Tan Qixiang
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Tan Qixiang (; 25 February 1911 − 28 August 1992) was a Chinese geographer and historian who is considered a founder of the field of
historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...
in Modern China. His ''
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
'', the eight-volume ''
The Historical Atlas of China ''The Historical Atlas of China'' () is an 8-volume work published in Beijing between 1982 and 1988, edited by Tan Qixiang. It contains 304 maps and 70,000 placenames in total. The ''Concise Historical Atlas of China'' () was published in 1991. ...
'', was published between 1982 and 1988. He was elected to the
Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
in 1981.


Early life

Tan Qixiang was born on 25 February 1911 at the Huanggutun railway station in
Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
,
Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
. Soon after his birth, he was brought back to his hometown of
Jiaxing Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the ...
,
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
. After attending Xiuzhou High School in Jiaxing, he briefly studied
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
at the
Shanghai University Shanghai University, commonly referred to as SHU, or colloquially Shangda (), is a Public university, public research university located in Shanghai. The 555-acre main Baoshan District, Shanghai, Baoshan campus is situated in the north of Shang ...
in 1926 before transferring to
Jinan University Jinan University (JNU, ) is a public research university based in Guangzhou, China. "Jinan" literally means "reaching southward", indicating the university's original mission to disseminate Chinese learning and culture from North to South when ...
(then located in Shanghai), where he graduated from the history department in 1930. In 1930, he entered the graduate school of
Yenching University Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...
in Peiping (now Beijing), where he studied under the prominent historian
Gu Jiegang Gu Jiegang (8 May 189325 December 1980) was a Chinese historian best known for his seven-volume work '' Gushi Bian'' (, or ''Debates on Ancient History''). He was a co-founder and the leading force of the Doubting Antiquity School, and was hig ...
and graduated in 1932.


Career

From 1932 to 1936, he worked as a lecturer of historical geography and history at several universities in Peiping, including Yenching, Fu Jen Catholic University,
Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
, and
Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
. In the 1930s, Gu and Tan cofounded the Yugong Society (禹贡学会) and the journal ''Chinese Historical Geography'' (Chinese name ''Yugong''). In 1940, Tan joined
Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the n ...
and then relocated to inland
Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
province due to the
Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, as an associate professor. In 1946, after the
surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
, Tan moved to
Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...
with Zhejiang University, which was moved back to its original campus. From 1947 to 1949, he taught at both Zhejiang University and his alma mater Jinan University in Shanghai. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Jinan University was closed, and most of its departments were merged into
Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...
. Tan became a history professor at Fudan, where he stayed for the rest of his career. He was the head of the Department of History of Fudan starting in 1957 and became an academician of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
in 1981. From 1982 to 1986, he served as director of the Institute of Historical Geography of China at Fudan University.


''The Historical Atlas of China''

His most important work is ''
The Historical Atlas of China ''The Historical Atlas of China'' () is an 8-volume work published in Beijing between 1982 and 1988, edited by Tan Qixiang. It contains 304 maps and 70,000 placenames in total. The ''Concise Historical Atlas of China'' () was published in 1991. ...
'', which is also regarded as the most significant work in the field of historical geography in China. He began working on the atlas in 1955 and partly based it on the work of
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
scholar
Yang Shoujing Yang Shoujing (; 1839 – 9 January 1915) was a Chinese antiquarian, bibliophile, calligrapher, diplomat, geographer, and historian. He is best known for the historical atlas ''Lidai yudi tu'', commonly called the ''Yangtu'' ("Yang's atlas"), t ...
. It took him more than 30 years to complete the work, and the eight-volume atlas was published from 1982 to 1988. The atlas consists of 304 maps covering the thousands of years of Chinese history until the Qing Dynasty and includes over 70,000 place names. The atlas contains many maps that are politically sensitive, especially on
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. According to his student Ge Jianxiong, Tan was under strong political pressure to make the historical Tibet appear smaller, but he insisted on being faithful to history and included Xinjiang as Tibetan territory during the late 8th century, and his version was eventually approved by China's then-reformist leader,
Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Gene ...
.


Students

His students include
Wang Zhongshu Wang Zhongshu (; 15 October 1925 – 24 September 2015) was a Chinese archaeologist who helped to establish and develop the field of archaeology in China. One of the most prominent Asian archaeologists, he was awarded the Grand Prize of the Fuk ...
, who studied history with him at Zhejiang University and later became one of the most prominent archaeologists in Asia. At Fudan University, students
Zhou Zhenhe Zhou Zhenhe (; born 1941) is a Chinese historical geographer and a distinguished senior professor at the Institute of Historical Geography of Fudan University in Shanghai. His main research interests are cultural and administrative geography and ...
and Ge Jianxiong, now well-known historians, were the first two recipients of the doctoral degree in humanities (文科博士) in the People's Republic of China.


See also

*''
General History of Chinese Administrative Divisions The ''General History of Chinese Administrative Divisions'' () is a series of Chinese-language books published by Fudan University Press covering the history of Chinese administrative divisions from the earliest dynasties (Shang and Zhou) to the R ...
'', a 13-volume series envisioned by Tan Qixiang and completed by his students


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Qixiang 1911 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Chinese historians Chinese cartographers Educators from Jiaxing Fudan University faculty Historians from Zhejiang Chinese historical geographers Jinan University alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences People's Republic of China historians Republic of China historians Writers from Jiaxing Yenching University alumni Zhejiang University faculty Fu Jen Catholic University faculty 20th-century cartographers