Ancient Chinese maps why north is on top

Why did the absolute majority of maps choose north facing up?

Lu Liangshui

Why did the absolute majority of maps choose north facing up? What role have lines of latitude and longitude played in the history of map-making? These questions, which may seem a bit comical today, in fact contain serious thinking on the part of the ancients. American geographer William C. Burton had an interesting but plausible speculation: because the Mediterranean Sea is north of the equator, the major civilizations of the time were concentrated along the Mediterranean coast, while the southern hemisphere was thought to be a monster-infested region.

But not all maps of the world have north on top. For example, for a number of centuries in medieval Europe, influenced by Christian culture, Jerusalem became the orientation of the map's disk, and the east was required to be placed above, looking up to the Garden of Eden. In the age of the great voyages, an Italian monk, Fa Molla, published a circular map in 1459 that correctly showed for the first time that the Indian and Atlantic Oceans were connected at the southern end of Africa. However, this map set the south at the top, supposedly influenced by earlier Islamic maps. In fact, Australians also used maps with south on top, and maps with south on top and north on bottom and east and west on the opposite side also appeared in ancient China. For example, the 16th-century Chinese Chihai Tuzhi and Quanhai Tuzhi Note are not north on top and south on bottom.

Prehistoric man-made global maps and modern maps of the opposite north and south

Northwest University of Shaanxi Province, the cultural relics showroom displayed five thousand years ago the ancient people made anthropomorphic maps of southern Africa, that is, the known as "Tao Zu", also known as the "and shaped ware" famous small pottery. This is the famous small pottery vessel called "Taizu", also known as the "And-shaped vessel". The vessel is 5.9 centimeters high, and the outline of the vessel exactly matches the outline of the modern map of South Africa. It is amazing that prehistoric people produced such accurate maps. (Note: China's maps from prehistory to the Qing Dynasty were oriented up-south-down-north, while modern maps are oriented up-north-down-south, so the modern maps have to be reversed and oriented up-south-down-north, in order to see that the outline of the prehistoric map of South Africa matches the South African portion of the modern map exactly). The map is referred to in the Shan Hai Jing as the "Land of the Leaves".

The Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics has a collection of anthropomorphic ceramic heads of Australia made by ancient people 7,000 years ago, which resembles an old man who is thinking, so the Classic of Mountains and Seas called Australia "Bo Gui Guo".

Gansu Provincial Museum collection of 5,000 years ago, carved with anthropomorphic South America map head of the pottery bottle, bottle head carved with a long-haired human head, so the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," said South America for the "Hair Man".

In the 15th century, the "north on top" design was popularized by the printing press. In particular, the Dutch cartographer Mercator's projected maps based on cylindrical projections, first published in 1569, were favored by sailors at sea, who were already making extensive use of the compass invented by the Chinese, which always pointed north, and the two arguably complemented each other. This made Tommie's lines of latitude and longitude, when paired with the compass, look like thrown dice that had already settled. in the 16th century, north up and south down began to become a standard in European mapmaking. It is worth mentioning that, for understandable reasons, China's ancient maps may be "China" in the center, "barbarians" to the side; (1) in ancient China, before the Southern Song Dynasty, the north of the political and economic development of the relatively developed south is still barbarians, the emperor fixed capitals Almost all in the north, so there is a saying that the north is honored. Then the saying of north to south is very natural.

2, the direction of the emperor's seat has always been sitting in the north to the south, the south face of the idiom of the courtiers you should have heard it! North for the emperor, high above; South for the subjects, bowed down.

3. In addition, we Chinese live in the northern hemisphere, but the ancients did not think so, their consciousness, China is the center of the world, and China's "in" is how to come. They saw the sun rising in the daytime and setting in the west and east, but it was always in the south, and at night, when they looked at the stars, they looked up at the Big Dipper, which symbolized the emperor, so that "up north, down south" was in line with the habits of the general population.) Ptolemy, on the other hand, used Alexandria as the center of his map, which spanned the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, and, more importantly, was oriented with the top towards the North Star, which was the guiding star of the ancient Greek navigators.

Strictly speaking, when we draw a map, we use the top view, when we stand on the ground, if the face is facing north, then behind us is the south, the left side is definitely the west, and the right side is definitely the east, so there is: "face north and back to the south, the left, west, right and east," after the top view is the view of the map "on the north and south, left west and right east" because the map is hanging to see, so become up and down, flat on the ground or with the actual direction of the same, to not be so, the direction is certainly not the same as the actual!!!!

