Coastal Map of the Seven Maritime Provinces of the Illustrious Dynasty

Qing dynasty (1644�1911), Jiaqing period (1796�1820), dated 1798

Handscroll, ink, color, and gold on paper; 29.2 x 888.9 cm

Inventory number: 068.2/(2)/1798/6798

The seven maritime provinces referred to in the title of this map are Shengjing (roughly corresponding to modern-day Liaoning), Zhili (modern Hebei), Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.� This 1798 map is one of many based on the Yanhai quan tu (Complete Coastal Map) drawn by Chen Lunjiong in the early Yongzheng period between 1723 and 1730.� Like Chen's prototype, this map has six sections: a map of the Eastern Hemisphere, a coastal map of China, a map of Taiwan, a map of the inner mountains of Taiwan, a map of the Pescadores (Penghu liedao), and a map of Qiongzhou (Hainan).

The handscroll opens with an explanatory narrative followed by five separately listed main points.� The circular map depicts the eastern hemisphere with Japan and most of the Russian Far East, part of Antartica at lower right, England at the upper left, the entire African continent at left, and a number of archipelagos in the southern Atlantic Ocean at lower left.� Not surprisingly, China occupies a central position, and its territory is greatly exaggerated in relation to other countries; all its provinces as well as the imperial capital are listed by name.� The didactic purpose was clearly to reinforce China's pride during the height of its territorial expansion and its self-perception as a world power.� The main portion of the map shows the coastline and immediate hinterland of the seven maritime provinces, beginning with Shengjing in the north and continuing through Guangdong in the south but horizontally oriented to accommodate the handscroll format.� Detailed geographical and narrative descriptions are inscribed in neat blocks of text of varying lengths within the blank spaces.