Chinese Dalian is Romantic of all

Becca, "the unproductive library aide", spent last fall in Dalian, China, where she was studying Chinese. Upon her return, she presented me with this lovely map fan (sucking up to the boss...)



"Chinese Dalian is Romantic of all"



In the northeastern province of Liaoning, Dalian is China's northernmost warm water seaport. This city and its surrounding territory were hotly contested by the Russians and Japanese. The Battle of Port Arthur (now the Lüshunkou port district of Dalian) in 1904 marked the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. See my earlier post on my antique Russo-Japanese War Map postcard.

Thanks for the lovely fan, Becca.

Last year she gave me these nifty postcards from Lüneburg, Germany, where she was studying German. (She's also studying Arabic!)

Speaking of studying Chinese... In the 2+ years I have been running this blog, no one has ever asked me about the background image. It is from the street map of Taipei, Taiwan, that I carried with me many years ago when, as a college student I spent four months in Taiwan pretending to learn Chinese.



I did not save the "unfaded" version of the map that I scanned for my background. Perhaps someday I'll dig up the rest of my memorabilia from that trip. I'm sure there must have been other maps

Fans previously on Cartophilia: I'm a Fan of Maps

The Nine Nations of China

Inspired by Joel Garreau's The Nine Nations of North America, Patrick Chovanec at The Atlantic has created an article and interactive map, describing the different socio-economic-cultural regions of China:

As China’s economy becomes more integrated, these regional differences are taking on greater importance than ever before. Each of the Nine Nations faces a unique set of challenges and opportunities in carving out its own competitive niche. Anyone who wants to do business in China, make policy towards China, or simply comprehend the dramatic changes happening there should understand the Nine Nations and the role each of them is playing in shaping China’s future.

Previously on Cartophilia:

• Alternate Nations of North America
• Ten Nations of the United States

Via The Map Scroll

Parag Khanna maps the future of countries

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading". On their site you can find videos of speakers on technology, entertainment, design, business, science and global issues. In this episode, Parag Khanna discusses geopolitics:

Many people think the lines on the map no longer matter, but Parag Khanna says they do. Using maps of the past and present, he explains the root causes of border conflicts worldwide and proposes simple yet cunning solutions for each.

Interesting overview of border troubles around the world. Some of his ideas about redrawing the Middle East have been discussed here.

He also discussed a trend in population movement in the Far East of which I was not aware. As Russians depopulate Siberia, Chinese are moving in to take advantage of the abundant resources.



In addition, some discussion of China as the center of a new Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Not built through conquest, as attempted by the Japanese, but through trade and interdependence.

Thanks to Atlas(t) for the heads up!

#475

Inflated China

Saul Steinberg’s famous 1976 New Yorker cover, The World As Seen From New York’s 9th Avenue, has inspired yet another "inflated view":



"How China sees the world" from the March 21, 2009, issue of The Economist.

For more detail, see Strange Maps

Where Does Santa Get All Those Toys?

Let the kiddies know where all those Christmas toys are really coming from...



Available from Threadless T-shirts.

Via Boing Boing

New New and News Maps on Magazines

Magazine cover designers never disappoint me. I can always count on a map or two every month. This month I present magazines with the word "New" or "News" in their title. How about that?

The New Republic August 13, 2008 Cover story: Trading Places by Alan Ehrenhalt The demographic inversion of the American city. The tiny image here does not do the cover justice, but it depicts the new "heart" of cities that are revitalizing, in the style of a transit map.

Two maps from the New Scientist magazine in one month! First, August 6, 2008, another transit map is used to illustrate the story by Mark Buchanan on Why complex systems do better without us

The August 20, 2008, issue fills a water balloon globe to illustrate: Looming water crisis simply a management problem, by Jonathan Chenoweth For another cover on this theme, see Squeezing out the last drops, my magazine post from earlier this month.

Finally, the September 2008 issue of ARTnews uses a map tatoo of China to introduce us to China's Art Market Boom by Barbara Pollack

I'm a Fan of Maps

Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, at the Field Museum, Chicago
November 2, 2007 — January 27, 2008
Part of The Festival of Maps Chicago

China, Korea and Japan
Da Qing yitong er san sheng yudi quantu (Complete Map of the 23 Provinces of the Great Qing Dynasty)
Unidentified mapmaker, Chinese
1890
Printed map on fan

This fan is a clever solution to the problem of map portability. Such folding fans were an important part of the ceremonial dress of East Asian aristocrats and courtiers. The earliest examples with maps date from 16th century Japan.

Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

Never get lost in the orient again!

Tuck's Russo-Japanese War Map

One of my favorite map related blogs, Strange Maps, posted today about three postcards related to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. It inspired me to find the vintage Russo-Japanese War postcard from my own collection:



I recall picking this up at a paper collector's show in Columbus. On the back:

Raphael Tuck & Sons' Post Card Series No. 1355 "Russo-Japanese War"
ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING & QUEEN

No date on the card, but it appears to have been published during or soon after the war...