Nowadays, human mapping has entered the era of satellite and remote sensing, and it is easy to obtain a clear map. But this was not the case in ancient times, ancient humans did not invent flying machines, let alone satellites, but we can still see many maps handed down from ancient times, and the drawings are also very fine. How did the ancients draw maps?
This begins with a strange book, the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a very mysterious ancient book that looks very much like a "travel guide". Some scholars speculate that the Classic of Mountains and Seas is likely to be the one that our ancients measured the earth step by step thousands of years ago, and even reached africa and North America. Many of the strange animals recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas have been confirmed in many places.
The ancient people's method of drawing maps is very similar to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", that is, it is mapped step by step. In the era of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, people could only record the approximate location and iconic animals of a certain place by their own impressions, so the Classic of Mountains and Seas was recorded in written form, and later after we had surveying and mapping tools, we entered the era of mapping.
From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a department dedicated to astronomical geography, and in the Han Dynasty, this department was called Qin Tianjian. In addition to observing the heavens, Qin Tianjian also had the task of drawing maps, and at that time, Qin Tianjian used a kind of Jili drum cart as a ranging tool, and every time he walked a mile, the Jili drum cart would ring. Coupled with a compass and some simple drawing tools, the ancients traveled throughout the three mountains and five mountains, and it took countless hardships to draw a more detailed map.