Compiling the First Generation of New China’s National Grand Atlas: General Atlas Volume

Summary

Liu Yinnian and Yang Bairu recall the compilation of the General Atlas volume in the first generation of the National Grand Atlas of the People’s Republic of China. They trace the project from its inclusion in the national scientific programme in 1958 through nationwide data collection, experiments in compilation and scale reduction, and the effort to establish a more scientific production process. Their account also records the project’s interruption during the Cultural Revolution, the dispersal of its staff, and the later work that brought the volume toward completion.