Kangnido - Importance in Korea

Importance in Korea

This map originated from a historical setting of the Mongol Empire, which connected the western Islamic world with the Chinese sphere. The Mongol Empire demonstrated the conquest of the world by publishing treatise on geography and world maps. Their attempt enabled the integration of Islamic science and traditional Chinese knowledge. Note that the Chinese source maps were of "consumer use." In other words, they were not created by the empire for itself. It is presumed that the Mongol government gathered much more detailed information that was not disclosed to the public.

The Chinese source maps were created by and circulated among literati of southern China, especially those in Qingyuan-lu (Ningbo). Qingjun, who was from neighboring Taizhou, created the historical map of Hunyi Jiangli Tu when he stayed in Qingyuan. Wu Sidao, who left an important bibliographic clue, was also from Qingyuan. In addition, Qingyuan-lu was one of the most important seaports from which the sea routes were extended to Fuzhou and Guangzhou, and Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea.

It is possible that these maps were available in Korea during the Mongol era. Korea, at the time under the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), was closely integrated into the Mongol Empire as a "son-in-law" (駙馬) state. One supporting fact is recorded in the Goryeo-sa: Na Heung-yu (羅興儒) created a historical map based on maps of China and Korea, and dedicated it to King Gongmin (r. 1352-1374). Note that Gwon Geun served to the king as bichigechi (secretary).

Earlier studies presumed that the two Chinese source maps had been obtained during Kim Sa-hyeong's diplomatic trip to Ming China in 1399 although there is no literary evidence for his acquisition. It is more plausible that these maps came to Korea in different times since Gwon Geun's preface implies that Korean officials picked out the two maps for their excellency from among various sources, maybe including Wu Sidao's combined map.

Japanese scholar Miya Noriko presumes that the year 1402 was a landmark for the reigning King Taejong of the newly-founded Joseon Dynasty. After a bloody succession struggle, Taejong ascended to the throne in 1400. In 1401, he was officially recognized as King of Joseon by the Chinese Emperor for the first time in the dynasty's history. In the 6th month of 1402, Yi Hoe's map of Korea was offered in a ceremony to celebrate his birthday. Then the project to combine it with Chinese and Japanese maps reportedly started in the summer (4th-6th months). This would be of symbolic significance in demonstrating royal power. This hypothesis also explains the factual error about the map of Japan. It was during the reigns of Taejo (1st king) and Jeongjong (2nd) that the map was obtained in Japan, but the date was altered to Taejong's reign.

Oddly enough, the Annals of Joseon Dynasty never mentions the map although it was obviously a national project. Another interesting fact is that this map uses the Ming Chinese era name Jianwen. After the Jianwen Emperor lost to Zhu Di in a civil war, the new emperor banned the use of the era name Jianwen in the 10th month of 1402. Thus the map should have used the era name Hongwu, not Jianwen. However, the era name Jianwen can be found even on the later Ryūkoku and Honkōji copies. This suggests that the Kangnido was never disclosed to the Chinese.

This map demonstrates the cartographic stagnation in the post-Mongol era. The maps of common use were transformed into a symbol of national prestige and overshadowed by secrecy. As the extant copies show, Korean officials regularly updated the map by conducting land surveys and collecting maps from surrounding countries. Geographic information about the West was, however, not updated until the introduction of European knowledge in the 16-17th centuries.