction to the map in Wubei Zhi indicates that the geographical and navigational details of the charts are based on works from the expeditions of Zheng He, and that Mao had "inserted them for the information of posterity and as a memento of [Zheng He's] military achievement".[note 1][5] The map is therefore generally considered to be based on maps dating to the time of Zheng He's voyages,[6][7] and accordingly named as Zheng He's Navigation Map in modern Chinese sources.[8][9]
According to Mills, the map may not have been the work of a single person, rather it was produced in an office with information added and corrected when new information became available after each voyage. He suggested that this map may have been prepared for the 6th expedition in 1421, with some content added during the course of the expedition, and that the map may, therefore, be dated to around 1422.[10] Others proposed a date sometime between 1423 and 1430.[8] It has also been suggested by J.J.L. Duyvendak and Paul Pelliot that the map may have been partly based on Arab nautical charts.[10]
Format and content
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Stellardiagram-Zhengho.jpg/220px-Stellardiagram-Zhengho.jpg)
The map was originally in the form of a strip map of 20.5 cm by 560 cm that could be rolled up, but was then divided into 40 pages in the book. The map, after Nanjing and the Yangtze River, shows mainly the coastal regions and islands along the sea route, and places are depicted in their approximate positions along the contour of the coast. The coast of the main land mass is shown largely as a continuous irregular line at the top of the map, with deep V-shaped indentations indicating river estuaries. As a result of the nature of the map and its focus on the coastal region, the shape of the Malay Peninsula cannot be distinguished, and India became elongated as its interior is omitted. Pages of the map are arranged from right to left in traditional Chinese book format, starting from Nanjing and finishing in Hormuz.[1] Places in East Africa such as Socotra, Mogadishu and Malindi appear in sequence from left to right on the coast of Africa which is shown as a continuous land mass at the bottom of the sections for India and Sri Lanka.[11]
Also marked on the map as dotted lines are sailing routes, with instructions given along the route markings. The sailing instructions are given in compass points and distances – the compass point uses a 24-point compass system with a Chinese character denoting each point (each point further subdivided into three), and the distance is expressed in Chinese units of time (each unit a 2.4-hour period) that would take account of the local currents and winds.[1] Most of the instructions are only given in one direction, although occasionally both the outbound and homeward voyages may also be given. The instructions are also more detailed for Chinese waters.[12] The latitude is indicated by the height of stellar constellation, a similar system to one used by Arabs. Four stellar diagrams are given at the end with instruction for positioning the ships in relation to the stars and constellations to ensure correct navigation in two passages – between Sumatra and Sri Lanka, and between Hormuz and Calicut.[1]
The map does not attempt to give a true or consistent representation in its scale or orientation – the scale can vary from 7 miles/inch in the Nanjing area to 215 miles/inch along parts of the African coast, and in some parts, such as the page with Ceylon, it may orientate in several directions within the same page.[13] There are also geographical distortions in the representation of some places such as Java, and the map becomes less complete the further west it goes.[2] The structure of the last portion or most western of the chart suggests that it may have been composed from a number of other maps of varying scales, including one that was just for Sri Lanka, another for the Maldives and a third for the African Coast. Names of places appear to include Arabic terms (for example Jazirah for island) and may suggest Arab, Swahili or South Asian cartographic or geographic influences.[14]
Places on map
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There are 499 place names in the map, 423 of these have been identified by Mills,[13] although some locations are identified differently by other authors.[17] Some misprints have been noted, for example Barawa or Brava is given as shi-la-wa (
China
[edit]Almost half of the map (18 out of 40 pages) depicts the sailing route from Nanjing to the southern edge of China. The first few pages are on the Yangtze River. Of interest is the inclusion of what are interpreted as Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank or Spratly Islands – the names Shitang (
South East Asia
[edit]The map shows South East Asia in some details. Its main focus is on the route to the Western Ocean (
Among the places marked on the map are Chenla (
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Mao_Kun_map_-_Ceylon%2C_Africa.png/220px-Mao_Kun_map_-_Ceylon%2C_Africa.png)
South and West Asia
[edit]Some of the places marked include Bengal (榜葛剌), Orissa, Sri Lanka, Kollam, Calicut, Hormuz, Oman. Sri Lanka appears significantly larger than it actually is in relation to India.
Africa
[edit]The east coast of Africa is shown in sections of the map with Sri Lanka and India with its land mass at the top of the map and the Maldives in the middle. Places such as Mombasa (慢八撒), Barawa (
Gallery
[edit]- Mao Kun map
Arrangement in traditional Chinese format, to be read from right to left; first pages on top right, last pages on bottom left.
