Editing Scale (map) (section)

==History==
The foundations for quantitative map scaling goes back to [[Chinese cartography|ancient China]] with textual evidence that the idea of map scaling was understood by the second century BC. Ancient Chinese surveyors and cartographers had ample technical resources used to produce maps such as [[counting rods]], [[carpenter's square]]'s, [[Plumb bob|plumb lines]], [[Compass (drawing tool)|compasses]] for drawing circles, and sighting tubes for measuring inclination. Reference frames postulating a nascent coordinate system for identifying locations were hinted by ancient Chinese astronomers that divided the sky into various sectors or lunar lodges.<ref name="Selin 2008 567">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures |last=Selin  |first= Helaine  |publisher=Springer |year=2008 |isbn= 978-1402049606 |publication-date=March 17, 2008 |page=567}}</ref>

The Chinese cartographer and geographer [[Pei Xiu]] of the Three Kingdoms period created a set of large-area maps that were drawn to scale. He produced a set of principles that stressed the importance of consistent scaling, directional measurements, and adjustments in land measurements in the terrain that was being mapped.<ref name="Selin 2008 567"/>