What was the tradition of China before the Qing Dynasty?

Six-body cartography laid a scientific foundation for the compilation of maps. It has always influenced the traditional cartography in China before the Qing Dynasty, and it has epoch-making significance in the development history of cartography in China and occupies an important position in the history of cartography in the world.

Pei Xiu's contribution to cartography is not only that he presided over the compilation of maps, but also that he summed up and perfected the previous cartographic experience and established the theory of ancient cartography in China for the first time. In Preface to the Geographical Map of Gong Yu, he clearly put forward six principles of cartography, namely "six styles of cartography":

One is "fraction", which is used to reflect the ratio of area to length and width, that is, the current scale;

The second is "quasi-observation", which is used to determine the mutual orientation relationship between landforms and features;

The third is "Dao Li", which is used to determine the distance between the two places;

The fourth is "competition", that is, relative elevation;

The fifth is "square evil", that is, the fluctuation of ground slope;

The sixth is "circuitous", that is, the conversion between the fluctuation of the site and the distance on the map.