Yunnan University (YNU) holds the International Seminar on the History of Cartography from Aug 25 to 27 in partnership with the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Yunnan University (YNU) held the International Seminar on the History of Cartography from Aug 25 to 27 in partnership with the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

More than 50 renowned researchers and scholars of the history of cartography from the UK, the US, Italy, Belgium, and China attended the seminar. 

Li Chenyang, vice-president of YNU, Bo Xianqun, director of the Institute of Ancient History, and Matthew H. Edney, professor of the History of Cartography at the University of Southern Maine and current director of the History of Cartography Project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, attended the opening ceremony on Aug 25. 

The History of Cartography Project is a research, editorial, and publishing venture that looks to draw international attention to the history of maps and mapping. The project treats maps as cultural artifacts that have been around since prehistory, and its major work is the multi-volume History of Cartography series.

During the seminar, scholars discussed the latest trends of global research into the history of cartography by examining 30 different papers themed around maps and mapping.

Following the discussion, Bo Yiqun, director of the Institute of Ancient History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, briefed attendees on the current progress of the History of Cartography Translation Project. 

The translation project started in 2014 and aims to translate the first three volumes of the History of Cartography series. 

Primary translation work for the project has been completed. The Chinese version of the book series is scheduled to be published in 2020.

During the seminar, a ceremony was also held to unveil the plaque for the Research Center for Ancient Maps and the Silk Road, which was co-built by the Institute of Historical Geography of YNU and the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

During the seminar, a ceremony is also held to unveil the plaque for the Research Center for Ancient Maps and the Silk Road, which was co-built by the Institute of Historical Geography of YNU and the Institute of Ancient History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]

Attendees of the International Seminar on the History of Cartography pose for a photo at Yunnan University. [Photo/ynu.edu.cn]