Map of Central Asia drawn from the maps surveyed by order of the Qianlong emperor by the Peking missionaries and from many notes extracted and translated from Chinese books (1836; earlier states 1828, 1830)
Carte de l'Asie centrale dressee d'apres les cartes levees par ordre de l'empereur Khian Loung par les missionnaires de Pe King et d'apres un grand nombre de notions extraites et traduites de livres chinois
Julius Klaproth, Paris
How we know
compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.
Compilation from Chinese and Manchu sources (Qianlong-era Jesuit surveys of 1756-59 and Qing gazetteers) translated by Klaproth; no observation.
Research notes
- Depends on the Qianlong Jesuit surveys (as d'Anville's 1737 atlas, M016/M022, depends on the Kangxi survey); Klaproth's Chinese readings were criticised by contemporaries (Humboldt, Ritter). Three dated states 1828/1830/1836 must be distinguished when cited.
- To check manually: open the ark in a browser, use 'Telecharger' for the JPEG, and confirm the four-sheet 1836 state and its legend crediting the Peking missionaries.
Why it matters
Klaproth's Carte de l'Asie centrale is the named source of the SDUK 1838 'Independent Tartary' sheet and the first European map of the region built from Chinese-language sources; it is the bridge between Qing knowledge and the 1840s Western vocabulary, and a target for manual checking on Gallica.
Places named
Central Asia: Eastern Turkestan (Kashgar, Yarkand), Dzungaria, Mongolia, Tibet, Kokand, Bukhara; Tianshan; Tarim
Who copied whom
- Ost Siberien, Mongolei, Mandschurei M068, c. 1833drawn from this one (probable)Klaproth
- Uebersichts-Karte von Ost-Hoch-Asien M069, 1839drawn from this one (probable)Klaproth
- drawn from this one (probable)Fremin's Asia revised with Klaproth's Chinese-source corrections
- drawn from this one (stated)Klaproth is parent of SDUK 1838
- drawn from this one (probable)Humboldt 1843 draws on Klaproth and Ritter