The First Map of China.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 15, 10 April 1902, Page 15

The First Map of China.

There has been recently published in Germany a new map of Unina. This newest map of the Chinese Empire still rests, says the New York Shtn, ' upon the basis established by French missionaries in the early part of the eighteenth century. These learned Jesuit Fathers were commissioned by the intelligent Emperor Kanghi contemporary of Peter the Great, to make a large map of China me Chinese had paid much attention to geographic studies, but all their maps utterly lacked the sense of proportion. They traced a brook, river or lake with equally bold touches of the pencil : their measurements of distances had merely a general value ; their maps were, therefore, vague and misleading. But a great change was made in the mapping of China when the Jesuit missionaries became the official astronomers of the empire. They had convinced the Emperor that they could make reliable maps of his country 'To collect information lor their map they travelled through all the provinces and astronomically fixed the position of 600 places Much of their information with regard to the water courses and

HJndASsasJev^Srt, i! Da V he third of Stieler's themliirS ° n th ?- great WOrk of the Jeßui tß did not do aUmJps ofChina.' lr "** StUl * 8 the moßt im P ortant ba ™ *