Original antique map of China and Korea by Nicolas Bellin.
From Prévost's "L'Histoire Générale des Voyages" by J. J. Schwabe and published in Leipzig in 1749.
It is based on Jesuit surveys taken between 1708 and 1717, and also takes information from d'Anville's 1734 map of China.
Jesuit surveys of China, most notably the "Great Survey" were commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor between 1708 and 1716.
Impressed by Jesuit expertise in astronomy and mathematics, the Kangxi Emperor tasked missionaries with mapping his vast, newly expanded empire. The team utilized astronomical observations and triangulation to survey the provinces and borderlands, including Manchuria, Mongolia, and Tibet.
The detailed data from these surveys was transmitted to Europe, forming the basis for Jean-Baptiste Du Halde's "Description Geographique... de la Chine" (1735) and the maps of Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, which updated Western understanding of East Asian geography. The surveys served both imperial and religious goals. For the Emperor, they were vital for military, political, and river-management purposes, affirming the "Mandate of Heaven" through mastery of geography. For the Jesuits, they were a means to gain favour, secure their position in the imperial court, and facilitate the Christian mission.
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772), a French geographer, was among the most important mapmakers of the eighteenth century. In 1721, at the age of 18, he was appointed hydrographer of the Ministry of the Navy following the French hydrographic office's creation and the Dépot of charts and plans of the Navy. Appointed hydrographic engineer in August 1741. Member of the Academy of the Navy and the Royal Society of London.
Over the course of a 50-year career, he drew the maps of several major works of his time such as Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle-France de Charlevoix (1744); Histoire générale des voyages de l'Abbé Prévost (published between 1746 and 1759) ); Neptune François (1753), Hydrographie Françoise (1756-1765), and Petit Atlas Français (1763) - reissued as Petit Atlas Maritime (1765). He is the most copied cartographer of the 18th century.
