The Matteo Ricci 1602 Chinese World Map: the Ptolemaean echoes

Abstract

The World Map in Chinese, by Matteo Ricci (1602 version) is of great importance for both the Chinese and the European cartographic heritage – not only for its cartographic contexts but also as an example of the cultural impact a map could have in the interaction of the European cartography with other civilisations. In this paper, the multichannel echoing of Ptolemaean cartography in the Ricci’s map is underlined with respect to fundamental map-elements. The Ptolemy’s echoing in Ricci’s map and the meta-Ptolemy advances in the ‘Euro-Mediterranean’ school of cartography embrace the Ricci Chinese map in its legacy. The established belief on the influence of the ‘Euro-Atlantic’ counterpart on Ricci’s map seems a rather weak standpoint.

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