CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻
Starting from the classical authors' separation of Seres and Sina, the paper investigates how European conceptions of East Asia—especially China—were formed, contested, and finally revised, culminating in the early modern cartographic reorientation associated with Portuguese exploration. It argues t...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Articles |
| Published: |
Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2004
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40010/3857 |
| _version_ | 1877196271318466560 |
|---|---|
| author | Hua Tao |
| author_autocomplete | Hua Tao |
| author_browse | Hua Tao |
| author_facet | Hua Tao Hua Tao |
| author_sort | Hua Tao |
| container_title | Review of Culture |
| container_title_str | Review of Culture |
| container_volume | 10 |
| container_volume_str | 10 |
| description | Starting from the classical authors' separation of Seres and Sina, the paper investigates how European conceptions of East Asia—especially China—were formed, contested, and finally revised, culminating in the early modern cartographic reorientation associated with Portuguese exploration. It argues that the longstanding Seres misunderstanding persisted well into the age of discovery, obstructing a coherent map of Asia, until the Portuguese, by combining navigational practice with a developing cartographic tradition, helped to realign European maps with actual geography. The study traces this epistemic shift through a careful reading of both primary cartographic sources (Ptolemy’s Geography and its world map, 15th–16th century planispheres and portolan charts, including Homem’s 1559 Planisphere) and a broad historiography, including Yule, Coedès, Pelliot, Lach, Cortesão, and Armando Cortesão, as well as Portugaliae Monumenta Cartographica. Methodologically, Tao employs historiography–cartography synthesis: juxtaposing textual accounts with visual maps to demonstrate where misunderstandings originated and how the Portuguese voyage-and-map complex contributed to their clearing. Findings indicate that the Seres problem was not resolved by one discovery but by a cumulative reinterpretation of East Asia enabled through Portuguese routes, exchanges, and elite cartographic practice, which ultimately integrated Cathay/China into European geographic consciousness. The article thus reframes the Portuguese contribution as central to the history of European cartography and cross-cultural exchange. |
| first_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:52Z |
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| hierarchy_parent_title | Review of Culture |
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| issn | 1682-1106 |
| last_indexed | 2026-09-11T02:56:52Z |
| latest_content_date | 2026-09-11T02:56:52Z |
| publishDate | April 2004 |
| publishDateRange | 2004 |
| publishDateSort | 2004 |
| publishPlace | Macau |
| publisher | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
| publisherStr | Instituto Cultural de Macau |
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| spelling | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 Starting from the classical authors' separation of Seres and Sina, the paper investigates how European conceptions of East Asia—especially China—were formed, contested, and finally revised, culminating in the early modern cartographic reorientation associated with Portuguese exploration. It argues that the longstanding Seres misunderstanding persisted well into the age of discovery, obstructing a coherent map of Asia, until the Portuguese, by combining navigational practice with a developing cartographic tradition, helped to realign European maps with actual geography. The study traces this epistemic shift through a careful reading of both primary cartographic sources (Ptolemy’s Geography and its world map, 15th–16th century planispheres and portolan charts, including Homem’s 1559 Planisphere) and a broad historiography, including Yule, Coedès, Pelliot, Lach, Cortesão, and Armando Cortesão, as well as Portugaliae Monumenta Cartographica. Methodologically, Tao employs historiography–cartography synthesis: juxtaposing textual accounts with visual maps to demonstrate where misunderstandings originated and how the Portuguese voyage-and-map complex contributed to their clearing. Findings indicate that the Seres problem was not resolved by one discovery but by a cumulative reinterpretation of East Asia enabled through Portuguese routes, exchanges, and elite cartographic practice, which ultimately integrated Cathay/China into European geographic consciousness. The article thus reframes the Portuguese contribution as central to the history of European cartography and cross-cultural exchange. Instituto Cultural de Macau Macau Review of Culture Articles April 2004 Hua Tao |
| spellingShingle | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 Hua Tao |
| title | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_autocomplete | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_full | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_fullStr | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_full_unstemmed | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_short | CLEARING UP THE “SERES MISUNDERSTANDING” AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE TO THE HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CARTOGRAPHY“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| title_sort | clearing up the “seres misunderstanding” and the contributions of the portuguese to the history of european cartography“塞里絲誤解”的消除與葡萄牙人的歷史貢獻 |
| url | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40010/3857 |
| zotero_collection_key | 76L3BRGH |