Jesuit Mapmaking in China: D'anville's Nouvelle Atlas De La Chine (1737) (Early Modern Catholicism and the Visual Arts)

In the early 1700s, Jesuit missionaries in China persuaded Emperor Kangxi to employ them to map his vast empire. Thus was launched the most extensive, scientifically based cartographic undertaking in the history of the world up to that time. Jesuit Mapmaking in China tells the fascinating story of that undertaking and the story of the subsequent struggle to have the maps published. It then reproduces the maps themselves as they appeared in the pirated edition in The Hague. This book will appeal to everyone interested in the history of China, the history of the Jesuits, and the history of cartography. "From its founding in 1540, the Society of Jesus has been one of the most important religious orders in the Catholic Church. However, it almost vanished from the pages of history when Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuits worldwide on July 21, 1773, with the brief Dominus ac Redemptor. Catherine the Great of Russia saved the Society almost singlehandedly. She protected the 201 Jesuits she had acquired in 1772 with the First Partition of Poland and insisted that they continue their apostolic work as Jesuits. For decades, her successors continued to support the Jesuits. The "Russian" Society was the only surviving Jesuit entity in the world after 1780, except for a few Jesuits in Quebec, where Governor James Murray and Bishop Jean-Olivier Briand refused to implement the brief of suppression. The "Russian" Society served as a beacon of hope for former Jesuits everywhere, made possible partial restorations outside the empire before 1814, and led directly to the general restoration of the Society in that year. How the Jesuits Survived Their Suppression: The Society of Jesus in the Russian Empire (1773-1814) examines this crucial, but little known, chapter of Jesuit history."-- Provided by publisher In the early 1700s, Jesuit missionaries in China persuaded Emperor Kangxi to employ them to map his vast empire. Thus was launched the most extensive, scientifically based cartographic undertaking in the history of the world up to that time. Jesuit Mapmaking in China tells the fascinating story of that undertaking and the story of the subsequent struggle to have the maps published. It then reproduces the maps themselves as they appeared in a pirated edition in The Hague. This book will appeal to everyone interested in the history of China, the history of the Jesuits, and the history of cartography.0 Contains facsimile of the 42 maps from: Nouvel atlas de la Chine, de la Tartarie Chinoise, et du Thibet: contenant les cartes ... de ces pays, ainsi que la carte du royaume de Corée, la plupart levées sur les lieux etc / par Mr. d' Anville ... ; précedé d'une description de la Boucharie par un Officier Suédois qui a fait quelque séjour dans ce pays. -- La Haye : Henri Scheurleer, 1737