Stories in Maps: Theories and Methodologies for Interpreting Narrative Maps

Objectives: Narrative maps have become a heated issue of modern cartography. However, former studies have predominantly focused on map design, the media function of maps, as well as data organization and visualization techniques, with rare attention on the interpretive aspects of narrative maps, which are crucial for revealing the meaning of narrative maps. Methods: Based on the complementary theory of modern hermeneutics, we introduce the principle of "integrity first" in Gestalt psychology, and propose the concept of "gestalt of meaning", which considers the meaning of narrative maps as a whole system composed of different levels of meaning sources and meaning derivatives, and take this as the purpose of interpretation. This system is in the dynamic process of continuous generation and dissemination, and there exists a contextual tension. Then, building upon the iconographic interpretation paradigm of the Warburg School, we innovatively introduce a communication perspective and construct a four-dimensional framework for narrative maps interpretation: ontology, allegory, culture, and communication scene. Results: Taking "Wuhan Red Culture Map" as a typical case, we demonstrate the interpretation process of narrative maps. This process reveals the effectiveness of our proposed framework for interpreting narrative maps. Specifically, ontological hermeneutics reveals the compositional structure and semantic principles of the formal dimension of narrative maps; allegorical hermeneutics investigates the implicit statutory meaning of narrative maps; cultural hermeneutics emphasizes the cultural concepts and social structures behind the texts of narrative maps; and the communication perspective broadens the interpretative scope of narrative maps. Conclusions: The proposed framework exhibits strong reliability in interpreting narrative maps, providing references for future research in theory and in methodology. Future research will evaluate the quality of the proposed framework with the help of questionnaires, interviews, and cognitive tests.