In 1712, the antiquary and diarist Thomas Hearne was appointed Keeper of the Anatomy School, now the main reference area in the Lower Reading Room of the Bodleian Library.

In 1721, he wrote a list of its contents, among which was “A very odd mapp of China. Very large, & taken from Mr. Selden’s”.

This is what we now know as the Selden Map of China. It was left to us by the London lawyer John Selden in 1659, and has been famous as an interesting curiosity ever since. But only in January 2008, when the visiting scholar Robert Batchelor noticed the very faint lines indicating trade routes and compass bearings from the port of Quanzhou to all parts of East Asia and beyond, was the immense significance of the map realised.

The map was in a very bad state, having been backed with linen in the early 20th century. A number of generous donors have sponsored its conservation, and a Colloquium will be held on Thursday, 15 September in the Convocation House, Bodleian Library, to present the map to a wider audience and to enable a number of specialists in the field to pool their knowledge of it.

View the Colloquium programme here.

The event is free, but places are limited. Please register to attend by e-mail to: bookcentre@bodleian.ox.ac.uk  using the subject line “Selden Map”.