地图学史视角下的古地图错讹问题

Errors on Antique Maps: A History of Cartography Perspective

文章从地图学史的视角,结合历史地理学的最新理论进展,讨论了对古地图上错讹地理信息的合理认知和处理方法。古地图中的地理信息来源芜杂,兼有实际和想象的内容;且其表现形式多样,兼具实用和装饰目的。因此,古地图上的错讹必须以丰富的地图学史知识为基础,将其置于当时、当地的情境中去理解。文章以19世纪初以前中外古地图中对西沙群岛(帕拉塞尔)的表现为例,分析了错讹出现、维持以及最后消失的原因。作者认为,"古Pracel"的提法不符合地图学史,系对古地图地理信息的误读。

This paper discussed the ways of recognizing and handling the errors on antique maps in light of both the history of cartography and recent theoretical press in historical geography. It was argued that the source of geographical information of antique maps was diverse,and was a blend of both factual information and fanciful imagination sometimes. The map design was also subject to utilitarian or decorative needs. As such,the errors on antique maps should be placed back into its own time and place,and scrutinized against the history of cartography,so as to be better compreherded. Using the cartographic representations of the Paracels in pre-early 19 th century Chinese and Western maps as an example,this paper analyzed the emergence,persistence and eventual disappearance of errors. The research of this paper found that the＂old Pracel＂thesis was a misreading of history of cartography which was not fit in.