The simple truth is that the ancient civilizations are now known in the northern hemisphere, the ancient people did not know that the Earth is round, the earliest measurements from the beginning of the constellations in the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars rise in the east and fall in the west, are rotating around Polaris, Polaris has become the only invariable coordinates of the direction of the discernment. Facing Polaris and moving forward, Polaris goes from low to high, and walking behind Polaris, Polaris gets lower and lower, and the distance and direction of the ground we walk over is traced on a plane, which becomes the original map. In the ancient civilization, the heavenly area where the North Star is located is regarded as the place where the emperor of heaven lives, and where the emperor of heaven lives, of course, the highest; Chinese astrological culture, it is called the heavenly area around the North Star as the Ziwei Palace. The convention is that the highest position should be placed on the top.

But we should also note a slight difference between an astrological map and a map. On a map, the direction is labeled north, south, left, west, right and east, while on a star chart it becomes north, south, left, east, right and west, which means east and west are reversed. The reason for this is that star charts show the stars as the observer sees them when looking up. The stars are above our heads, and when looking at a star chart, the direction is from bottom to top. To observe constellations near the top of the head, place the star chart in the overhead position with the north and south of the chart aligned with the actual direction. The observer should compare the chart with the actual starry sky while looking at the chart (at night, please use a red flashlight to provide illumination). Because the printed star charts can only reflect a particular latitude to see the actual starry sky, so many enthusiasts will find that the starry sky and the star charts on the difference, which is a normal phenomenon. Observing the constellations in either direction for less than half a day in the southeast, northwest, or north-south does not require so much effort. Simply stand the chart up so that the side of the direction you are observing is facing downward, and then compare it to the actual starry sky. For example, to observe the western sky constellations, please put up the chart with the western side of the chart facing down. The stars are above our heads, and when looking at a star map, the direction is from down to up

The following is a brief introduction to the evolution of map orientation in ancient China.

Earlier, more south for the upper China's ancient cartography very early to consider the orientation. Poetry - Gong Liu" has "both Jing Nai Gang" line, meaning that the shadow measurement on the hill to determine the orientation. Western Jin Dynasty cartographer Pei Xiu founded China's earliest cartographic theory of six mapmaking, put forward a few basic principles to be observed when making maps: rate, quasi-watch, road, high and low, square and evil, straight and roundabout. One of the "quasi-watch

" that is, the meaning of orientation. However, the orientation here refers to the drawing of maps to consider the geographic location of the relationship between the elements of the features, that is, the Qing Hu Wei said, "identify the square position, a certain place in the east and west, a certain place in the north and south of the so-called also" ("Yugong cone finger"), which does not specify which direction for the positive orientation. So, what was the actual situation of the orientation of our earlier maps? Is there any regularity?　　There are very few maps before Song Dynasty in China, and there are very few theories about map making, so there is not enough information and evidence to study the orientation of the maps before that and to find out the regularity of the maps. However, based on the archaeological excavations, combined with the background of China's traditional culture, we can still think that the early maps may be more south for the top of the situation. Several early maps discovered in China are mostly oriented with south as the upper part.　　In December 1973, three maps on silk were unearthed from the No. 3 Han Tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province, dating from before the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (168 B.C.). One of the maps, "Garrison Map of Southern Changsha Kingdom," has the character "south" at the top and "east" on the left, indicating that its orientation is southward. There is also a topographic map of the southern part of Changsha Kingdom, which is larger than the garrison map and has the same orientation, and a map unearthed in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, in 1978, which was made between 323 and 315 B.C.

The Zhaowei map, which is a plan for the construction of a mausoleum for the king of Zhongshan during the Warring States period, is also oriented to the upper south and lower north.　　

Ancient maps were mostly south up, related to the ancient view of orientation. In ancient China, in all directions, the south is honored, such as the ancient place of worship is located in the southern outskirts of the city. This concept is reflected in the map, is to put the south at the top of the map.　　

Map orientation diversification since the Song Dynasty, China's survival of the map gradually increased. Through the analysis can be found, in addition to the south as the positive orientation, to other directions as the positive orientation of many. For example: the Song dynasty preserved some of the treasures of the stone map "Huayi map", "Pingjiang map", "geographic map", "Chang'an city map", "Yu trace map", "nine domains of the order of the map" and so on, they are more to the north as the positive orientation.　　

