Around the year 1136, a map was inscribed in China. It is considered a remarkable example of medieval geography, but how does it fare when tested against modern georeferencing?
The Yujitu – the Map of the Tracks of Yu – was originally carved at a school in Xi’an (also known as Chang’an), an important city in Chinese history. Measuring about one square metre, it depicts China using a grid method. With each of the 5,110 square representing 100 li (about 36 kilometres), the map has a scale of 1:3,000,000. While it prominently depicts the major river systems in China, the Yujitu also includes the names of 380 administrative districts, 70 mountains and 5 lakes.
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The map has long been heralded as a significant work of medieval geography. In the monumental Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham comments, “Anyone who compares this map with the contemporary productions of European cosmography cannot but be amazed at the extent to which Chinese geography was at that time ahead of the West.”
A stone rubbing of the map made in 1933 – this and the image above are held by the Library of Congress – gm71005080
Two researchers, Alexander Akin and David Mumford, have delved into the accuracy of the Yujitu, using georeferencing to determine what the original mapmakers got right and wrong when piecing together a vast area.
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The study reveals that the Yujitu’s east-west grid lines are remarkably accurate, closely aligning with equidistant constant latitude lines. However, the map’s ‘north-south’ lines diverge significantly from meridians, maintaining a consistent spacing from each other. This departure was a deliberate choice to fulfill other requirements of the map’s design.
Georeferencing techniques applied to 45 points on the map indicate that the placement of sites along the north-south axis was likely based on latitudinal observations. Despite the Yujitu’s appearance of modernity, the researchers found areas where the map reflects loyalty to classical texts, highlighting the cultural significance embedded in its design.
Some of the most obvious errors occur at the southern and northern ends of the map. Hainan Island, for instance, was greatly distorted. While the course of the lower part of the Yellow River is greatly different from the present-day, this is not an error of the map – that waterway has shifted significantly in the intervening centuries.
The study challenges the notion that the Yujitu was solely a geographical tool, emphasizing its role as a reference for situating toponyms encountered in classical and dynastic histories. This dual purpose complicates the map’s interpretation through modern GIS software, as it was intended to reflect a cultural legacy rather than just geographical accuracy.
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By meticulously analyzing the Yujitu’s accuracy through georeferencing techniques, the study provides valuable insights into the complexities of historical cartography and the cultural nuances embedded in ancient maps. The research not only highlights the technical marvel of the Yujitu but also underscores the importance of reconciling historical intentions with modern geospatial analysis methods.
A detail of the map showing the Yangtze River
The authors note that much still needs to be learned about this map. They write:
Our analysis leaves many important questions unanswered. One of these must be, what was the relationship of the Yujitu to the cartographic milieu of the day? It appears to us as a stunning artifact rearing suddenly out of the mists of obscurity, but clearly this was no orphan work, composed at one go; the gathering of the information it represents would have taken the collaboration of many people. Perhaps a team worked together on a new cartographic project, or it may be the case that a number of existing works, even Pei Xiu’s work before it was lost, were gathered and synthesized by one or more scholars. The resolution of this mystery may await the discovery of new evidence as yet unknown.
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The article, ““Yu laid out the lands:” georeferencing the Chinese Yujitu [Map of the Tracks of Yu] of 1136,” by Alexander Akin and David Mumford, is published in Cartography and Geographic Information Science. You can read it through David Mumford’s website at Brown University or through Alexander Akin’s Academia.edu page.
Around the year 1136, a map was inscribed in China. It is considered a remarkable example of medieval geography, but how does it fare when tested against modern georeferencing?
The Yujitu – the Map of the Tracks of Yu – was originally carved at a school in Xi’an (also known as Chang’an), an important city in Chinese history. Measuring about one square metre, it depicts China using a grid method. With each of the 5,110 square representing 100 li (about 36 kilometres), the map has a scale of 1:3,000,000. While it prominently depicts the major river systems in China, the Yujitu also includes the names of 380 administrative districts, 70 mountains and 5 lakes.
The map has long been heralded as a significant work of medieval geography. In the monumental Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham comments, “Anyone who compares this map with the contemporary productions of European cosmography cannot but be amazed at the extent to which Chinese geography was at that time ahead of the West.”
Two researchers, Alexander Akin and David Mumford, have delved into the accuracy of the Yujitu, using georeferencing to determine what the original mapmakers got right and wrong when piecing together a vast area.
The study reveals that the Yujitu’s east-west grid lines are remarkably accurate, closely aligning with equidistant constant latitude lines. However, the map’s ‘north-south’ lines diverge significantly from meridians, maintaining a consistent spacing from each other. This departure was a deliberate choice to fulfill other requirements of the map’s design.
Georeferencing techniques applied to 45 points on the map indicate that the placement of sites along the north-south axis was likely based on latitudinal observations. Despite the Yujitu’s appearance of modernity, the researchers found areas where the map reflects loyalty to classical texts, highlighting the cultural significance embedded in its design.
Some of the most obvious errors occur at the southern and northern ends of the map. Hainan Island, for instance, was greatly distorted. While the course of the lower part of the Yellow River is greatly different from the present-day, this is not an error of the map – that waterway has shifted significantly in the intervening centuries.
The study challenges the notion that the Yujitu was solely a geographical tool, emphasizing its role as a reference for situating toponyms encountered in classical and dynastic histories. This dual purpose complicates the map’s interpretation through modern GIS software, as it was intended to reflect a cultural legacy rather than just geographical accuracy.
By meticulously analyzing the Yujitu’s accuracy through georeferencing techniques, the study provides valuable insights into the complexities of historical cartography and the cultural nuances embedded in ancient maps. The research not only highlights the technical marvel of the Yujitu but also underscores the importance of reconciling historical intentions with modern geospatial analysis methods.
The authors note that much still needs to be learned about this map. They write:
Our analysis leaves many important questions unanswered. One of these must be, what was the relationship of the Yujitu to the cartographic milieu of the day? It appears to us as a stunning artifact rearing suddenly out of the mists of obscurity, but clearly this was no orphan work, composed at one go; the gathering of the information it represents would have taken the collaboration of many people. Perhaps a team worked together on a new cartographic project, or it may be the case that a number of existing works, even Pei Xiu’s work before it was lost, were gathered and synthesized by one or more scholars. The resolution of this mystery may await the discovery of new evidence as yet unknown.
The article, ““Yu laid out the lands:” georeferencing the Chinese Yujitu [Map of the Tracks of Yu] of 1136,” by Alexander Akin and David Mumford, is published in Cartography and Geographic Information Science. You can read it through David Mumford’s website at Brown University or through Alexander Akin’s Academia.edu page.
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