This website shows how the different map-making traditions of Europe and China changed and influenced each other by telling the stories of maps and map makers. It accompanies “Regnum Chinae: The Printed Western Maps of China to 1735”, the first comprehensive reference work on maps of China printed in Europe. These work result from a rigorous research project in 2016-2021, conducted by Dr. Marco Caboara with the assistance of the Special Collections team in the HKUST Library. Dr. Caboara authored the publication; he invited eight authoritative scholars of Chinese cartography to contribute introduction chapters, making it the first systematic coverage of this field. The project was supported by a fund donated by Dr. Ko Pui Shuen.
Dr. Caboara’s research aimed to identify all the maps of China published in Europe between 1584 and 1735; subsequently he verified a total of 127 maps. Collaborating with the research program Explokart in University of Amsterdam, he compiled the 127 entries of maps following the professional standards in the Explokart Series. While the book describes all the maps in details, the website, developed by the HKUST Library team, invites you to explore the images in high resolutions. Most images come from the original maps in the Antique Maps of China Collection in the HKUST Library. Another major source is the special collections of the library in University of Amsterdam, managed by the Allard Pierson Museum in The Netherland. The remaining images were sourced from a vast array of libraries in Europe and North America; a few unique items were provided by private collectors and map dealers. As a result of the research and image curation effort by Dr. Caboara and his support team, this digital collection is the most complete and accurate collection of European’s maps of China from 1584 to 1735. Furthermore, for some exceptionally rare or unique items, the images here are their first, and possibly the only, digital copies. While all the scholarly outcomes of the research is reported in the reference book, map descriptions that are of interest to general readers are available in this website.
The Library would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Ko Pui Shuen for her generous support to this research project. Her donation enabled the Library to obtain extra manpower for the research work, sponsor the publication of the reference book with the prestigious publisher Brill, acquire images from libraries worldwide, and carry out many other activities that were essential to make this project a success.
The website is developed by the Systems team and the Special Collections team in HKUST Library. Contact us at lbarsc@ust.hk.