Huang Shang

Huang Shang was the tutor of Emperor Guangzong’s son, Zhao Kuo. He was one of the most successful cartographers of the Song Dynasty. Huang is associated with two surviving maps: the terrestrial map Dili Tu (1190); and the star chart Tianwen tu (1190), which combined Western and Chinese astronomical knowledge. Huang intended Dili Tu to be a teaching aid, displaying the split between the Northern Chinese dynasties and the Song dynasty. His celestial map illustrates the position of China in the universe and the accompanying text alludes to Chinese philosophies on the Empire’s harmony and the birth of the cosmos. The map was engraved into a stone tablet and inspired future maps such as Yunyou Sanren’s 1820 celestial chart.