Recently I collected a set of ancient ancient Asian maps, but I didn't see the cover page, so I didn't know when it was published and the author. Later, I checked the information online and finally found the source of the map. The name of the map is "State of Asia in China in the Years", which is a Chinese version drawn by the British. The font of this map is traditional, written from right to left, and should have been published during the Republic of China. This may be the earliest Asian historical map. Let's take a look at how this set of maps is drawn.
The first picture is a map of Asia in the Zhou Dynasty. Although the dynasty is marked as the Zhou Dynasty, the time and history of the East and West on the diagram are not up to par. The Chinese part is a map of the situation in the late Spring and Autumn Period, with major countries in the Spring and Autumn Period such as Jin, Chu, Qi, Qin, Wu, and Yue. The part of West Asia is marked . Alexander Empire . At that time, it was the period when the Persian Empire was powerful, while Alexander's Eastern Expedition was 330 BC, which belonged to the mid-Warring States Period. Therefore, there was a serious error in this map.
The second picture is a map of Asia in the Qin Dynasty. This map also has problems that East and West cannot match. During the Qin Dynasty, the Seleucid dynasty ruled West Asia, which was the largest dynasty under the division of the Macedonian Empire, but the map was drawn with Roman Empire . Roman only launched a war against Hellenized countries in 215 BC, and finally turned Mediterranean into an inland sea in 191 BC. Therefore, serious errors also occurred here. In addition, Rome was still the Roman Republic at that time, not the Roman Empire.
The empire that existed at the same time as the Qin Dynasty and Seleucid was Mauryan Dynasty , which is located in subcontinent of India. Here is the correct writing. Japan's location marks Yamato, which was established in the 5th century and therefore could not have appeared in this era.
The third picture is an Asian map from the Western Han Dynasty period. This map has no errors, but there are also smaller ones, such as the Roman Empire should be marked as the Roman Republic. It should be noted that there are two parts in the figure with diagonal lines, namely the Southern Xiongnu and the Western Regions, which means they were later controlled by the Western Han Dynasty. Between the Western Han Dynasty and Rome, there was a great power called the Parthian Empire, which was the rest marked on the map, which was a dynasty of the Persian Empire. This dynasty became more developed by re-trading trade between the Han Empire and Rome.
The fourth picture is an Asian map from the Eastern Han Dynasty period. There are no obvious errors in this map. Judging from the coexistence of the Southern Xiongnu and the Northern Xiongnu , this should be the territory of the early Eastern Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty has not yet restored control of the Western Regions, but has controlled the Southern Xiongnu. At that time, there was another country gradually rising, which was the Kushan Empire , which spanned Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia, and was a country established by the Great Yuezhi people. India was already broken into pieces at that time.
The fifth picture is an Asian map from the Three Kingdoms era. The most western painting of Wei State in the map is at Yumen Pass. This is the traditional painting of Wei State map, and the painting of Wei State to the Western Regions is the painting of Tan Qixiang . In fact, both painting methods have flaws. The State of Wei did not control most of the Western Regions, but a military farming agency was set up in the eastern part of the Western Regions, proving that some areas of the Western Regions belong to the territory of the State of Wei. At that time, the Persian Sassanid dynasty replaced the Sleeping Dynasty and was the revival era of the Persian Empire. On the grassland, there were Xianbei strong. They expelled the Huns and forced the Huns to migrate south.
The situation in Asia during the Western Jin Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era did not change much, so there is no need to talk about it. However, this map draws Japan's territory to the Hokkaido Island area, which is incorrect, because it is already very late for Japan to get here.
The seventh picture is a map of Asia from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, mainly in the early Southern and Northern Dynasties. At that time, the Northern Wei and Liu and Song dynasties confronted each other in mainland China, while the Rouran rose in the desert. In the West, the Roman Empire had been divided into Eastern Rome and Western Rome, while the Eastern Rome ruled the Asian part. In West Asia, the Persian Sassanid dynasty continued to expand and occupied a large area of on the Arabian Peninsula.In South Asia, the Gupta dynasty emerged, which was the second unified dynasty in Indian history.
