For centuries, many maps drawn in ancient China have been scattered overseas, and the Library of Congress is one of them. The Department of Geography and Maps of the Library of Congress has the largest collection of ancient maps of China outside Asia, which is of great value in the study of geography and history.

The Library of Congress, located in the southeast street of Washington, D.C., was established on April 24th, 1800, with a collection of nearly 1 100 million volumes and 4.6 million maps and geographical documents. In the Asia Department of the Library of Congress, there are four departments: Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asia, which specialize in collecting institutions related to oriental culture. According to the statistics of Chinese Department, up to now, * * * has more than 50,000 kinds of ancient rare books in China, more than 4,000 kinds of local chronicles in China, and more than 60,000 copies of * *, including more than 0/00 of China's unique books. At present, the Library of Congress is still collecting various China classics. China imports 65,438+05,000 books, 2,400 periodicals and 50 newspapers every year, enriching the stacks of China people.

The Map Department of the Library of Congress has collected about 300 picture books and woodcut maps of China, including/kloc-long scroll maps, fan maps and stone rubbings since the 2nd century. In addition, with the printed edition, rubbings and picture books collected by the Asia Department, the map collection of the Library of Congress can be said to be an undeveloped treasure for the study of ancient cartography in China. This rich map collection has been gradually accumulated in the 200-year history of the Library of Congress in the United States, which mainly comes from the gift of the China government and the donation of researchers or map collectors who have long been interested in China culture. Arthur William, William Lockhill and Langdon Werner are the founders of China traditional maps and map collections in the Library of Congress.

The earliest map of China in the Map Department of the Library of Congress of the United States is the map of concubine1136th century rubbings. This map of stone carving was originally placed in Qishan County School, Fengxiang Prefecture, west of Xi 'an, Shaanxi Province 120, depicting the tribute transportation in the area ruled by King Dayu of Xia Dynasty, which is said to have happened in 2205 BC. The author of this picture is unknown, and it was carved in the Song Dynasty. It was drawn according to Pei Xiu's planning method, and the structure of "Hua Yi Tu in the Sea" drawn by Jia Dan in 802 was revised.

Among the precious ancient maps of China collected by the Map Department of the Library of Congress, there is also an Atlas of Ming Dynasty in China compiled by/kloc-0 in the second half of the 6th century. This atlas depicts North and South 13 provinces and Zhili region, and is one of the earliest national atlases in China collected by the Ministry of Maps. The rest are 18 and19th century map works, most of which are related to Korean territory.

Arthur William (1844- 1975), a famous sinologist, 1928- 1954 was the director of the Oriental Department (now the Asian Department) of the Library of Congress, and he was the main promoter of maps and maps of China in the Library of Congress. 1930, the Map Department collected the maps and atlases collected by Heng Muyi when he first lived in China. From 65438 to 0934, Arthur William was responsible for purchasing books for the Library of Congress, during which he bought a batch of precious map materials for the map department. 1962, he donated some picture books and maps from his collection to the Library of Congress. With Heng's help, the map department obtained 85 printed copies and picture books of ancient maps of China from Ming Dynasty to19th century, including military maps, traffic maps, mausoleum maps, navigation maps, general maps and zoning maps of China. These maps come in various forms, such as long scrolls, wall charts, folding photo albums and commemorative pictures.

There are also some precious maps in the map collection donated by Arthur William to the Library of Congress, including the Ming Dynasty woodcut folding map collection of Look at the Palm; /kloc-a long scroll map painted on silk in the 0/7th century, depicting the topography of four important border areas in the Qing Dynasty, including the conflict between the Qing army and the Russian army in amur river (Heilongjiang); And 1674, a world map composed of eight wall charts drawn by Ferdinand ferdinand verbiest, a Jesuit. The Coastal Defence Map of Wan Li, drawn around 1705, is a long scroll with a length of 5 1 foot folded and mounted by1map, depicting the military defense from Hainan Island to Shandong Peninsula.

Among the ancient maps of China collected by the Library of Congress, 1229 is worth mentioning.

It was donated to the Library of Congress by William gamble in the19th century. This rubbings was developed after 1869, and it is the only original rubbings of this famous stone carving map, because the original was re-carved in 19 17.

The Map Department of the Library of Congress also has several maps about Macao and Macao. These include printed maps, hand-drawn maps, atlases and views, ranging in age from 1655 to 199 1. These maps have a variety of scales, including maps of Macao urban area and its adjacent areas, as well as maps of surrounding provinces and regions, especially those of Guangdong Province and coastal areas. When browsing the map, readers will notice the changes of cities over time, the evolution of street layout, the development of seaports, and how urban planning is closely related to the geographical environment.

Among these maps about Macau, there is a scroll map representing China tradition, and there is no clear drawing date. It is estimated to be a work of1late 8th century. This 25-foot-long map shows Macau and its adjacent China coast, highlighting the importance of Macau. The proportion of islands is much larger than the actual geographical area, and buildings such as houses are painted on the islands to show the urban activities of the port. The title reads: "Humen is on the left and Xiangshan is on the right in Guangdong Province. Although Shunde Xinhui is the provincial capital, it is not only an important place to catch thieves in the open sea and inland rivers, but also an adulterer in Hong Kong, and it is also the external defense of Macao and Humen in the * * * domain, which cannot be ignored. "

Now, these precious picture books and maps engraved with China collected by the Map Department of the Library of Congress have all been catalogued and identified, and the description of each map has been added. The collection of these maps can attract more academic research. Through a more detailed study of these collections, academic circles can further understand the contribution of China people to the history of cartography.