What Western scientific works did Xu Guangqi translate

Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), known as Ziguang, Yuanhu, Zhen Wending, was a native of Xujiahui, Shanghai (now part of Shanghai), he was a famous scientist in the late Ming Dynasty, the first to introduce advanced scientific knowledge from Europe, especially astronomical knowledge to China, can be described as a pioneer of modern science in China.

Xu Guangqi made important contributions to mathematics, astronomy, calendar, military affairs, surveying, agriculture and water conservancy.

In terms of the astronomical calendar, Xu Guangqi introduced the ancient Ptolemei's old geocentric theory and the European astronomical knowledge represented by the contemporary Tycho's neogeocentric theory, and presided over the compilation of the Chongzhen Almanac through the Chinese and Western calendars at that time. In the almanac, he introduced the concept of a circular earth and gave a clear introduction to the concept of the latitude and longitude of the earth. He introduced the concept of magnitude to the Chinese astronomical community; According to the Tycho catalog and the traditional Chinese catalog, the first all-celestial star map was provided, which became the basis of the Qing Dynasty star catalog. In terms of calculation methods, Xu Guangqi introduced the accurate formulas of spherical and plane trigonometry, and first made corrections for parallax, obscuration, and time difference.

The compilation of the Chongzhen Almanac is a leap forward in the reform of China's ancient calendar, which has laid the foundation of China's calendar for nearly 300 years. Xu Guangqi's work on compiling the calendar has laid a certain ideological, theoretical and technical foundation for the development of Chinese astronomy from ancient times to modern times.

Xu Guangqi's translations include the following:

Xu Guangqi's research scope is relatively extensive, and he has left many works to posterity, including astronomy, mathematics, agriculture, military machinery, and other works. In 1603, Xu Guangqi wrote "Mao's Poetry Six Sticker Lectures", a total of 4 volumes, in 1607 and Matteo Ricci co-translated "Geometric Originals" and "Xunzhi Measurement Method", in 1608 he wrote "Measuring Similarities and Differences", "Sweet Potato Shu", in 1609 he wrote "Pythagorean Yi", in 1611 he wrote "Liang Noise Jian Pingyi Said".

In 1612, he co-translated the "Taixi Water Law" with Xiong Sanpa, and from 1613 to 1618 he wrote the "Draft of the Agricultural Book", in addition to writing very important scientific masterpieces such as "Calculation of the Square of the Determination Law", "Miscellaneous Agricultural Relics", "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration", and "The Essentials of Military Machinery".

As a famous scientist and politician in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Guangqi's name is familiar to many people, and his name will appear in Chinese history textbooks, which shows how important he has been to future generations. Xu Guangqi has deep attainments in mathematics, astronomy, calendar, water conservancy and other aspects of Jingchang.

Xu Guangqi's research covers many fields, and it can be said that he is a prolific scientist. In fact, these are inseparable from his diligence and studiousness, when Xu Guangqi was a child, he was a curious, very brave child, and he was very interested in the natural world, and was often attracted by some natural phenomena.

After meeting the missionary Matteo Ricci, he studied the Western scientific knowledge of astronomy, calendrical calculations, firearms, military aircraft, tuntian, salt policy, and water conservancy. It was also because of the opportunity to learn from Matteo Ricci that Xu Guangqi also made a big leap forward, and was posthumously awarded by Emperor Chongzhen after his death.

Xu Guangqi and "Geometric Originals".

As the name suggests, Geometry is a mathematics book that occupies an important place in related fields. However, the Geometric Prima that Xu Guangqi reads is not a version compiled by its original author, but a Latin version. Therefore, Xu Guangqi needs Matteo Ricci's help in the process of translating this book, otherwise, the knowledge he has learned is lacking.

However, the duo did not translate the entire book, but only a part of it.

Nevertheless, Xu Guangqi's translation work is of great significance. In this way, the Chinese at that time could learn the more scientific and advanced mathematical knowledge of the West, thus promoting the development of Chinese mathematical culture. In the years that followed, especially during the Qing dynasty, the book was highly valued by the imperial court, and after the abolition of the imperial examination, it was listed as a compulsory course.

