Connected Cartographies: World Geography and the Sino-Western Translation of Knowledge, 1580-1842 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781009636032)

In the 'Age of Discovery', explorers brought a wealth of information about new and strange lands from across the oceans. Yet, even as the Americas appeared on new world maps, China remained a cartographic mystery. How was the puzzle of China's geography unravelled? Connected Cartographies demonstrates that knowledge about China was generated differently, not through exploration but through a fascinating bi-directional cross-cultural exchange of knowledge. Florin-Stefan Morar shows that interactions between Chinese and Western cartographic traditions led to the creation of a new genre of maps that incorporated features from both. This genre included works by renowned cartographers such as Abraham Ortelius and Matteo Ricci and other less-known works, 'black tulips of cartography, ' hidden in special collections. Morar builds upon original sources in multiple languages from archives across three continents, producing a pioneering reconstruction of Sino-Western cartographic exchanges that shaped the modern world map and our shared global perspective.

Author: Florin-Stefan Morar
ISBN-10: 1009636030
ISBN-13: 9781009636032
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 12/31/2025
Pages: 285
Format: Hardcover