MAPPING THE UNKNOWN: JESUIT CARTOGRAPHY IN CHINA, 1583-1773

Although the Western world had limited knowledge of China by the first century A.D., it took over fifteen hundred years before an accurate portrayal of that ancient realm began to appear on maps produced by Europeans. The catalyst for systematic collection of information concerning the geography of East Asia was the arrival in China of Jesuit missionaries, led by Father Matteo Ricci, in A.D. 1583. These highly-educated Renaissance men began to promote Christian religion through a strategy designed to impress Chinese officials and literati with the breadth and depth of contemporary European knowledge, especially in the sciences.; One facet of this strategy was the introduction of Western techniques of regional survey and cartographic representation. During the nearly two centuries that the Jesuits remained in China, certain missionaries not only transmitted information to the indigenous elite, but also provided Europe with the first accurate picture of China's geography.; The image of China as it evolved on Western maps is chronicled in this study. Analyses of the several maps and atlases born of Jesuit cartography reveal that by the early eighteenth century the West had acquired a representation of China that was quite precise and that remained acceptable even into the early twentieth century.