In the Ming dynasty, missionaries brought Western surveying techniques to China, and the Qing emperor Kangxi ordered Jesuits to survey and map the capital Beijing, after which he instructed them to do the same for every province in the country.
明朝末年西洋測量技術隨傳教士進入中原，清康熙時曾委請耶穌會教士做北京附近圖，再測繪全國各省地圖。地政是土地資源的管理，也是一個國家現代化的基礎之一。