Mapping from the Water: The Chinese Enlargement of the World in the 17th Century
Neil Burton Memorial Lecturer: Dr. Timothy Brook
February 23, 2015 at 7pm
Harry Hickman Building, Room 105
University of Victoria
Victoria, BC
In 2008, a Chinese map emerged from the basement of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, four centuries after it was drawn. Ingenious in its method, what is now known as the Selden map defies the myth that China in the past was closed off to the outside world. It reveals a far more complicated history of Ming China’s engagement with global maritime trade.
About the lecturer
Dr. Brook is the Republic of China Chair at the Institute for Asian Research and a professor in the department of history at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Brook’s most recent book Mr. Selden’s Map of China: Decoding the Secrets of a Vanished Cartographer is a fascinating work of history, biography, cartography and literary mystery that unlocks the secrets of the Selden map.
About the Neil Burton Memorial Lecture Series
A long-time advocate for closer Asia-Canada relations, Neil Burton (1941-2010) went to China as part of the first Canada-China student exchange in 1973. He lived in China for eight years and then in Japan for eighteen years before returning to Canada in 1990. Neil taught at Sophia University, the University of Toronto and at UVic. A commemorative fund has been established in honour of Neil’s many contributions. This is the fifth Neil Burton Memorial lecture held at the University of Victoria.
Watch the lecture
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