中國古代地圖學之發展

In December 1973, three coloured maps drawn on silk were unearthed at the site of the No.3 Han tomb at Mawangtui near Changsha, the earliest cartographic effort in solid form ever known in the history of Chinese cartography. The three maps are believed to have been drawn at the same time and each is 2,150 years old or so. They are the earliest maps not only in China but also in the world and surely the best of the maps the world has ever retrieved from its remote past. In the study of the development of Chinese cartography and geography the discovery is especially significant. Of the three, the topographical map and the military map have been successfully reconstructed and published. The wall-city map is still being studied for whatever historical facts it can reveal to us. The topographical map is 96 by 96 cm, with its major area drawn to the scale of approximately 1:180,000; the military map is 78 by 98 cm, with its major area drawn to the scale of 1: 80,000-100,000. All three are graphic representations of conditions in a region bordering on Hunan, Kuangtung, and Kuanghsi, namely, the parts of the three provinces drained by the upper section of the Hsiang Chiang. To be more exact, the region is situated between 111-112°30'E and 23-26°N. The military map covers the area southeast of the one covered by the topographical map, that is, the front of the embattled area. Like popular maps in modern times, the topographical map has mountains, rivers, settlements, and roads drawn on it. The draftsmanship is admirable and the presentation of facts is fairly accurate. A total of more than 80 settlements are mapped, including eight hsien sites and 74 villages. The hsien sites are represented by rectangles and the villages by circles; the symbols come in various sizes. All the place names are written inside the symbols. It is quite clear that the map maker had adopted a uniform standard in the design of symbols. All the hsien sites and most of the villages are connected by roads. The roads are represented by solid lines of a uniform size. More than 20 of such roads are identifiable. The various-sized rivers on the map number more than 30, of which nine are marked by their names. All the river names are inscribed at the places where such rivers join the main stream. The line representing a river grows in width with its movement from the headwater to the lower section. For instance, the line indicating the upper section of the largest river on the map is 0.1 cm thick, while the line showing the lower section has grown to 0.8 cm thick; the whole line is drawn proportionally, and obviously by an expert hand. The Nanling Range as a divide between the Chang Chiang and Chu Chiang is also clearly shown on the map. Without realizing that the place names on the map appear in Chinese characters in ancient form, a viewer, even if he is a professional geographer, would take such a map to be draft chart drawn to serve a specific purpose. As an index of ancient civilization, cartography had a very early start in China. As a matter of fact, recent well-planned full-scale archaeological explorations have furnished proof that ancient Chinese cartography dates to a time much earlier than was originally supposed. If more such careful explorations can be carried out, a wealth of research material is bound to be discovered. In the hundred odd years since the Opium War, China has been in a dark age-her long cherished fine culture has been scorned and even summarily ignored. It seems that before the rise of European civilization no other culture or civilization had ever existed. The textbooks say so, and the students believe so. The result is that everybody is hurt! Chinese cartography as it is understood in this discussion dates, in fact, as far back as 3,000 years ago, yet articles written by Europeans and European emigrants and the textbooks compiled by them scarcely mention this fact. What we can be positive about is that in the early years of the Western Chou dynasty (1066-771 B.C.) the Chinese had learned to select the building site for a town and presented the map of such site to the King, a fact that has been verified by official historical records. After his enthronement, the second king of Chou was eager to repress the newly conquered people in the eastern part of the kingdom and for this purpose dispatched two of his uncles to the area around Loyang to select the proper sites for the building of two new walled-towns. In a town-building prospectus submitted in 1020 B.C. to his nephew King Ch'eng, the Duke of Chou unmistakably mentioned that a map was submitted along with the prospectus. Down into the period of the Warring States (403-221 B.C.), frequent hostilities between the states made maps an urgent military necessity; consequently, map-making and the use of maps became popular and many stories about maps were told. In the Chou Li [The Rites of Chou] it was recorded that a special government office had long been in existence for the care of maps. The tenth chapter of Kuan Tzu is virtually an article on maps, in which the military application of cartography is thoroughly explained and analysed. After the unification of China at the hand of Shih Huang Ti of the Ch'in dynasty (221-206 B.C.), in an effort to develop a nationwide network of post roads with the imperial capital as the hub so that national defence might be further strengthened, the central government had collected a huge quantity of maps, which were later completely taken over by Hsiao Ho. With the information offered by this collection Hsiao was able to help Liu Pang, the general who originally strived against odds but who, with the former's help, finally succeeded in establishing a new dynasty called Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). These maps of Ch'in and Han, however, were not uniformly accurate, since they lacked standardized principles of compilation. Then, with the inauguration of the Tsin dynasty (265-420), the first reputed cartographer in China, Pei Hsiu (223-271) appeared. Taking advantage of his official position as a minister, he had access to the heaps of maps in the imperial palace. By synthesizing the accomplishments of his predecessors and adding