Xu Guangqi realized that mathematics was the foundation of all other natural sciences, and he and Matteo Ricci collaborated on the translation of Euclid.

The six volumes of the Geometric Primitives

This was also the beginning of the spread of Western mathematics in our country. Later, he also translated and wrote many mathematical works such as "Guessing and Interpreting Ancient Calculator Socks", which made the traditional mathematical prosecution school in China achieve very outstanding achievements.

Xu Guangqi himself was also actively involved in the translation work, and he participated in the compilation of works such as "The Loss of Scattered Measurement of the Heavenly Covenant", "The Great Test" of Pinlanshi, "Yuan Shi Zhi Ri Fixed", "Tong Rate Licheng Table", "Scattered Table", "Calendar Index", "Measurement of the Whole Meaning", "Interpretation of the Northern Regulations", "Riyu Table" and so on.

According to Xu Guangqi's plan, the revision of the calendar should be based on Western law. Among them, of course, there are the reasons why the Western law is meticulous in calculation and is indeed superior to the science of the old law, and there is also the objective reason that the old law has been created for a long time and the legal theory is difficult to understand, and the Western law has been widely publicized by the missionaries to create a group of talents who are proficient in astronomical calculus. Xu Guangqi regarded the translation of Western astronomical works as the first necessary step in the revision of the calendar.

At that time, although the Western astronomical works that came to China were voluminous, for example, in 1620, the missionary Jinnige brought a considerable number of 7,000 books were astronomical works. Blind translation requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and it is protracted, which is obviously not too delicate. Xu Guangqi also pointed out that it is necessary to selectively organize the translation of Qin Yuanzhi, distinguish between the important and the urgent, first select and translate the most basic things, and gradually and step by step.

In terms of content, it should include the theory, calculation and calculation methods of European astronomy, measuring instruments, basic knowledge of mathematics, as well as the introduction and compilation of astronomical tables and auxiliary tables. Xu Guangqi himself also actively participated in the translation work, and the works he participated in the pre-compilation include "Measuring the Heavens", "The Great Test", "The Yuan Shi and the Ri Fix", "The Formation of the Table", "The Scattered Table", "The Calendar Index", "The Complete Meaning of Measurement", "The Interpretation of the Northern Regulations", "The Chronicle Table", and so on.

Xu Guangqi devoted himself to the study of letters and studies of astronomy at an early age. Astronomy was one of the important contents of Xu Guangqi's study of Western studies, and after entering the Hanlin Academy, he still spent a lot of effort engaged in the study of astronomy, and he successively wrote "The Interpretation of the Map of Mountains and Seas", "The Preface to the Atlas of the World", "The Diagram of the Pinghun Diagram", "The Diagram of the Sundial", "The Diagram of the Nightdial", "The Diagram of the Jianpingyi" and other works.

The knowledge imparted by Western missionaries also had a great attraction to Xu Guangqi, who had always been a practical scholar, and he felt that joining the church might be beneficial to learning and mastering Western scientific and technological knowledge. After Xu Guangqi became a Christian, he began to cooperate with missionaries in translating Western books and introducing Western studies to China.

The Latin text of this work.

It's called "Euclid's Original".

If translated literally into Chinese, it is not like a mathematical work. If it is translated into "The Original of Metaphysics" according to its content, it seems too old. Matteo Ricci said that the "metaphysics" in Chinese, called "geo" in English, originally means the meaning of land surveying in Greece, and can you find a word in the Chinese vocabulary that sounds similar to it and has a similar meaning.

Xu Guangqi examined more than a dozen phrases, all of which were not ideal. Later, he remembered the word "geometry" and felt that it was close to the sound of "geo", and suggested that the title of the book be translated as "Geometry Originals".

It should be "Geometric Original".

"Geometric Originals" seems to be introduced in junior high school history books.