A globe is a model of the earth. In order to understand the earth easily, people imitate the shape of the earth and make a model of the earth - the globe. The length, area, direction and shape are set on the globe, and the interrelationship of various scenes observed from the globe is overall and nearly correct.
Globe and China History
The production of the Chinese globe began in the Yuan Dynasty. It was supervised by Zamaluddin, an astronomer from the Western Regions, for the Yuan Dynasty. The spherical surface reflects the distribution of land and sea on the earth's surface, which belongs to the original drawing method. After Matteo Ricci, an Italian missionary, came to China in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, he personally made a globe to teach China the theory of the earth circle of ancient Greece. Under its influence, in the 31st year of Wanli (1603) of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhizao, a scholar, made a globe. about the third year of Chongzhen (1630), the court also made a globe. These globes have drawn a theodolite network, expanding the latitude of only 27 observation points on China's previous globe, including the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the entire Earth's latitude of the North and South Polar Circle. It also makes up for the gap that China did not know longitude before, and marks the Five Continents Theory, so that people at that time can understand the new knowledge of Western geographical discoveries. After the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi, who loved science, not only introduced and made it, but also skillfully used many scientific instruments from the West, making his knowledge of astronomy, geography and mathematics beyond those of the rulers of other dynasties. There are only three globes made in the Ming and Qing dynasties, two of which are in the Palace Museum and one in the British Museum in London.
A globe of the Kangxi Dynasty is collected in the Palace Museum. The missionaries appointed by the Emperor Kangxi in the early Qing Dynasty and some officials of the court made this globe. The spherical image, scale and related text description generally follow the drawing method of Matteo Ricci. The production of this instrument reflects from one side that the theory of "Earth Circle" has been consolidated in China, and also reflects China's understanding of world geography at that time.
The globe was made by the Palace Building Office of Qing Dynasty, with a height of 135cm and a diameter of 70cm. Qinggong Jiucang. The copper circle at the middle waist of the sphere is a horizon circle, with four quadrants carved on it. The copper circle intersecting the horizon circle is the meridian circle, which is carved 360 °. At the north pole of the ball, there is a time plate with twelve hours carved on it. The sphere is painted with the ecliptic, equator, longitude and latitude. The equator is painted in red, the ecliptic is painted in yellow, and the longitude and latitude lines are drawn every 10 °. The zodiac is marked with the names of the 24 solar terms, the Tropic of Cancer, the Antarctic Circle and the Arctic Circle. The sphere is used to draw the administrative regions of the mainland, and the names of some big cities are marked, such as "Beijing", "Taiyuan", "Ningxia", "Lanzhou", "Nanchang", "Suzhou", "Xiamen", "Wuchang", and "Hankou" in China. Rivers, lakes, and islands are also painted, such as "Tierra del Fuego" in the south of South America, "Amazon River" in the north, and "Australia", "Philippines", "Java" "Malay Peninsula", "New Guinea", etc. The sphere is also marked with a special geographical location, such as the Great Wall of China. Part of the lower part of the globe shows that there are strange water animals, sailboats and sailing lines in the wide sea area. The globe is placed on the red sandalwood three leg bracket with good workmanship.
The modern globe is not only a display of the knowledge of earth geography, but also a decoration. Therefore, the materials used, the printing process and the aesthetic appearance are extremely important. Many people use globes as gifts.
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