science

Shanhai Yudi Quantu

Shanhai Yudi Quantu is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Shanhai Yudi Quantu rather than just read about it. In short: The Shanhai Yudi Quantu (simplified Chinese: 山海舆地全图; traditional Chinese: 山海輿地全圖; pinyin: Shānhǎi Yúdì Quántú, "Complete Terrestrial Map") is a Ming dynasty Chinese map published in 1609 in the leishu encyclopedia Sancai Tuhui. Influences The Shanhai Yudi Quantu is known to have been highly influenced by the Jesuit missions in China, starting with the work of Matteo Ricci.

Key takeaways

Shanhai Yudi Quantu belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Shanhai Yudi Quantu to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Shanhai Yudi Quantu from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Shanhai Yudi Quantu (simplified Chinese: 山海舆地全图; traditional Chinese: 山海輿地全圖; pinyin: Shānhǎi Yúdì Quántú, "Complete Terrestrial Map") is a Ming dynasty Chinese map published in 1609 in the leishu encyclopedia Sancai Tuhui.

Influences

The Shanhai Yudi Quantu is known to have been highly influenced by the Jesuit missions in China, starting with the work of Matteo Ricci. Matteo Ricci himself had two of his own maps entitled Shanhai Yudi Quantu: one engraved by Wu Zhongming (吳中明, Wú Zhōngmíng) and dated 1600 and another engraved by Guo Zizhang (郭子章, Gūo Zĭzhāng) and dated 1604.

Description

Asia The Asian continent is marked phonetically 亞細亞 (Modern Pinyin Yàxìyà, Middle Chinese Aseja). This is the area of the map where most information can be found, and has been subdivided here by regions:

East Asia

Numerous areas and islands are named in this part of the world:

The Great Ming Empire (大明國, Dà Míngguó) Japan (日本, Rìběn) Goryeo Korea (高麗, Gāolì) The Jurchen Manchurians (女直, Rǚzhí) "Five Cities" near Sungari (五城, Wǔ Chéng) Liaodong (遼東, Liáodōng) Daning, a military region (大寧, Dà Níng) Tartary, north of Liaodong (韃靼, Dádá) "Dogland", a land of dog-headed men in eastern Siberia (狗國, Gǒugúo) "Coral Tree Island" (珊瑚樹島, Shānhúshù Dǎo) Ryukyu Islands (琉球, Liúqiú) Siberia (北極界, Běijíjiè, lit. "Arctic Region") The seas beside East Asia are the South China Sea (大明海, lit. "Great Ming Sea") and the "Lesser Eastern Ocean" (小東洋, Xiǎo Dōng Yáng). To the north is the "Ice Sea" (冰海, Bīng Hǎi).

West Asia Gobi Desert (沙漠, lit. "The Sandy Wastes", which has become the Chinese word for "Desert") Kham Tibetans (西番, Xī Fān, lit. "The Western Barbarians") Muslims (回回, Huíhuí) Western Regions (西域, Xīyù) Qinghai (星宿海, Xīngsù Hǎi, lit. "Starry Sea" or 北高海, Běi Gāo Hǎi, lit. "Northern High Sea") The Kunlun Range (崑崙, Kūnlún)

South Asia

Annam in Vietnam (安南, lit. "The Pacified South") Champa (占城, Zhànchéng) Hainan (海南, Hǎinán) Srivijaya (三佛齊, Modern Pinyin Sānfóqí, Middle Chinese Sambiutjay) India (應帝亞, Yīngdìyà) Western India (西天竺, Xī Tiānzhú) Two seas are shown: the Bay of Bengal (旁葛臘海, Pánggélà Hǎi) and "Lesser Western Ocean" (小西洋, Xiǎo Xī Yáng). Java is shown in two pieces – Major (大爪哇, Dà Zhǎowā) and Minor (小爪哇, Xiǎo Zhǎowā) – far into the "Southwest" (西南海) and "Southern" (南海) Seas near the Antarctic.

Europe

Europe is marked phonetically as 歐羅巴 (Modern Pinyin Ōuluóbā, Middle Chinese Oulapa).

France (佛郎察, Fólǎngchá) "More than thirty countries" (三十餘國, sānshí yú gúo) Greenland (臥蘭的亞, Wòlándìyà from Latin 'Groenlandia') Europe is surrounded by the "Greater Western Ocean" (大西洋, Dà Xī Yáng, a body of water formerly located east of Rome and conflated with the Indian Ocean but now appropriately placed in the Atlantic), the Mediterranean (地中海, Dìzhōng Hǎi), and the Black Sea (太海, Tài Hǎi, lit. "Great Sea").

