Chapter 20 Section II Zhu Siben's "Yu Map", Luo Hongxian's "Guang Yu Map" and Yang Ziqi's Postscript "Yu Map"

Zhu Siben, styled Benchu, nicknamed Zhenyi, was born in Linchuan, Jiangxi (now Fuzhou, Jiangxi). He was born in Yuan to Yuan ten years (1273 A.D.) and died in an unknown year. He was an outstanding geographer and cartographer in the Yuan Dynasty. He is also an epoch-making figure in the history of Chinese cartography.The "Yu Map" drawn by him was added to "Guang Yu Map" by Luo Hongxian, and it dominated the map of China for more than 200 years. Born in a family of intellectuals, Zhu Siben has read widely since childhood, and later became famous for his poems and prose.When he was a teenager, he went to Xinzhou (now Shangrao, Jiangxi Province) to learn Taoism at Longhu Mountain. Since then, his status in Taoism has continued to rise. ) During the years, he was ordered to sacrifice Songshan, Hengshan and other famous mountains many times.Later, he presided over the temples in Hangzhou and Longxing Road (now Nanchang, Jiangxi).

During the period when Dadechu was called to Beijing and offered sacrifices according to the order, Zhu Siben traveled extensively, covering present-day Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and other provinces. The customs of mountains and rivers, the people's livelihood, the gains and losses of current politics, the rain, tide and hail, the changes of insect scales, and the differences of vegetation."When he went out to sacrifice, he was also entrusted by the court officials to conduct investigations and interviews, and drew maps at any time. He himself was also preparing to redraw new maps to correct the mistakes of his predecessors, so he paid attention to field investigations and collected information wherever he went. old drawing.During his stay in Dadu, he made full use of the library materials of the central agency.From the fourth year of Zhida to the seventh year of Yanyou (1311-1320 A.D.), it took 10 years to paint a "Yu Map" with a length and width of seven feet, which was later engraved in stone in the Sanhua Courtyard of the Shangqing Palace.Both the original map and stele have been lost, but the original appearance of "Yu Map" can be seen from "Guang Yu Tu" by Luo Hongxian in the Ming Dynasty.

According to "Guang Yu Tu", "Yu Tu Tu" is mainly based on China, and it is drawn in the method of Jili drawing. The positions, shapes, and distances of mountains, lakes, and rivers on the map are relatively accurate, while the drawing of states and counties is relatively rough and has been systematically drawn. Using the symbolic legend accurately, the source of the Yellow River has been roughly accurately drawn at the Kara Canal southwest of the Xingxiu Sea. Zhu Siben himself once said: "If you go to the southeast of the sea, the northwest of the desert, and the exotic lands, although the tribute is coming, the Liao is far away. Those who say it can't be detailed, and the detailed ones are not credible. Therefore, in this class , I don’t use it.” It can be seen that his map did not include the remote areas outside the Yuan Empire and inhabited by ethnic minorities in China.

Although Zhu Siben's "Yu Tu Di" reached a new level, it was not circulated at that time, so it had no influence.An important reason is that large-scale maps are difficult to reproduce or print.Luo Hong first shortened and supplemented "Yu Tu" and changed it into a book-style framed atlas "Guang Yu Tu", which was printed and distributed in large quantities.Later generations often used "Guang Yu Tu" as the blueprint and base map, and followed the Ji Li Hua method to compile and draw maps, which had an influence until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Luo Hongxian (AD 1504-1564), named Nian'an, styled Dafu, was born in Jishui, Jiangxi.Since childhood, he was diligent and studious. In the eighth year of Jiajing (AD 1529), he became an official.Luo Hongxian felt that there were a lot of mistakes after "viewing all the maps and books in the world". Therefore, after three years of searching, he found Zhu Siben's "Yu Map". It took more than ten years and referred to some other maps. In 1541 AD, it was supplemented and adapted into "Guangyu Tu".

"Guang Yu Tu" has a total of 44 pieces, which are divided into four parts: a general map of Yudi; 16 pictures of Liangzhili and Thirteen Chief Ministers (15 first-level administrative regions in the Ming Dynasty); Nine Borders (Northern Frontier) 10 maps, five maps of the borders of Taohe, Songpan, Qianzhen, and Mayang (northwest and southwestern border areas), three maps of the Yellow River, three maps of Caohe (canal), two maps of shipping; North Korea, Shuomo, Annan , four maps of the Western Regions.Among them, the nine sides, the Yellow River, the sea transportation, and the water transportation are all added by Luo Hongxian.Each figure is followed by brief text and diagrams. "Guang Yu Tu" is drawn neatly and engraved with fine detail, and the relative positions of geographical elements such as mountains, rivers, coasts, and settlements are basically correct. For example, the outlines of the southeastern coast, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River system are basically close to modern maps.There are as many as 24 kinds of symbol legends used, creating a drawing method that systematically uses legends.Luo Hongxian systematically used the method of "calculating and drawing squares" which was on the verge of being lost at that time. 100 miles, 200 miles, 400 miles, 500 miles. The systematization of "planning and drawing squares" and the use of legends have made the traditional map drawing method of our country mature.

More than 20 years before the publication of Luo Hongxian's "Guangyutu", there was also a "Guangyutu" inscribed by Yang Ziqi, which is still preserved in the Lushun Museum in Dalian City, Liaoning Province.The author of this picture is unknown, only the postscript of Yang Ziqi.Judging from the names of the political districts and places on the map, this map was drawn no earlier than the seventh year of Zhengde (AD 1512), and Yang Ziqi died in the eighth year of Zhengde (AD 1513), so this map was drawn during these two years .The picture is 164 centimeters long and 180 centimeters wide, with a scale of about 1:1.76 million. It is a painted map of the administrative districts of the Ming Dynasty.There are more than 20 kinds of legend symbols used to represent mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, islands, the Great Wall, and administrative districts in the picture. More than 500 mountains are represented by colored peaks, and rivers are represented by double-line coloring. More than 1,600 place names are graded with symbols such as squares, circles, and rhombuses, and the names are noted in the symbols.The coastline is drawn more accurately, and the water system is more detailed.In the picture, the Great Wall, temples, mausoleums, bridges and other places of interest are highlighted, which can be called an early tourist map.Judging from the representation of the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its source, legend symbols, and coastal outlines, this map is very similar to Luo Hongxian's "Guangyu Map", which shows that they are all based on Zhu Siben's "Yutu Map".