The eighth picture is a map of Asia during the Sui Dynasty. There were serious mistakes in the East Asian part of this map. For example, was not established at that time, but Nanzhao had been marked in Yunnan. During the Sui Dynasty, the Turkic was strong and it can be seen from the map that the Turkic territory reached the east to the Great Xing'anling of the Greater Khingan Mountains in the east and the west to the Caspian of the Caspian of the east and the west, which was divided into two parts: Eastern Turkic and Western Turkic, with a vast area. In West Asia, the Persian Sassanid dynasty reached its peak. It is inappropriate to paint India on the map as a plate.
The ninth picture is an Asian map from the Tang Dynasty period. The areas with vertical lines on the figure are the areas where Tang Dynasty later expanded, including Mongolian Plateau and the Western Regions. The westernmost reach Aral Sea . It seems that the Tang Dynasty's territory reaches the Aral Sea area is more recognized by both the East and the West. The empire that existed at the same time as the Tang Dynasty was the Arab Empire, which unified West Asia, North Africa, eliminated the Persian Sassanid Dynasty, and eventually bordered the Tang Dynasty. The Gupta dynasty in South Asia has been divided into several parts.
The tenth picture is an Asian map from the fifth generation of . At that time, Khitan rose in the north, and the Khitan on this map had expanded to the area of Baikal , which was obviously different from the maps drawn in China. In this era, the Arab Empire also split, Persian gained independence, and the Turks established Saman Dynasty here.
The eleventh picture is Southern Song Asia map during the Jin Dynasty. At that time, there were three tribes in mainland China, including the Southern Song, Jin, and , Western Xia, , , Demon North, , Mongolian tribes, Western Regions, , Western Liao , and Yunnan, , Dali . The Dali Kingdom in the picture has reached the Indian Ocean. In fact, at that time, Myanmar had Bagan Dynasty , which was Yuan Dynasty that defeated Bagan . In West Asia, there were two Turkic dynasties, , Seljuk Empire, and , Khwarezm, , rising one after another.
The twelfth picture is the territory of the Yuan Dynasty. Among them, the red circle is the Mongol Empire territory, including the Yuan Dynasty and the four major Khanates of Mongolia. Tan Qixiang's map draws the northernmost end of the Yuan Dynasty to Arctic Ocean , and this map draws the northernmost end of the Baikal Lake and the Xing'anling outside . Except for the Tan Qixiang system, most maps draw the north of the Yuan Dynasty to north of Lake Baikal.
The thirteenth map is a map at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, the Yuan Dynasty had collapsed and the princes in mainland China were separatist. And Ogedei and the Il Khanate have also collapsed, and West Asia has risen Timur Empire . On the Turkish Peninsula, the Ottoman Empire has begun to appear.
The fourteenth picture is an Asian map from the Ming Dynasty period. At that time, the Ming Dynasty failed to fully inherit the territory of the Yuan Dynasty, and was basically limited to the south of the Great Wall. There was a confrontation between Tatar and Oirat in the north of the desert. In the northeast, there are various Jurchen tribes, , Us Tibet tribes, and in the northwest, there are various Chagatai. In West Asia, the Timur Empire had collapsed and Türkiye destroyed the Eastern Roman Empire . In South Asia, the Mughal Empire is being established.
The fifteenth picture is an Asian map from the Qing Dynasty period. The horizontal and vertical lines in the figure are the areas annexed by the Qing Dynasty, including the Mongolian Plateau, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Western Regions. However, the Taiwan Island on the map is not painted in the same color as the mainland, nor is it drawn horizontal or vertical lines, which is very problematic. At that time, Russian Empire had annexed the entire Siberia , becoming China's largest neighbor. The Mughal Empire in South Asia is heading for division. The Persian and Turkish empires in West Asia are suffering from invasions from Russia and Western countries.
Overall, the first few pictures of this set of Asian historical maps are full of errors, while the latter ones are relatively accurate, but there are also many problems. It can be seen that the author level of this set of maps is relatively limited. So far, I have not seen a very satisfying map of Asian history.It is very difficult to make Chinese historical maps, let alone Asian historical maps.
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