The world map in Yinghuan Zhiluo.
In the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty (1849), Xu Jiji's "Yinghuan Zhiluo" was completed. At this time, he may not have realized that this book would play an important role in modern Chinese history. In the near future, it has helped many people with lofty ideals to open their horizons and understand the world, and Xu Jiqi has become one of the pioneers of modern China to open their eyes to the world.
Today, although Xu Jiji has a certain reputation, his name is often miswritten and mispronounced. The "畬" of Xu Jiqi is not the "畲" of the She ethnic group, and it is not pronounced shē, but as yú, and there are some subtle differences between the two characters.
Xu Jiji's book "Yinghuan Zhiluo" is also as difficult to understand as his name. Yinghuan is the meaning of the world, the Yuan Dynasty poet Sadura Youyun: "The real realm is empty and bright since ancient times, and the smoke and haze are still separated from Yinghuan." But even in ancient times, Yinghuan was used to refer to the world, which was not a very popular saying. Although the language is somewhat obscure, it was a real "new world" for the readers of the time, and many people were as interested in the overseas world described by Xu Jiji as if they had discovered a new continent.
Xu Jiji mentioned in the preface at the beginning of "Yinghuan Zhiluo", "The geography is not unclear, and the map is not known. The large piece is tangible, and it can not be meant to be telescopic also. The Taixi people are good at traveling far, sailing on the four seas, so they draw a pen to draw, so their drawings are unique. It can be seen that Xu Jiji's cognition of the world has a macro vision. Ancient Chinese often believed that they were the center of the world, and although they knew the places outside the territory, it was difficult to have a scientific understanding. Xu Jiji can have a keen judgment because he can really see the world map mapped and mapped according to scientific data, which has been verified by navigation, astronomy and other disciplines, rather than speculation that mystifies the world.
Regarding the translation of foreign place names, Xu Jiqi not only respects the translation rules, but also takes into account the traditional customs: "The correct names of various countries, such as Sweden as Sweden, Lián as Ma, Spain as West and Nia as West, and Portugal as Bordu Gaya. However, once it was changed, the reader suddenly did not know what country it was, so everything was still its old name. The four countries mentioned here, namely Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal, would not be called by these four names if they were literally translated, but in the past, people were used to calling them like this, so Xu Jiji considered using the old translated names.
Xu Jiji put a "complete map of the emperor's and Qing dynasty's unification of the land" in the book, judging from the map, the level of map drawing in the Daoguang period is okay, and the general outline of the country is clear, but the proportion of some regions is not scientific. For example, the area of the Korean Peninsula in the map is larger than the real one, the shape of the Jiaodong Peninsula and Hainan Island is not quite right, and the accuracy of Xinjiang, ** and other border areas is even lower. Although this ambiguity of map information is not valid scientifically, it can reflect the cognitive psychology of the cartographers at that time.
The map of Asia in Yinghuan Zhiluo is also roughly accurate in shape and outline, but the accuracy is not enough, and many details are problematic. For example, Japan's Hokkaido is too small, and the island of Honshu is too large and distorted. The shape of the islands of India and Indonesia is also exaggerated, either very large or small. What is surprising is that it is the coastline of the Arctic Ocean coast of Siberia, Russia, which is clearly drawn, and I don't know what kind of information Xu Jiji referred to at that time, so that he could have such a detailed understanding of this almost uninhabited area.
When introducing specific countries, Xu Jiji exhausted almost all the information he could master, and wrote down all kinds of translations and information in the book. For example, when the United Kingdom is introduced, its official name is England, but there are also many names such as England, England, and Liebretton. Xu Jiji also introduced the basic situation of British geography: "Europa is a powerful country. The three islands of Jiben are isolated in the Atlantic Ocean. The two islands are connected to each other, the south is called England (one is England), the north is called Scotland (one is Sgolia, and the teacher is Gutai), the two islands are more than 2,000 miles north and south, five or six hundred miles wide from east to west, and three or four hundred miles narrow. As far as the island of Xibei, it is called Arlan (one is Erlan, and it is also called Yierlanda), seven or eight hundred miles from north to south, and about five or six hundred miles from east to west. The south of England is close to the Netherlands and France, and can be reached by boat in half a day. It is close to Foyou, and the harbor is narrow for sixty or seventy miles, and the two sides of the strait can look at each other. "Place names such as England, Scotland, and Ireland have also appeared.
In the book, the United States is referred to as the United States of America, also known as the Nation of Flags ("because of the flags on its ships, so it is called the Nation of Flags"). The basic information of the geography of the United States is clear in the book, except that the translation of the place name is quite different from today: "Britain and Turkey to the north, Mexico and Tirzaar to the south, the Atlantic Sea to the east, and the Ocean Sea to the west." It is about 10,000 miles from east to west, 5 or 6 thousand miles wide from north to south, and 3 or 4 thousand miles from ...... narrowThe big mountain surrounds its west, thousands of miles in the middle, and the general trend is flat. The river is based on the program of Mishi Loss, which is far away, with more than 10,000 miles of twists and turns, and will flow into the sea ...... south of the Missouri River"Information about important mountains and rivers such as the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River has also appeared, but the translation of the names seems strange.
The most interesting thing is that after all, Xu Jiji could not break free from the shackles of Confucian etiquette and feudal imperial power, and was very confused by Washington's approach to opening up a new political system in the United States: "According to Washington, there are no strangers. The courage to win the wide, the division of the male in Cao Liu, has raised the three-foot sword, opened up thousands of miles, is not to usurp the title, not to pass on the descendants, and to create a law of recommendation, several than the world for the public ......Yu tasted his portrait, his courage was magnificent, and he was not ...... masterfulFor the ** electoral system, Xu Jiji could not find the corresponding "coordinates" in reality and history, and could only describe it objectively: "Among the orthodox leaders of various countries, there is another ** leader who will meet the alliance and fight the war, and all countries obey the orders." The method of election is the same as that of the election of the commanders of the countries, and the term of office shall expire at four years, and the term of office shall be eight years. He was puzzled and had to quote Washington to explain this peculiar way of succession of power: "It is private to win the country and pass it on to future generations." It is advisable to choose virtuous people for the herdsmen's duties."
When Xu Jiji opened his eyes to the world, the ruler was still in a state of drunken dreams, and the strong ships and cannons of the Western powers opened the door of the Qing Empire, and the Chinese people gradually understood the world, but this process was full of pain. "Yinghuan Zhiluo" also plays the role of a warning bell in it, in a sense.
*: Beijing Evening News).