《东西洋航海图》绘画年代上限新证——《二十八宿分野皇明各省地舆全图》可定“The Selden Map of China”(《东西洋航海图》)绘画年代的上限

A New Examination on the Inscription Year of the Selden Map of China

根据美国Robert Batchelor教授2013年初发表的文章(The Selden Map Rediscovered:A Chinese Map of East Asian Shipping Routes,c.1619)所引用,经仔细比对,可见"The Selden Map of China"(牛津大学鲍德里氏图书馆藏《东西洋航海图》)上的大部分明帝国境内地名,均源自刊刻于万历三十五年(1607)的一幅《二十八宿分野皇明各省地舆全图》。因此,1607年成了《东西洋航海图》绘画年代的上限。

Based on Professor Robert Batchelor' s article which was published in early 2013,this article probes further into the toponyms recorded on the Selden Map of China( 《东 西洋航海图》) kept at the Oxford University.The author finds out that most of the toponyms of the Ming Empire on the map were actually copied from another contemporary Ming map produced in 1607 entitled 'The Complete Map of 28 Constellations and Provinces of the Ming Empire'(《二十八宿分野皇明各省地舆全图》).It is argued that if that is the case,the Selden Map of China would not come into existence prior to 1607.