Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
LIBRARY IS GIVEN
81 CHINESE MAPS
Rare Specimens From Hum.
mel Group Are Presented
by Secretary Mellon.

A collection of 81 rare Chinese maps
and aliases has just been presented to
the Library of Congress by Secretary
of the Treasury Andrew w. Mellon.
Secretary Mellon. who is chairman Of
the Library Of Congress Trust Fund
Board, purchased the maps originally
from Arthur w. Hummel now chief Of
the Librarys division Of Chinese litera-
ture, who collected them during 10
years residence in China.
| The collection includes what is prob
ably the prototype Of the modern au-
tomobile strip map used In the United
States.
Looking at Distant Places as II Thew
Were on the Palm of Your Hand" Is the
tltle OF one manuscript atlas Of China
in the collection.
Drawn In Ming Period.
Looking Up, Looking Down, Nothing
Left" is the title of two maps. one Of
the celestial sphere and the other of
China and the world contained in an
other manuscript atlas of this collec-
ton. These maps were drawn In the
Ming period, some time between 1868
and 1914.
Hitherto, the few specimens the
Library has possessed Of early Chinese
maps have been those included In such
parts as 1t has been able to collect of
the famous manuscript encyclopedias,
the Yung Lo Ia Tien, written In 1903.
The maps in this encyclopaedia are the
Oldest known Chinese maps on paper.
Still earlier Is a map of China, carved
on stone, with notations on the border
concerning adjacent countries. This
map, carved in 1897, is in the Noun
ment Grove tPei-lin), In Sian. and is
the Oldest extant map Of Chinese origin.
Similar Maps Are Rare.
Sinologues point out that maps like
those in the Hummel collection are un-
common, for, until recently, no sys-
tematic attempt was made to preserve
the work of its photographers, and It
has been possible only now and then to
come across specimens still intact.
Some OF these maps are on paper, 9TH
erS on sill.
According to DR.. Berthold Laufer Of
the Field Museum, Chicago. the Chi
nese were engaged in scientific survey
ing and mapmaking as early as the
Tang period The early maps" he
| says, ARE fairly accurate, and in many
ways excellent; boundaries, routes, riv-
| ers, canals and other water courses, IN
short, the configuration Of plain surface
areas, are registered with a high de-
gree of fidelity, but mountain ranges
always presented q task beyond their
capacity and were simply neglected"
| Authorities generally speak of the
influence on Chinese map making of
the trigonometrical surveys of the
! JesuitS who came to China in the seven
tenth century. The later maps In the
collection presented by Secretary Mellon
show these influences.
! Among these manuscript maps 70 q
copy of Ferdinand Verbiest's Complete
Map of the World" in two hemispheres,
engraved on eight scrolls in Peking In
| 1874. In black and white, with numer.
Gus cartuches on the first and last
scrolls, explaining the causes Of earth
quakes, tides, eclipses, the seasons. etc
Each hemisphere is five feet in
| diameter, and when the eight scrolls
are placed together the complete map
measures 6x13 feet. The only copies OF
this map Row known to exist are in
the Jesuit College In Paris, the Bihlio-
| theque Rationale. the Vatican, the
/ British Museum (the eastern half only
and one which was for sale in 1927.
Manuscript Scroll on Silk.
Another remarkable piece in this lot
is manuscript scroll of silk on which
is map of Formosa. one of Mongolia,
and two Of Manchuria. No date Is
recorded, but two maps record incidents
which occurred in the early K'ang -hSi
period. This fact. with the condition
OF the scroll. make it certain that the
map belongs in the seventeenth century.
One of these two maps shows a bat
tie between the Russians (then called
Lo-ch'aj and the Manchurians on the
Heilungkiang; the other shows q plan
Of the Notifications Of Al hun, the
modern Heilungchiang city. A third
map shows the various passes through
the Great Wall, north of Picking, and
the location of the Monaghan banners
beyond the wall. The map Of Formosa
shows the distances between cities, the
Notifications and the location of the
aboriginal tribes. The Dutch settle
ment, called City of the Red-haired
Barbarians," is also shown. This map
is drawn as If Formosa were viewed
from the mainland Of China, or rs seen
when approached from the China coast
north Is, therefore, on the left OF the
map and south at the right.
An interesting feature of these maps
IS the use, in certain instances. of the
edges to indicate the existence Of
other countries. as. for example, on the
wall maps, where. on the northwest
corner, western countries like England.
Holland, Spain and Portugal are shown
and on the southwestern corner Africa
and the South Sea Islands; Another
| feature is to place north at the bottom
and south at the top Of the map. North
and south were regularly shown in this
way when the map was to be pre-
! sented to the Emperor. According to
/ the Chinese ceremonial, the Emperor
| faced south and the map was drawn
with the Emperor's position in mind.