There were no satellites in ancient times, how to draw maps? A genius came up with the solution

Julu is natural, and it is also like the scriptures. The Emperor Wa refines the stone, and the Jin map opens the secret. - "Book of Jin"

In our current era, technology has changed a lot of life, and we are enjoying the convenience brought by technology all the time. With electric lamps, we are no longer afraid of the dark night, and most of the ancients could only light oil lamps, and because of the high cost of oil lamps, they were not a light source that could be lit all the time. Now we can take various means of transportation when we go out, while the ancients could only rely on walking or livestock, which is not only slow, but also needs to stop and rest on long journeys. Now we can reach any place on the earth in one day by plane. This kind of The speed was unimaginable by the ancients. And farther trips often require map navigation, otherwise it is easy to get lost, but we only need to download a navigation software on our mobile phone to guide you anywhere. The ancients mostly relied on maps to find directions and routes, but there were no satellites in ancient times, so how to draw maps? A genius came up with the solution.

Genius Pei Xiu

The genius who invented map drawing is called Pei Xiu, born in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Because the ancestors in the family were officials, they became a very famous family. And Pei Xiu has shown her talent since she was a child. Because of her smart mind, she can write articles when she is only 8 years old. Under the guidance of her family, Pei Xiu has always been very good at learning. In just a few years, she has mastered some classic memorabilia and became a famous talent in the local area. After that, Pei Xiu was recommended to Cao Shuang, the general, and from then on, Pei Xiu's official career was like bamboo, rising steadily.

First, he inherited his father's title, and not long after he was transferred to Huangmen Shilang because of his outstanding performance. You must know that the official position is a position next to the emperor, and he is responsible for helping the emperor with some affairs, which is enough to show how good Pei Xiu is. Later, although Cao Shuang was killed and Pei Xiu was dismissed from office because of his consecutive sitting, his ability was recognized and he became Sima Zhao's advisor. Afterwards, he helped Sima Zhao to make suggestions, won many battles, was promoted to the book of ministers, and was awarded the title of Hou. After that, he was promoted several times and became the Marquis of Jichuan, but Pei Xiu's political career was far from reaching its peak.

Under Pei Xiu's kind words, Sima Yan took the position of the prince. Therefore, I have always been grateful. Later, after becoming the Queen of Jin, Pei Xiu was awarded the title of Shang Shuling and Doctor Right Guanglu by Sima Yan. After Sima Yan established the Western Jin Dynasty, Pei Xiu was promoted again, from Doctor Right Guanglu to Doctor Zuo Guanglu. It can be said that Pei Xiu has been very successful on the road of becoming an official.

Determined to map

A few years later, Pei Xiu was promoted from Dr. Zuo Guanglu to Sikong, ranking one of the Eight Dukes, which is already one of the peak positions that a powerful minister can achieve. And sitting in this position, Pei Xiu thinks that she should make some achievements in this area to be worthy of her promotion. He found that in Yugong, the names of some mountains and rivers, as well as routes, etc., were recorded. Because of the long history, many of them have changed now. If you still refer to the records in the book, it is easy to make mistakes. "Yugong" made a new map.

The ancients did not have satellite assistance, so they often needed to go to this place in person for mapping, and roughly simulate the geographical location and route distribution into a map in their minds. After going back, you can combine the previous reference and your own investigation to create a new map. And in order to facilitate others to use, he wrote his own mapping method in the "Yugong District Map" edited by himself, and proposed the "six elements of cartography". The quasi-looking, that is, the current position. Daoli, the current road distance. High and low, that is, terrain fluctuations and relative heights. Fang Xie, that is, the current slope of the mountain or road. Twisted and straight, that is, the changes of the road or the river are now shown on the map.

With the "six elements of cartography" proposed by Pei Xiu, almost all aspects of cartography are covered. These factors are interrelated and restrict each other, which has had a profound impact on the work of making maps for later generations. After the "Yugong Area Map" was drawn, it became the most detailed and precise map at that time, which provided great convenience for people's travel and the dispatch of troops.

far-reaching

Pei Xiu created a new standard for map drawing, leaving a precious legacy for future generations. This drawing method was not abandoned until the end of Ming Dynasty, when the western map projection method was introduced into China, and Pei Xiu's drawing method was gradually abandoned. However, in historical records, Pei Xiu also created a "Topographic Abbot Map". This map itself is very large in scale. He proposed a scale of "one inch is a hundred miles", and reduced the previous "Big Map of the World" to be easy to carry. "Terrain Abbot Map", Pei Xiu already had the use of zoom technology at this time, which is enough to see Pei Xiu's great achievements in map drawing.