Article ID: CBB038343049

The Plurality of Reception: Latitude and Longitude in Early Modern China, 1700–1900 (2022)

unapi

Drawing on the social history of technology and the technological systems approach, this essay reconceptualizes latitude-longitude coordinates as part of an integrated sociocultural system. The latitude-longitude coordinate system was a technological innovation socially and culturally embedded in Europe. When the Jesuits brought this technology to early modern China, its reception, the author argues, was selective and did not follow a uniform pattern. Using maps and other materials, the essay chronicles the uneven reception of latitude-longitude coordinates across different strata of early modern China: various actors had their own reasons, from political to budgetary, to accept certain components of this technology while ignoring or even transforming other parts. Through the case of latitude-longitude coordinates, the essay reveals the complexity of technology transmission. Wider social milieus and specific agencies determine the many and various criteria for inclusion and exclusion.

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Authors & Contributors
Grijs, Richard de
M. Zuhair Nashed
Jiajing Zhang
Willi Freeden
Jacob, Andrew P.
Follis, Karolina
Concepts
Navigation
Longitude and latitude
Sea travel
Technology and politics
Astronomy
Maps; atlases
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
17th century
20th century, early
4th century
Qing dynasty (China, 1644-1912)
Places
China
Great Britain
United States
Japan
Europe
Paris (France)
Institutions
Great Britain. Board of Longitude
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
American Philosophical Society
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