(Something asks) What's the big difference when looking at the world horizontally and vertically? ——Interview with Hao Xiaoguang, the compiler of the vertical world map
China News Service, Beijing, April 14th, title: Looking at the world horizontally and vertically, what is the big difference?
——Interview with Hao Xiaoguang, the compiler of the vertical world map
China News Agency reporter Sun Zifa
More than 400 years ago, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci drew the "Kunyu World Map" centered on China.
The traditional horizontal version of the world map has been "rampant" for more than 400 years, and it has imprinted the public's perception of world geography.
Twenty years ago, Chinese scholar Hao Xiaoguang began to study and compile a vertical version of the world map, aiming to more clearly describe the geographic relationship between the northern and southern hemispheres and the world based on the traditional horizontal version highlighting the world map of the eastern and western hemispheres.
After more than 10 years of hard work, he innovatively compiled a vertical version of the world map in 2013 "turned out."
Looking at the world horizontally and vertically, what's the big difference?
Researcher Hao Xiaoguang of the Institute of Precision Measurement Science and Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency to elaborate on his indissoluble bond with the vertical world map.
Researcher Hao Xiaoguang, Institute of Precision Measurement Science and Technology Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Why compile a vertical world map?
Hao Xiaoguang introduced that the traditional horizontal map of the world that people are accustomed to was originally drawn by the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in 1584.
"Although this version is suitable for expressing the geographical relationship between the eastern and western hemispheres, the disadvantage is that the deformation of the northern and southern hemispheres is relatively large and the relationship with the peripheral regions is not clear."
For example, on a horizontal map, Antarctica shows 3.8 times the area of Australia.
Moreover, Antarctica seems to have a parallel relationship with the three continents of South America, Africa, and Australia.
But on the vertical map, Antarctica is only 1.8 times the area of Australia, and it is surrounded by three continents.
Horizontal World Map (Eastern Hemisphere Edition) (Edited by Hao Xiaoguang, published by Hunan Map Publishing House in 2014)
Visual errors like this are not only easy to cause misunderstandings among the general public, but also some professional fields are also affected.
Hao Xiaoguang believes that if the world map has an east-west hemisphere version, it should have a north-south hemisphere version, otherwise it will be difficult to fully show the face of the earth.
His research and compilation of vertical world maps is to make the facts hidden by traditional world maps obvious, and at the same time use multiple and multi-angle methods to fully show the geographic relationship between China and the world.
Is the globe not obvious enough?
With a globe, why bother to draw a flat world map?
This is the question that Hao Xiaoguang has faced the most.
He said: "The globe can accurately grasp the world, but it is not at a glance, because no matter from which angle you look at the past, you can only see half of the earth."
The traditional horizontal version of the world map, whether the Asia-Pacific version centered on the Pacific Ocean or the European and American version centered on the Atlantic Ocean, belongs to the "Warp World Map", which is suitable for expressing the geographic relationship between the eastern and western hemispheres.
Hao Xiaoguang pointed out that “the projection method of dividing the globe by the meridian is like cutting an apple longitudinally and flattening it. It will inevitably cause deformation of the north and south poles and blur the relationship with the surrounding areas.”
Therefore, it is not only necessary but also necessary to compile a vertical map that can accurately and clearly express the geographical relationship between the northern and southern hemispheres, solve the problem of deformation of the north and south poles, and be acceptable to most countries and people.
Horizontal Map of the World (Western Hemisphere Edition) (edited by Hao Xiaoguang, published by Hunan Map Publishing House in 2014)
How to compile a vertical world map?
After more than 10 years of exploration and research, Hao Xiaoguang proposed a "double warp and double latitude" design plan for the compilation of the "series of world maps". One set consists of four editions, including the traditional horizontal version of the eastern hemisphere (Asia-Pacific version) and the western hemisphere version (European and American version). "Warp World Map", he creatively compiled the vertical northern hemisphere version and southern hemisphere version as the "latitude world map".
