Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Germany
Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
CHMAP is an interactive web interface that aggregates all currently accessible historical maps of China for cross-reference. In humanities, GIS is predominantly used for observing spatial patterns in collected datasets. CHMAP uses GIS instead to provide comparisons among different ways of describing and illustrating spatial reception by historical actors. CHMAP currently includes three sets of historical maps and visual materials: (1) ~4,000 land survey maps across China (c. 19c.–20c.), produced by the Chinese government and the Japanese Army; (2) ~2,000 land survey maps produced in similar contexts, digitized and published by Academia Sinica; and (3) 63,497 illustrations (including maps) collected from ~4,000 Chinese local gazetteers. While the first two were produced with modern cartography, the last curated set includes a spectrum of map-making and depictions of local spaces in historical China. CHMAP, by overlaying all three, provides a comparison of spatial epistemologies in historical China.
