Visualising Time-Space in East Asia: Mapping ‘Round Heavens & Square Earth’ from Ancient Rotating Devices to Late Modern Commercial Maps

Development of “commercial” printing for commoners in late imperial China gave rise to schematic cosmographic maps (ca. early 17th century, onwards). Their structure strikingly resembles shi, with the difference that the square Earth is placed in the centre of the round Heavens. These maps were then transmitted to Korea. They apparently served as one of inspirations of the circular world maps found in popular Korean atlases (18th-19th centuries).

The aim of this presentation is to show how the ancient Chinese concept of ‘Round Heavens & Square Earth’ visualised as a time-space relationship continued to be in use in East Asia until the beginning of the 20th century, co-existing with modern Western science.

REGISTRATION

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PROGRAM

• Visualising Time-Space in East Asia: Mapping ‘Round Heavens & Square Earth’ from Ancient Rotating Devices to Late Modern Commercial Maps
  Vera Dorofeeva-Lichtmann (CNRS, Paris; Fellow Einstein Center Chronoi and Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science)
  
  Discussant:
  Stamatina Mastorakou (Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science)
  Paul Delnero (Johns Hopkins University, Visiting Fellow of the EC-Chronoi)

THE LECTURE SERIES

Maps and Mapping in Global History and Culture I

The lecture series is jointly organised by Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte and Einstein Center Chronoi.