"Just like a set of clothes and pants is different and symmetrical, it can fully dress up a person. The earth should also be described by combining four maps of east, west, north and south to form a combination that meets the standards of truth and beauty." Hao Xiaoguang said.
In Hao Xiaoguang’s eyes, the four horizontal and vertical maps constitute the “family portrait” of the earth, which fully demonstrates the geographical relationship between the countries in the east, west, north and south, and between the ocean and the land, with the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Arctic Ocean as the center. The way of thinking out of the center of the ocean.
Vertical World Map (Northern Hemisphere Edition) (edited by Hao Xiaoguang, published by Hunan Map Publishing House in 2014)
In contrast to the horizontal version of "cutting" the warp, the vertical version of the northern and southern hemispheres is the "cutting" through the latitude.
"Theoretically, there are countless ways to'cut' the earth, and countless maps of the world can be drawn, but it is not easy to find the'perfect cutting line' and be accepted by all parts of the world."
Hao Xiaoguang pointed out that a universally accepted map of the world should not cut a certain continent or a certain country as much as possible, and ensure the integrity of the time zone.
After continuous research and trial and error, Hao Xiaoguang finally found the "perfect cutting line" in his mind-on the northern hemisphere version, the earth was "cut" along 60 degrees south latitude, and on the southern hemisphere version, this tangent line It is 15 degrees north latitude.
The two vertical world maps drawn in this way do not cut continents at all.
In particular, the 15-degree north latitude tangent line passes through almost the narrowest point between North and South America, fully retaining the morphology of the North and South America continent.
In the vertical version of the Northern Hemisphere map, the Arctic Ocean, which was originally on the edge of the world map, is surrounded by Canada, the United States, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and other countries. It is like a large "Mediterranean Sea" and its geographic location is extremely important.
Hao Xiaoguang said that on the four horizontal and vertical maps, every continent, continent, and country in the world, no matter how big or small, is fully presented, which is equivalent to "the first time that all members of the land on the surface of the earth have taken a family portrait." Standard photo".
Vertical World Map (Southern Hemisphere Edition) (edited by Hao Xiaoguang, published by Hunan Map Publishing House in 2014)
What are the advantages of the vertical world map?
In Hao Xiaoguang's view, the biggest advantage of the vertical version of the world map is that it overcomes the defect that traditional horizontal version maps are not suitable for expressing the geographical relationship between the northern and southern hemispheres.
Specifically, 2/3 of the land in the world is in the northern hemisphere, and 4/5 of the countries are in the northern hemisphere. The vertical map makes the geography of the northern and southern hemispheres more clearly expressed, has a more thorough understanding of land and countries, and can better promote inter-state Exchanges.
Airplane routes are generally land-to-land and country-to-country. In the northern hemisphere, which occupies 2/3 of the land and 4/5 of the world, the advantages of the vertical map are even more obvious.
For example, Hao Xiaoguang said that from Beijing, China to New York, the range of the Arctic Ocean route using the vertical map is about 11,000 kilometers, while the Pacific route through the traditional horizontal map is about 19,000 kilometers. The difference between the two is 8,000 kilometers, and the one-way flight time is greatly shortened. .
On the vertical map of the northern hemisphere, the Arctic Ocean has become the shortest air route connecting Asia, Europe, and North America.
In addition, on the vertical map of the northern hemisphere, the Arctic Ocean becomes the center and is surrounded by North America and Eurasian continents.
Undoubtedly, this can more intuitively reflect the formation and development of the "Ice Silk Road", and it will surely promote and serve the construction and cooperation of the "Ice Silk Road" more effectively in the countries surrounding the Arctic Ocean.
In response to the saying that "the vertical version of the world map seems to narrow the distance between China and the United States", Hao Xiaoguang emphasized that it is the vertical version of the world map that subverts people's customary thinking mode of horizontal maps, and presents the true relationship of world geography from a new perspective. Coming out, the north-south crossing of the Arctic Ocean is actually the closer route between China and the United States, much closer than the traditional east-west crossing of the Pacific Ocean.