- Stellar charts
Popular culture
[edit]The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise featured a map with circular rotating rings that led to spiritual realms and legends of the land beyond death. It uses meridian arcs, equatorial divisions, geographic landmarks and magic keys to guide one's spiritual passage. First introduced in At World's End, this map was presented as map of the character Sao Feng, and referred to as a Chinese allegory map, the navigational charts, the Map of the Land of the Dead or simply Sao Feng's Map in various media, while serving as the route to the Farthest Gate in the film. In an accompanying book for the following film, On Stranger Tides, the map was given the name Mao Kun Map though it was never said onscreen.[20]
See also
[edit]Similar maps
[edit]- Da Ming Hun Yi Tu, c. late 14th century
- Gangnido Map, 1402
- Sihai Huayi Zongtu, 1532
- Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, 1602
- Shanhai Yudi Quantu, 1609
- Selden Map, c. 17th century
Notes
[edit]- ^ Original text:
當 是 時 ,臣 為 內豎鄭 和 ,亦 不 辱 命 . 焉,其圖列 道 里 國土 ,詳 而不誣,載 以昭來世 ,志 武功 也。
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Sally Church (2008). by Helaine Selin (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd ed.). Springer. pp. 2354–2355. ISBN 978-1402045592.
- ^ a b c Mills, J.V. (1970). Ma Huan Ying Yai Sheng Lan: The overall survey of the ocean shores. Cambridge University Press. pp. 252–253. ISBN 978-0521010320.
- ^ Duyvendak, J.J.L. (1933). Ma Huan Re-examined. N. V. Noord-Hollandsche Uitgeversmaatschappij.
- ^ Mills, J.V. (1970). Ma Huan Ying Yai Sheng Lan: The overall survey of the ocean shores. Cambridge University Press. pp. 236–237. ISBN 978-0521010320.
- ^ Wheatley, Paul (1961). The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press. pp. 91–92. OCLC 504030596.
- ^ Hyunhee Park (27 August 2012). Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1107018686.
- ^ John N. Miksic (15 November 2013). Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300_1800. NUS Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-9971695743.
- ^ a b
徐 玉 虎 (2005). 郑和下 西洋 研究 文 选(1905–2005) [Anthology of Zheng He (1905–2005)] (in Chinese).海洋 出版 社 . ISBN 978-7-5027-6377-0. - ^ 曹婉如 (1994).
中国 古代 地 图集:明代 [Atlas of Ancient China: Ming Dynasty] (in Chinese).文物 出版 社 . p. xviii. ISBN 9787501003044. - ^ a b Mills, J.V. (1970). Ma Huan Ying Yai Sheng Lan: The overall survey of the ocean shores. Cambridge University Press. pp. 239–241. ISBN 978-0521010320.
- ^ Hyunhee Park (2012). Mapping the Chinese and Islamic Worlds: Cross-Cultural Exchange in Pre-Modern Asia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 172–175. ISBN 978-1107018686.
- ^ Paul Wheatley (1961). The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press. pp. 98–99. OCLC 504030596.
- ^ a b c Mills, J.V. (1970). Ma Huan Ying Yai Sheng Lan: The overall survey of the ocean shores. Cambridge University Press. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-0521010320.
- ^ a b c Clifford Pereira (2012). Chia Lin Sien; Sally Church (eds.). Zheng He and the Afro-Asian World (1st ed.). PERZIM. pp. 248–279. ISBN 978-967-11386-0-1.
- ^ a b Jianming Shen (1998). Myron H. Nordquist; John Norton Moore (eds.). Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation. Brill. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-9041110565.
- ^ a b Ulises Granados (2006). "The South China Sea and Its Coral Reefs during the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Levels of Geographical Knowledge and Political Control" (PDF). East Asian History. 32/33: 109–128.
- ^ Paul Wheatley (1961). The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press. pp. 94–98. OCLC 504030596. Note for example the identification of the islands of Singapore
- ^ Roderich Ptak (2000). Angela Schottenhammer (ed.). The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000-1400. Brill. p. 407. ISBN 978-9004117730.
- ^ Mei-Ling Hsu (1988). "Chinese Marine Cartography: Sea Charts of Pre-Modern China". Imago Mundi. 40: 96–112. doi:10.1080/03085698808592642. JSTOR 1151020.
- ^ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide. Dorling Kindersley. 2011. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-1405363419.
Further reading
[edit]- "Appendix 2-6". Ma Huan: Ying-yai sheng-lan 'The overall survey of the ocean's shores' (1433). Translated by J. V. G. Mills (New ed.). White Lotus Co. Ltd. 1996. ISBN 978-974-8496-78-8.
External links
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- Wu Bei Zhi at the Library of Congress
- Mao Kun Explorer - An interactive application to explore the locations and shipping routes on the Mao Kun Map