《坤舆万国全图》地图数字复原与讨论

The Matteo Ricci 1602 Chinese World Map: digital restoration and discussion

《坤舆万国全图》是我国现存最早的世界地图,针对以往难于窥见巨幅地图全貌,国内学者对其投影类型及性质一直存在争论,该文利用美国国会图书馆高清扫描件对其进行考证,确认《坤舆万国全图》主图采用Ortelius椭圆投影,并利用现代计算机技术对其进行恢复,提取出精确的地理信息,为进一步研究中西测绘史提供了数字化实例。同时,针对近年来明代中国人环球测绘《坤舆万国全图》的说法,该文对成图年代、部分地名注记、南美大陆形状等进行研究,认为质疑《坤舆万国全图》的主要观点并不成立,该图作者应是利玛窦,利玛窦世界地图无疑是东西方文化交流互鉴中最具传奇色彩的历史见证。

The Matteo Ricci 1602 Chinese World Map i.e. Great Universal Geographic Map with the Chinese name Kunyu Wanguo Quantu,is the earliest existing world map in China. Because the maps of printed edition are collected abroad, Chinese scholars have not been able to see the original maps for a long time. The scholars have disputed the projection of this world map. The authors investigated the original map using the high-resolution copy of the Library of Congress, and confirmed that the projection of main map is Ortelius oval projection. In this paper, the map has been digitized with computer technology for extracting the geographic information, which will provide a lively example of learning the history of surveying and mapping in China and the West. Meanwhile, the imagination of Chinese traveling around the world and mapping the world map was studied and discussed. By analyzing the age of the map, the naming of some place names, and the shape of South America, et al, there is no doubt that the main author of the world map in 1602 should be Ricci. The Matteo Ricci world map, i.e. Great Universal Geographic Map is undoubtedly the most legendary historical witness to the mutual learning between different cultures in the 16-17 century.