North America North America is marked as "北亞墨利加" (Modern Pinyin Běi Yàmèilìjiā, Middle Chinese Pok Amoklika). The only location is marked phonetically and is unknown:

"Angwayma" (亞外媽, Yàwàimā) Another two unknown locations are on an island to America's northeast, possibly the inhabited southwest coast of Greenland:

"Cold River" (寒河, Hán Hé) "Fragrant Peak" (香峯, Xiāngfēng) The Gulf of California is marked as the "Eastern Red Sea" (東紅海, Dōng Hóng Hǎi) and the "Ice Sea" continues across the north.

South America South America is marked as "南亞墨利加" (Modern Pinyin Nán Yàmèilìjiā, Middle Chinese Nom Amoklika).

"Land of the Cannibals" (食人國, Shírén Guó) Rio de la Plata (銀河, Yín Hé) Surrounding it are the Atlantic Ocean (marked as "Oceano" 河摺亞諾滄, Hézhéyànuò Cāng) to the northeast, the "Sea of Peru" (白露海, Bólù Hǎi) to the west, and the "Greater Eastern Ocean" (大東洋, Dà Dōng Yáng).

Libya

Following classical geography, the continent of Africa is marked phonetically as "Libya" (利未亞, Lìwèiyà).

Atlas Mountains (described as 天下此山至高, Tiānxià cǐ shān zhìgāo, "The highest mountain under Heaven") Africa is surrounded by several seas. From the north, clockwise: the Mediterranean; the "Lesser Western Ocean" (小西洋, Xiǎo Xī Yáng) in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea; the Red Sea, called the "Western Red Sea" (西紅海, Xī Hóng Hǎi) to distinguish it from the Gulf of California); the western Indian Ocean, called the "Arabian Sea" (亞蠟皮海, Modern Pinyin Yàlàpí Hǎi, Middle Chinese Alapbie Hoy); the Gulf of Guinea, called the "Libyan Sea" (利未亞海, Lìwèiyà Hǎi); and the Atlantic Ocean (again marked as "Oceano" 河摺亞諾滄, Hézhéyànuò Cāng).

Magallania The still-uncertain Terra Australis – today Australia, Antarctica, New Zealand, and other islands – is marked phonetically as 墨瓦臘泥加 (Modern Pinyin Mèiwǎlàníjiā, Middle Chinese Mokngwalapneka). This transliterates the name "Magallanica", a name given to the prospective continent at the time in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, who had crossed past Tierra del Fuego and shown the southern continent (hypothesized since Ptolemy) to be separate from South America. The map notes how little is known about this continent – "Few have reached these southern regions. Things are not explored yet" (此南方地人至者少, 未審其物) – but also includes more placenames in it than in Africa, America, or Europe:

"White Peak" (白峯, Bái Fēng) "Great River" (大江, Dà Jiāng) Tierra del Fuego (火地, Huǒdì lit. "Place of Fire") Antarctica (南極界, Nánjíjiè, lit. "Antarctic Region") New Guinea (新入匿, Xīn Rùnì) "Place of Parrots" (鸚哥地, generally taken as Australia from a later name but originally referring to a location south of Africa, possibly Madagascar)

Legacy

A large number of maps were derived from the Shanhai Yudi Quantu, many of them are found today in Japanese and Korean archives, but their history is generally difficult to reconstruct.

See also Chinese geography Cheonhado Kunyu Wanguo Quantu, Matteo Ricci's map

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Shanhai Yudi Quantu

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Shanhai Yudi Quantu claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Shanhai Yudi Quantu before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Shanhai Yudi Quantu ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Shanhai Yudi Quantu

In research: Shanhai Yudi Quantu appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Shanhai Yudi Quantu in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Shanhai Yudi Quantu is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 17th-century maps and globes, 17th century in China, Historic maps of the world, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Shanhai Yudi Quantu outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Shanhai Yudi Quantu in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Shanhai Yudi Quantu means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Shanhai Yudi Quantu out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Shanhai Yudi Quantu in simple terms?

Why does Shanhai Yudi Quantu matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Shanhai Yudi Quantu?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Shanhai Yudi Quantu.