Originally the property of John Selden; the London lawyer and historical and linguistic scholar; the 'Selden Map' was lodged with the Bodleian Library in 1659.

Dating from the late Ming period; it shows China; Korea; Japan; the Philippines; Indonesia; Southeast Asia and southern India. Shipping routes with compass bearings from the port of Quanzhou are given for the entire region. A panel of Chinese text on the left of the map near Calicut in the west gives directions of the routes to Aden; Oman; and the Straits of Hormuz.

This is the earliest Chinese map to show shipping routes;and also to depict China as part of a greater East and the Indian Ocean; rather than as the centre of the world. Pictures From History