Exploring the Propositions in Maps: The Case of the 'Yuji tu' of 1136

Abstract

The Yuji tu 禹跡圖 (Fig. 1) that was engraved into stone in 1136 has become one of the most famous maps in China’s cartographic history.1 It has been the subject of studies by many scholars of historical geography and cartography. In part this has been because it seems to be on the way to becoming a modern map: It is the earliest extant national map that not only appears to have been intended to be geographically accurate, using a scaled grid, but also succeeded to a considerable extent.2 But this is not the only way to think about the map as an historical artifact. Yan Tingting 闫婷婷 has carefully reviewed the scholarship on the Yuji tu. What can we say with certainty? First, we can be sure that the original source used by the 1136 map, and the version known as the Yuji tu 禹迹圖 engraved at Zhenjiang 鎮江 in 1142, dates from the period 1081–94, following Cao Wanru 曹婉如, and perhaps 1087–1089, following Liu Jianguo 劉建 國, based on the dates for changes in the course of the Yellow River and in some administrative place names. The 1142 map states that it was engraved based on the “Chang’an edition” of 1100. Second, we can see that it employs