the fruits of his own experience, he was able to present his contemporaries with a set of common principles, namely, the ＂Six Essentials of Map-making＂ (製圖六體), thus laying the scientific foundation for cartography in China. Seeing that the old maps of his time were not fit for use, Pei Hsiu was determined to produce new ones. Spurred by this determination, he undertook to study the geographical changes from past to present, and the current administrative areas and traffic routes. The final result was the remarkable Yü Kung Ti Yü T'u, or Regional Atlas of Yü Kung, which he compiled in collaboration with his senior assistant Chin Hsiang Fan. This atlas, composed of 18 sheets, may possibly be the oldest atlas on record in the world. In his preface, Pei Hsiu said: In making a map there are six principles observable: (1) fen Iü (or the graduated divisions) which are the means of determining the scale to which the maps is to be drawn; (2) chun wang (or the rectangular grid) which is the way of depicting the correct relations between the various parts of the maps; (3) tao Ii which is the method of fixing the lengths of derived distance; (4) kao hsia is the elevation of the ground; (5) fang hsieh is the direction in which mountain ranges and rivers run; and (6) yü chih seems to mean the cartographic technique that must be considered in treating the undulation of local land surfaces. The first three principles, as designated by the above-mentioned terms, are the general principles, and the latter three are subject to change under different topographical circumstances. Since these six principles are correlated and mutually binding, we may say that they are concisely indicative of the major problems in present-day cartography. Ptolemy, the great cartographer of the Western world, also wrote special articles on cartography; however, his discussion is mainly about the problem of map projection and can hardly be termed cartography. Yet, Pei Hsiu's ＂Six Essentials of Map-making＂ was in his own times a perfect discourse on the cartographic art. Following the Yü Kung Ti Yü T'u, Pei Hsiu also revised and adapted a single map painted on a piece of silk. The map was so big that it was difficult for a viewer to unfold it. Pei Hsiu regulated and reduced it by making one ts'un (the approximate equivalent of an inch) represent one hundred Ii (approximately equivalent to 1/3 mile). In other words, the adjusted one was a map of China proper at the scale of 1: 1,800,000. It is the earliest as well as the best recorded map of whole China with a definite scale. The T'ang dynasty (618-907) is the most glorious page in the history of China. Cartography in this period was consequently further developed, and feudatory states, particularly Hsi Yü (loosely, the countries bordering on Western China) and Korea, were also included in maps. In China proper, the government decreed that each chou and chün had to submit a map every three years; after A.D. 780, the prescribed time was changed to every five years. The central government then proceeded to compile maps of the whole country on the basis of the maps submitted by chou and chün. There were also specially established government agencies charged with the duty of gathering supplementary material from tribute-bearing foreign envoys and merchants, who were requested to answer queries put by such agencies with regard to the geographical conditions of the places whence they came. Then, with such supplementary material, the agencies would produce maps of the bordering regions. The leading geographer of the T'ang dynasty was Chia Tan (729-850), whose contribution to cartography can never be minimized. Although in his Hai Nui Hua I T'u completed in A.D. 801 one ts'un was made to represent one hundred Ii, yet, as the map included the tributary states, the size, 30 ch'ih (foot) in breadth and 33 ch'ih in length, was far larger than the Map of China produced by Pei Hsiu. In addition, by taking advantage of the various offices he had held, he had the opportunity to come into contact with foreign envoys and those returned Chinese diplomats who provided him with geographical information on alien lands. Another map of his, the Map of the Great T'ang, was consecrated to the imperial palace. In this map, the place names were in different colours; the old ones were in black and the contemporary ones in red. The influence of this new style was far-reaching, because it was faithfully followed by the later map-makers in producing maps of the successive dynastic changes. The original Map of the Great T'ang has long been lost, but its condensed versions, HuaI T'u and Yü Chi T'u, which were carved on stone, have been preserved. In the early years of the Sung dynasty (960- 1279), the compilation and production of maps was also a pursuit that received considerable attention. In A.D. 993 a map of all China called Shun Hua T'ien Hsia T'u was completed, but the actual scale is unknown. In A.D. 1067, Shen Kua (1031-1095) was ordered to compile a map of the chou and hsien in China, and the finished map used the scale of 1 : 900,000. Shen was a versatile figure with a colourful life, well grounded in mathematics and with a knowledge of ecology and medicine. Like Pei Hsiu and Chia Tan, he had held high offices. Once on a mission to Liao (Ch'i-tan), he scored, by virtue of his rich geographical information, a diplomatic victory in a dispute over frontier affairs. On his way back, he was carefully observant of what could be regarded as intelligence about his country's enemy. Back at home, he promptly wrote a including some route maps. In addition, he also produce a wooden model showing the topography of the bordering area. The emperor, amused by this model and finding that it was useful, ordered the high-ranking officers stationed at the bordering area to produce similar models by using the same method. Since the Sung imperial house was threatened by Liao and Hsi Hsia (Tangut) at the very inception of the dynasty, the Imperial Court was especially concerned about the defence of the northern frontier area and as a result maps were highly esteemed. For instance, the emperor would have maps hung in his palace and would give instructions to his state officers on matters of defence. In Sung historical documents we can find numerous passages on maps. Since maps were greatly favoured by the imperial house, presenting maps to the Emperor became a thing quite popular with local officers and the general literati. Where the material now available is concerned, the maps that were produced in the Sung dynasty and are still mentioned in books were greater in quantity than those produced in Tang. Apart from maps of China, they also showed a greater variety of alien lands and of frontier areas; there were also maps of mountains, rivers, irrigation projects, the regulation of rivers, sea routes, traffic, cities, and even of palaces. In China's celebrated ancient capital of Sian there is a famous ＂Forest of Steles.