Southern Song Dynasty Jing Ding two years (1261) Zhou Yinghe compiled the "Jiankang Zhi" with 19 maps, the maps are oriented to the east, west, south and north as the upper are available. One of the "dynasty of jiankang province territory of the map", is equivalent to the current nanjing area for the main mapping area of the political map, its orientation is to the east for the upper.　　Map orientation tends to diversify, is due to the map orientation itself is man-made regulations, there is no certain rules, selected in the evolution of the process of respect for the color of the South gradually faded, more and more to take into account the requirements of different factors, in particular, the convenience of use. Qing scholars Yu Zheng Xie said, "wherever the hanging map of public opinion is appropriate to the north for the top, a few cases to read the map is appropriate to the south for the top" ("Kuisi draft"), is the meaning. Such as the Ming Dynasty military scientists, cartographers Zheng Ruozeng's "Chip sea map compilation" in the sea defense map "coastal mountains and sand map" 72, said our country since the present-day Qinzhou, Guangxi, south of Longgang Southwest of the sea to the coast of Liaodong Yalu River along the mountain ranges, estuaries, gulfs, ports, islands, reefs, as well as the fortresses, fortresses, battalions, guards, Beacons, etc., most of these maps to the sea in the map on the upper part of the continent painted in the lower part of their orientation with the winding of the coastline, and the sea is the most important part of the map. The orientation of the meandering with the coastline and constantly changing. This layout, the land garrison troops observe the terrain when the map and the field orientation corresponds to very convenient. The orientation of the maps here is based on the principle of practicality, rather than on a fixed orientation pattern.　　In fact, the earlier maps described above also contain practical factors in the south. At that time, maps were mainly used by emperors and other people. They sat in the north and faced the south, the map south as the top for them to sit and read just with the field orientation.　　In addition, the shape of the mapping area, the author's angle of depiction of the terrain, the condition of the printing plate format and other factors, also has an impact on the orientation of the map.

Another:

Ancient map layout Mr. Yu Cang in the "Map" in 2003, No. 3, "the direction of the ancient map" in the article: the direction of the map, people are generally familiar with the "north and south, the left, west and right". The direction on the map is generally known as "up north, down south, left west, right east". The orientation of modern maps generally follow this law, but the direction of the ancient map is not so fixed. The direction on the map is orientation, in a sense, is only an acquired, man-made regulations, in fact, there is no fixed east and west, south and north of the party ....... So far, the oldest map of China unearthed by archaeological excavation is the Zhaowangtu, a plan for the construction of a mausoleum by King Zhongshan of the Warring States period, made in 323-315 B.C., and unearthed in 1977 in Pingshan, Hebei, which is oriented up-south and down-north. ...... iii. Is the December 1973 Hunan Changsha Mawangdui No. 3 Han Tomb unearthed in Changsha, Hunan Province, "Changsha country south topographic map" and other three silk maps, archaeological identification, the map is the Western Han Dynasty Emperor Wendi Chuyuan twelve years (BC

168 years) under the burial of the map's direction of the upper south and lower north. The direction in the above two ancient maps is up south down north, and the direction of most of the ancient maps made in later times is also up south down north, such as the Southern Song Dynasty Cheng Dachang "Yong record ten volumes" has 32 maps, 29 of which are in the direction of up south down north. Yuan dynasty LiHaoWen painted "ChangAnZhiTu" has 22 maps, of which 6 on the south and north of only 27%, on the north and south of 16 accounted for 73%. But there are also many ancient maps of the direction of the upper west and lower east. It can be seen that the direction of ancient maps on the south and north is not necessarily a fixed pattern.　　The world map drawn in medieval Europe was called Mappamudi (translated as "world map", the modern English word map is abbreviated from this word). In Latin, mappa means napkin or tablecloth, and

munddus means world, and it is clear that such maps were originally drawn on cloth. There are about 1,000 surviving medieval "maps of the world"

***, 90% of which are attached to manuscript works, and very few stand-alone maps. The most common and famous of these "world maps"

is the T-O map. In the so-called T-O map, generally the east is facing up, the west is facing down, the right side is south, the left side is north; the whole world is like a plate (or like the letter O), surrounded by large oceans; the earth in the middle of the world is divided into three continents by three major water systems: Asia, Africa and Europe, in which the river Don (the ancient people called it the Tanais River) separates Europe from Asia, and the Nile River separates Africa from Asia, and the Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Africa; the river Don separates Europe from Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Asia. The Mediterranean Sea to Europe and Africa apart; the Don River, the Nile River in the map into a horizontal line, and the Mediterranean Sea is a vertical line, this horizontal and vertical two lines combined like the letter T. So modern scholars call such a map T-O map. T-O map can be divided into two major types, one type is a chart type, only a few simple lines and some text, there is no pattern. The other type is non-charted, with cities, history, legends, and Christian stories represented in various patterns. [

Shenzhou Tourism Information Port website, October 7, 2003 anonymous author of the article "Turkey's ancient map of the mystery," mentioned in an ancient Tibetan book, "Baoyinseket Book," there is also a marvelous navigational chart, which is made of many work squares and rectangles marking the names of some unknown countries. The chart shows four basic directions: east, west, south, left and north. Therefore, the Soviet linguist Bolonislov Koznisovit concluded that the name of the country is not known. Koznisovit concluded that it was actually a map. He found a way of interpreting it and identified such places as, Pasargadee (a Persian city of the 4th-5th centuries B.C.), Jerusalem (the ancient city of Palestine, a holy place of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Dasha (the kingdom of Bactria), and others. (partly reproduced from the Internet)