Detail of the 1602 Ricci Map
The Ricci/Wentao world map was printed from six large woodblocks on scrolls of rice paper measuring five and a half feet by two and a half feet. When assembled, the viewer sees a map that is five and a half feet high by twelve feet wide! In addition to the physical world geography depicted, the map is filled with annotations and explanations.
Matteo Ricci and the Mandarin Zhong Wentao collaborated in making the map, combing Chinese and European geography. All the text on the map is written in Chinese. Made at the request of the Emperor Wanli, the map places China near the center of the world. The five continents and many countries are depicted, and trade products are described for many of them. For example, the southern continent of America is named "Parrot Country." Even though the country has many spices, however, notes the text, the people living there "are cunning and trade cannot be carried on with them."
Ricci describes "Kanata" (Canada) as a place where people eat snakes, spiders, ants and other creeping things. Florida is called the Land of Flowers. The text indicates that the world’s precious stones and valuables come from India, as well as fine cloth, gold and silver, spices, frankincense, etc. To the far north of Russia is a country where "the inhabitants are only one foot tall." The map thus provides a unique image of truth and fiction, of Chinese and western geography at a very special time in history.
Ricci’s masterpiece was presented at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and will first be displayed in Minneapolis on May 15, 2010.
The map is now in the United States. It was presented, for the first time in North America, at the Library of Congress by Ford W. Bell, grandson of James Ford Bell and Trustee of the James Ford Bell Trust. The presentation took place on January 12, 2010 with a media event and a private reception. It was scanned while there, thus creating a permanent digital image available to scholars and students.
The "Impossible Black Tulip’s" Spring Journey to Its Minneapolis Home
Collaboration among the James Ford Bell Trust, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Associates of the James Ford Bell Library, and the University of Minnesota Libraries will present the map to Minnesota on May 15, 2010. The map will be displayed for scholars and the public at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts through August 29, 2010. The map is being loaned to the Institute by the James Ford Bell Trust.
The Associates of the James Ford Bell Library will have a leadership role in planning and implementing promotions and events that will welcome the "Black Tulip" to its community. This includes a lecture by London map expert, Daniel Crouch on Saturday, June 12, 2010. The lecture will take place in the Pillsbury Auditorium at the Minneapolis Institue of Arts from 2:00pm - 3:00pm. Tickets are $10 ($5 MIA Members) and can be purchased online.
The intended permanent home of the Ricci map is the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota. It will be on exhibit at the Library from September 15–November 10, 2010, after which it will be available for study.
To check out buzz about the map, visit this site created by U of M Libraries Communications Director Marlo Welshons. The first mention is dated December 16, 2009.