Lu Guo Zhi Tu (魯國之圖) 1154

Old map of China, Qufu, Shandong Province.

day Qufu, Shandong) and its vicinity. The map is oriented with north at the top, south at the bottom, the west on the left, and the east on the right. The scope of the area reaches Mount Tai Shan in the north, Sishui River in the west, the Jingling Palace in the east, and Mount Fengshan in the south. It maps out symbolically the city walls, palaces, temples, mountains, rivers, trees, birds, and so forth, marking prominently the 12 city gates of the ancient Lu capital and their names, as well as the Apricot Platform, a pavilion commemorating Confucius teaching his students, his abode in the Queli district of Qufu, and his tomb. On this map, the temple and tomb of Mencius are shown as still located in the Four-Mountain Range, which indicates that the map was made before the years when the Mencius Temple was moved and rebuilt, the fourth year (1114) of the Zhenghe reign, and the fourth year (1122) of the Xuanhe reign. A postscript by Yu Shunkai (born in 1097) explains how he acquired the map and made a stone stele and rubbing that he presented to the school where he taught. Yu, courtesy name Yucai, was a native of Shexian, Anhui, or possibly of Wuyuan, Jiangxi. In the 18th year (1148) of the Shaoxing reign, at age of 52, he was specially granted a jinshi degree. He served as gentleman for meritorious achievement and an instructor of Xingguojun Prefecture School. His career illustrates the importance of maps as teaching tools at the time and the great significance attached to them by the ruling class. This is the earliest existing map of the famous sites and antiquities of the area of Qufu.

Created by Shunkai Yu in 1154.

• Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
• Original resource extent: 1 map : stone rubbing ; 171 x 89 centimeters.
• Original resource at: National Library of China.
• Content in Chinese.
• Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
• Title revised per Asian Division.--cc28 2023-01-06

Map Tags

1154

China

Cities And Towns

Inscriptions Chinese

Map

Qufu

Rubbing

Shandong Province

Shunkai Yu

Song Dynasty 960

Stone Carving