Hao Xiaoguang also recalled that at a design seminar on the second-generation Beidou satellite navigation system many years ago, he proposed "the United States in the north of China" and corrected the design plan based on the horizontal world map, so that the demand for the Arctic Ocean direction was caught in the eyes of the designer.
The relevant Chinese authorities promptly adopted his opinions and re-planned the design scheme of the second-generation Beidou satellite navigation system.
It is understood that it is precisely because of the outstanding advantages of the vertical world map that Hao Xiaoguang's newly edited "Series of World Maps" obtained internal applications in professional fields such as aerospace and scientific investigation before obtaining the "birth certificate", and was widely praised.
Among them, according to the vertical version of the northern hemisphere world map, the Beidou system revised the coverage of the Beidou satellite; the China Polar Research Center used the vertical version of the southern hemisphere world map as an indication map in 2004 to carry out the 21st Antarctic scientific expedition ocean voyage.
"Made in China" vertical world map (edited by Hao Xiaoguang, published by Hunan Map Publishing House in 2014)
How do the horizontal and vertical versions of the map complement each other?
Since the vertical version of the world map has outstanding advantages, will it replace the traditional horizontal version of the world map?
"(The vertical version replaces the horizontal version) That is incredible. It is not a vertical version. The horizontal version will not work. It is threatened. The two complement each other, each has its own strengths and complementary advantages." Hao Xiaoguang said, The horizontal version of the world map, which has a history of more than 400 years, expresses the geography of the eastern and western hemispheres very well, but the geographic expression of the northern and southern hemispheres has major defects.
Similarly, the vertical version of the map shows a good geographical expression in the northern and southern hemispheres, but not in the eastern and western hemispheres.
He said that from the perspective of application, the horizontal and vertical versions of the world map have more advantages on land and air routes, while the horizontal version is more advantageous for ocean and maritime navigation, and clearly reflects the complementary effects of the two.
He also added that in the past, because of the influence of the traditional horizontal version of the eastern and western hemisphere world map, most people had a prominent understanding of the Pacific Rim and the Atlantic Rim, but they did not know enough about the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
After the vertical version of the northern and southern hemisphere world map was compiled and launched, in addition to the land expression is very good, there is also an emphasis on the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, thus making up for the shortcomings of the traditional world map.
"From the vertical map of the northern hemisphere, we can see that 2/3 of the land and 4/5 of the countries surround the Arctic Ocean. Except for China and the United States, the positional relationship between China and other countries has also changed greatly, which can better show the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind." Hao Xiaoguang Said that the two high-profile countries of China and the United States across the Arctic Ocean and are closer together, it should be like the horizontal and vertical versions of the world map that complement each other's advantages and strengthen exchanges and cooperation for a win-win situation.
A vertical world map created by researcher Hao Xiaoguang of the Institute of Precision Measurement Science and Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and him.
In February 2021, 8 years after the vertical version of the world map compiled by Hao Xiaoguang was officially published, American scholars used the new double-sided projection technology to draw a similar map. They also used the latitude division method to divide the earth in half to obtain a double-sided circle. .
"The US version of the vertical version of the world map is the same as ours, obviously it is the northern and southern hemispheres, but it is seven or eight years later than the Chinese version." He said.
"The revolution of the map means the rediscovery and re-understanding of world geography. A good world map can cultivate a more comprehensive world view, stimulate people's imagination of the world, and give birth to the desire to explore the world." Hao Xiaoguang said, at present, He is planning to let the new "Series of World Maps" with the innovative features of the vertical world map enter the school and textbooks, to display the three-dimensional earth most comprehensively on the plane, so that the "other face" of the world can better serve Accepted and known by the world.
Hao Xiaoguang believes that although the vertical version of the world map that has subverted hundreds of years of traditional cognition has been published and widely used in the industry, there is still a long way to go before it is accepted by the public. Looking at the concept of the northern and southern hemispheres, it may take a long time.
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