＂ One of the steles, three ch'ih in both height and breadth, has engraved on the front and back sides a map of China. The two maps are the earliest of their kind that have been preserved to this day, and the time of their being engraved was 1137. Some of the place names used in the T'ang dynasty are kept in the two maps, and from the names of the maps, the style of drawing, and the explanatory notes at the margin, we have much reason to believe that the two are similar to Chia T'an's Hai Nui Hua I T'u, and we may see them as a mixture of the cartographic art in both Tang and Sung. We may also infer from the age of the place names in the maps that the original of the engraved Hua I T'u, one of the two, was drawn during the reign of Emperor Shen Tsung (1068-1085), while that of the other, the engraved Yü Chi T'u, was probably drawn at the end of the 11th century. Preserved in the Confucian Temple at Soochow is also a stone map of China engraved in 1247, which measures about six ch'ih high and three ch'ih broad. It is in the Hua I T'u rather than the Yü Chi T'u tradition, mountains and forest being more naturalistically drawn in, with no grid, and with place-names inserted in rectangular frames. On the mountain ridges there are forest symbols. The coast-line is a bit better than in the 1137 map. The Soochow of those days was called P'ingchiang, the city second in size only to Hangchow, the capital of Southern Sung. The same series of steles has also an important city map of Soochow, engraved in 1229, which is the earliest as well as the best existing Chinese map of a city. These four maps, preserved down to this day because they were engraved on stone, reflect accurately the cartographic standard of the Sung dynasty. The period beginning from Pei Hsiu of the Tsin dynasty to Chia Tan of the T'ang dynasty was more than 500 years long. Then, with the lapse of another 500 years, there appeared in China another famous cartographer, Chu Ssü-pen (1273-1333). Chu was an important Taoist who, seizing the opportunity of offering sacrifice to famous mountains and seas in the name of the Emperor, had travelled widely. When he was travelling, he would observe the geographical setting of various places and would study the histories of the towns and cities where he stayed. By summing up his predecessor's experiences and by applying what he had acquired from the books and the maps that were available at the time, he corrected the names of mountains and rivers, and in ten years' toil brought out the famous map Yü Ti T'u. This map of China was handed down to the people in the early years of the Ch'ing dynasty and remained the major model among the maps produced during the dynasties of Yüan, Ming, and Ch'ing. Chu Ssü-pen, by virtue of his wide travelling experience, had acquired much more first hand information than, the other famous cartographers. The Yü Ti T'u compiled by him is a combination of field study and book knowledge. The drawing technique adopted by him was still based on the grid (a checkered pattern consisting of many square would first be drawn before a map was produced in proportion to such squares; for instance, the one inch long side of the square represented a hundred miles, the actual distance on the land surface). In spite of this, the accuracy of the map was apparently much improved. Though this important map has been lost, the preface Chu wrote for it is still in existence, and tells what motivated his compiling the map and how he had worked. All in all, we are made to feel, by this preface, the author's seriousness in doing his work. Since the Yü Ti T'u by Chu measured seven feet square, it was inconvenient for common use; therefore, Lo Hung-hsien of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) set about adapting it. He changed the big map into smaller sheets and added his own maps of features such as the Yellow River and Grand Canal to form an atlas. He also used 24 symbols to represent mountains, rivers, roads, cities, castles, and passes, etc. This was the beginning of the use in Chinese maps of a large number of symbols to represent geographical features, and the time was much earlier than the time when cartographers in Europe did the same. Though in the early years of the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911) the government had asked foreign missionaries to have China mapped by means of longitudinal and latitudinal orientation, the data used and the finished maps were kept in secrecy in the Manchu palace instead of being made known to the common people. Therefore, the maps produced by the school as represented by Chu Ssü-pen and Lo Hung-hsien still prevailed to some extent in the mid-Ch'ing period. In addition to the application of a large number of symbols, the maps produced in the Ming period were also generally coloured. The average maps produced during this period were coloured in the same way as those in T'ang and Sung: yellow was generally used to indicate rivers, red to indicate roads, and green to indicate mountain ranges. In my opinion, the reason ancient Chinese cartographers were in the habit of using yellow to represent rivers is that most of them were born in North China or held official positions there, and the rivers in North China, like the Yellow River and its tributaries, are muddy all year long; so it was only natural that by association the cartographers should use yellow to indicate rivers.

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