Abraham Ortelius:  Chinae, olim Sinarum regionis nova descriptio auctore Ludovico Georgio

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Title: Chinae, olim Sinarum regionis nova descriptio auctore Ludovico Georgio

Map Maker: Abraham Ortelius

Description:

Fine example of Ortelius' map of China, the first western map of China.

Ortelius' map of China is taken directly from reports of the Portuguese mapmaker Luis Jorge de Barbuda (Ludovicus Georgius) who made a manuscript map of China which reached Ortelius via Arias Montanus.  First published in 1584, Ortelius' map of China is the earliest printed map to focus on China and the first to illustrate the Great Wall of China.   Tooley referred to the map as the standard map of the interior of China for over sixty years.  With its three lushly designed cartouches and many illustrations of indigenous shelters, modes of transportation and animals, this is one of Ortelius’s richest engravings. 

When this map appeared, it was by far the most accurate representation of China to appear on a printed map.  Japan is shown on a curious curved projection reminiscent of Poruguese charts of the period with Honshu dissected along the line of Lake Biwa. The Great Wall is shown, but only a relatively small section, its length is significantly underestimated. The Tartar "yurts" are dotted across the plains and steppes of Central and East Asia.

The Portugese Jesuits established a mission in Chinese in 1577. Although the map’s Portuguese maker, Barbuda, was himself not a Jesuit, his sources for the map were Portuguese Jesuits. The Chinese characters found in the text on the verso of the map were the first introduction to Chinese language for many educated Europeans of the time.  

The present example is the second of three states of the map, including the words "Las Philippinas" above Sinus Magnus, which first appeared on the map during the publication of the 1587 French edition.

References: Suarez (1999) "Early Mapping of South-East Asia", Periplus, p. 164-170, Figure 88. ; Van den Broecke, 164; Nebenzahl, K. Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond 4.6; Tooley, Maps and Mapmakers, p. 106, pl. 78 (p. 108); Walter, L. Japan: A Cartographic Vision 11F, p. 186.

Related Categories:
Maps of China
Map of Japan
Maps of the Philippines
Maps of Southeast Asia