The origin of maps is very early, almost as long as human culture. The most primitive map can no longer be verified, but it is the oldest map preserved from some incomplete relics carved on pottery pieces found in Babylon and Egypt about 4000 years ago. Although their contents and forms of expression are relatively simple, their forms have reflected that the production of original maps is closely related to human production and life. The "mountain and sea map" in China's historical records has been 2500 years. It is said that it was cast on the top of the clock to guide hunters not to get lost.

The Development of Ancient Maps ── The development history of ancient maps has different characteristics in the East and the West.

According to records, the Yellow Emperor of China used a map to fight against Chiyou. During the Xia and Yu dynasties, Dayu cast a map of Jiuding. There are records such as "World Map" and "Land Map" in Zhou Li of Zhou Dynasty, indicating that maps were already used for production and land management at that time. Since the emergence of agriculture in the Yellow River basin, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River have been the cradle of ancient oriental culture. It can be said that the development of China map is due to the needs of agricultural life and war. During the Spring and Autumn Period, a new mathematical calculation method appeared due to the needs of farmland water conservancy and military engineering. Although the map at that time has not been handed down, it is not difficult to imagine that the map has been widely used. For example, when Confucius saw people engaged in land survey and household registration statistics, he greeted them in the car to show his respect; In order to assassinate the king of Qin, Jing Ke asked for an audience in the name of offering a picture. This shows that the map at that time was an important tool in the hands of rulers. According to records, there were land maps, administrative maps, military traffic maps, world general trend maps, maps of mines and tombs in ancient China. The earliest ancient maps of China that can be seen now are three maps unearthed from Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha in BC 1973, which were buried in BC 168, namely topographic map, garrison map and city map. The scope of the map is similar to that of Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and the content and representation are roughly the same as those of modern maps. These maps enjoy a high reputation in the history of map development.

With the development of western maps, it is more certain that when agriculture began to exist along the Nile in ancient Egypt, the river flooded the farmland in spring and washed away the boundaries of the fields. In order to redefine the land, a map with mathematical significance has been produced, which graphically represents the land corridor and quantity. In ancient Greece and Rome, due to the development of handicrafts, the development of maps shifted from agriculture to maritime trade and military war. They learned the knowledge of geometry and geography in Egypt, and compiled large-scale, accurate charts and large-scale and small-scale world maps.

In the history of ancient map science, there are two world-recognized cartographers. One is Ptolemy of Greece (AD 90─ 168), who studied how to describe the spherical surface of the earth on a plane and put forward two drawing methods of the world map, one is to draw the longitude and latitude lines into a simple fan shape, and the other is to draw a spherical surface. This drawing method is called map projection. This is a very important foundation and one of the most important contributions of the early west to cartography. Ptolemy discussed the method of determining the shape, size and latitude and longitude of the earth in his book "Geographic Guide", and chose the meridian crossing Ferro Island in the Atlantic Ocean. This method has been used until 1884. He was the first person to draw a map of the world with ordinary conic projection. His works are of epoch-making significance in the history of ancient western maps, and he is called the founder of map science. The other is Pei Xiu (AD 224-271) of the Western Jin Dynasty in China. He compiled a map of the region and a topographic abbot map. The former is a historical map, while the latter is a simplified map of the State of Jin. He put forward the "six bodies of cartography", that is, the principles of scale, orientation and distance in map drawing, which laid the theoretical foundation of ancient cartography in China. The planning method he adopted had a long-term impact on the pattern of ancient China map drawing, and was highly praised by famous geographers in later generations.

The development of modern maps ── After the 0/4th century A.D./KLOC-,the rise of capitalism in Europe and the spread of technologies such as compass, papermaking and printing in various countries to the west promoted the great discovery of geographical explorers. Since16th century, Ptolemy maps have been gradually eliminated, and there have appeared representative cartographers ── Luo Hongxian of China in the East and Mercator of the Netherlands in the West. Guang Tu compiled by Luo Hongxian extended the map area to Korea, Shuomo, Annan and the Western Regions. Mercator, on the other hand, can modify and supplement the published map at any time according to the new information. It is famous for its rigorous foundation in geometry and mathematics, rich information and novel content. It is a masterpiece of the European Atlas, which has been used to this day. Kyle Poirot wrote a book about Asian geography during his trip to China. China Zheng He sailed seven times in South Asia and the Indian Ocean in the Ming Dynasty, leaving the famous first nautical chart of China. 1488, Portuguese da Gama bypassed the southern tip of Africa and went to India after the successful trial. 1492, Columbus discovered the new continent. 1768, an Englishman Kirk separated Australia from Antarctica after traveling around the world at high latitudes in the southern hemisphere. The world map more accurately reflected the actual situation of the outlines of the continents. Subsequently, Britain, France, Germany and other countries developed economically and needed to refine the map urgently. Maps in this period became the mainstream of modern map development.