Luo Hongxian
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Luo Hongxian (; 1504 – 1564) was a
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
Chinese
cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
. He also studied astronomy, geography, irrigation methods, military affairs and mathematics. After passing the
Imperial Examinations The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early i ...
with the rank of ''jinshi'' in 1529, Luo worked as a senior compiler at the
Hanlin Academy The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pen ...
. He was a student of the philosophies of the
Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768 ...
Wang Yangming Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu ...
. Hearing of raids by wokou pirates on China's south-eastern shores, he began collating cartographical information for the Ming government, spending three years in research. During this period, he discovered the ''Yutu'' (Terrestrial Map), an atlas of China created by Zhu Siben during the
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
some 300 years earlier around 1320, which he adapted and expanded using Chinese measuring methods to create his ''Guang Yu Tu'' 廣與圖 (Enlarged territorial atlas), a work that covered the entire country. It was first published in 1561, and remained the principal reference work in Chinese cartography until the 17th century. The map included mountains, rivers, boundaries, roads, and other landmarks. Luo's maps and geographical knowledge were put to use in the defense of the coast, and he was offered several government posts as a result but declined these offers.
Martino Martini Martino Martini (20 September 1614 – 6 June 1661) was a Jesuit China missions, Jesuit missionary born and raised in Trento (now in Italy, then a Prince-Bishopric of Trent, Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire). As a cartographer and histo ...
, an Italian
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in China, drew his own ''Novus Atlas Sinensis'' (based on the ''Guang Yu Tu''), which was published in Amsterdam by
Joan Blaeu Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673), also called Johannes Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer and the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. Blaeu is most notable for his map published in 1648, which was the fir ...
in 1655. Martini's map remained the standard European view of China until 1737, when
Jean Baptiste d'Anville Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...
published his ''Atlas de la Chine''. His work would go on to influence other maps such as the ''Da Ming Guangyu Kao'' (An Examination of the Enlarged Terrestrial apof the Great Ming Dynasty from 1610) and Chen Zushou's ''Huang Ming Zhifang Ditu'' (An Administrative Map of the Ming Dynasty from 1636), which were banned during the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
period.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Hongxian Chinese cartographers 16th-century Chinese scholars 1504 births 1564 deaths Ming dynasty zhuangyuan