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As long as maps produced by the official Chinese state mapping agency at scales larger than 1:1,000,000 remain inaccessible, Soviet General staff maps provide the best alternative. Although toponyms are given only in cyrillicized form, vernacular script equivalents may be found on pre-1945 Japanese military survey maps as well as on some maps of the US Army Mapping Service (AMS). A unique feature of the Soviet 1:200,000 map series is the accompanying spravka or descriptive text on the reverse of each sheet, probably constituting in aggregate the most detailed description of China ever compiled. Soviet General Staff plans of Chinese cities include 'objects' of military significance, many of which are omitted or not identified on any other mapping. This paper presents translations of the spravka from a representative sheet of the 1:200,000 series and from the city plan of Beijing, together with an evaluation of the reliability of their content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The news media play an important role in creating and disseminating geopolitical discourse. This paper explores the role of news maps in geopolitical discourse with reference to the potential super-power status of key states, specifically China and Russia as members of the BRIC group (Brazil, Russia, India and China), and in the case of Russia, the NORCs (Northern Rim Countries – Canada, Russia, several Scandinavian states and the USA). It also explores references to 'threats' to a stable interstate system (resource wars, regional instability, 'rouge states'). The paper argues that the concept of the state as 'power container' provides a key to understanding how maps operate as a significant element within geopolitical discourse. Maps provide spatial and geostrategic context to the narratives being deployed by news providers on such matters as China's projection of power. The paper is based on the findings of a comprehensive survey of maps in the UK 'quality press' in 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a very rare, hand-coloured, unusually large (over 13 m2) manuscript map of China about which, in addition to our own copy, only two more copies are known. The map shows the territory of the Ming Chinese empire (1368–1644) in the seventeenth century. It was prepared in 1691 by the famous Japanese Buddhist monk, Sōkaku (1639–1720). The paper highlights several historical and geographical details of the period and the most interesting history of the map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]