When we expand the history of Chinese culture over the past four hundred years, we can see an indisputable fact, that is, the sixteenth century of Western learning and the communication and integration of Chinese and Western cultures. If we want to explore who is responsible for the communication of Chinese and Western cultures, it is Xu Guangqi, a great scientist at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The "Ming Shi Foreign Fu Sen Yi Biography" said: "Scholars, such as Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao, are the first to say it, and their words are suddenly booming." Regarding the introduction of Western culture, Ji Xianlin also said: "On the surface, it is all the introduction of religion, but in essence, in fact, what is introduced is culture, philosophy, art, technology, and so on... The Catholic Church originally relied not on kings, but on ministers and artists and scholars, the former can be represented by Xu Guangqi... "Xu Guangqi was the forerunner of China's pursuit of science and truth to the West in the late Ming Dynasty, and was the first important person to communicate with Chinese and Western cultural exchanges in the late Ming Dynasty."
Xu Guangqi's meeting with Chinese and Western cultures is out of concern for China's future and the trend of the world, in order to seek scientific knowledge, Xu Guangqi met the missionaries is to admire the missionaries' insight and erudition, look at the scientific knowledge brought by the missionaries, and hope that Catholic doctrine can "supplement Confucianism and Easy Buddha", "can supplement the kingship, influence Confucianism, and save the Dharma."
Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci
In 1600, when Xu Guangqi went to Nanjing to visit his mentor Jiao Hu, he learned that Matteo Ricci was in Nanjing, and the "Ming Shi Foreign Fusen Yi Da Biography" said: "Italy, living in the Atlantic Ocean, has not been through China since ancient times; during the Wanli period, his countryman Matteo Ricci to Beijing was the whole map of all nations, saying that there were five continents in the world..." At that time, Xu Guangqi knew that Matteo Ricci was a person, and he had also seen a map of the world drawn by Matteo Ricci, and was deeply impressed. It was this map that caused a great shock among Chinese scholars and doctors, changing the Theory of Heaven and Circle Places of the Chinese people at that time, Xu Guangqi was also refreshed, his vision was wide open, and he had a clear understanding of the distribution of the five continents, thus stimulating his desire to look at the world, understand the West, and seek scientific truth. At that moment, Xu Guangqi specially visited Matteo Ricci overnight, and the two great men met as before, talking and talking, Xu Guangqi admired Matteo Ricci's insight and erudition, and Matteo Ricci was impressed by Xu Guangqi's elegance and talent.
In the spring of 1604, Xu Guangqi went to Beijing, and before he could participate in the examination of the Ministry of Rites, he went to visit Matteo Ricci and explicitly proposed to translate Euclid's Geometric Primitives. From 1604 to 1607, Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci met almost every day, and the discussion between the two sides in addition to Catholic doctrine was the development of Science and Technology in the West, involving mathematics, water conservancy, astronomy, calendar, firearms, etc. As long as Matteo ricci could teach, and Xu Guangqi thought that there was practical value, he was interested in learning. Xu Guangqi summarized the knowledge spread by the missionaries as "there are three kinds of slights, the big one cultivates the heavens, and the small one is poor in character and material... Xu Guangqi claims to have done his best to "pass on his small", which shows that his main interest is in the natural sciences of the West.
In the winter of 1605 and the beginning of 1606, Xu Guangqi, in order to translate the Geometric Originals, told Matteo Ricci: "I know this book, and you can ask for advice, how can I retreat from the difficulty and let this book be lost in the hands of my generation?" He tried to dispel Matteo Ricci's concerns and collaborated with Ricci on the translation of the mathematical masterpiece The Primitives of Geometry. "Ritchie's Interpretation, Public Pen". In the spring of 1607, Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci jointly completed the first 6 volumes of the Geometric Primitives. After the publication of the first 6 volumes of "Geometric Origins", it has become the only definitive edition in China in the past 400 years.
In 1608, based on the Geometric Original, Matteo Ricci interpreted and Xu Guangqi recorded and co-translated the "Measurement Law". Xu Guangqi believes that the method of measurement and the principle of expanding it can be used to make water and govern the field, which is not only convenient, but also a top priority. This reflects Xu Guangqi's emphasis on natural science, attention to mathematical theory, and the combination of mathematics and practice.
In 1611, in order to promote the revision of the calendar, Xu Guangqi, with the assistance of the Italian missionary Xiong Sanba, successively wrote three works: "Pinghun Tu theory", "Sundial Diagram Theory" and "Night Dial Diagram Theory". Xu Guangqi also recorded xiong Sanba's explanation of the measuring instrument "Jian Pingyi" for him, and compiled it into a "Jian Pingyi Saying", and wrote "Jian Pingyi Saying". Xu Guangqi said that the reason why he attaches importance to translation is because of the results of the gradual development of the West in the past three thousand years, with the help of translation, you can enjoy its success in a year and a half, so the use of Western scientific achievements can promote the accelerated development of Chinese science.
After Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci met, they had a plan to jointly translate Western water conservancy monographs, but they were stranded for some reason, and in 1610, Matteo Ricci died, Xu Guangqi returned to Beijing, so he repeated the old matter to Xiong Sanba, asking for the completion of Matteo Ricci's last wish three years ago and the translation of water conservancy works. After repeated requests and repeated explanations, Xiong Sanba finally agreed to cooperate in the translation. The preparation of the Taixi Water Law began in 1611 and was completed the following spring. Xu Guangqi and Xiong Sanba did not follow the translation conventions of literal translation according to the script when translating, but combined with the original water conservancy tools in China, only selected the applicable or indeed advanced parts of the translation, and experimented while translating, and then recorded the methods and results of the instrument and experiment. This translation method is valuable in the combination of theory and practice, and as soon as the Taixi Water Law was published, it made an important contribution to the development of China's farmland water conservancy industry, and became the most important work on farmland water conservancy science in the Chinese Middle Ages.
Matteo Ricci's death brought great difficulties to Xu Guangqi in translating Western natural sciences and absorbing the essence of Western culture, and at that time, the Macau church authorities did not allow missionaries to engage in the work of disseminating science under the pretext that missionaries should be based on mission. Xu Guangqi's dissemination of Western science not only had to face the opposition of the conservative faction at home, but also to break through the resistance from the missionaries, but in order for the missionaries to gain a foothold in Beijing, they must also regard Xu Guangqi and others as political support, and it is inconvenient to completely refuse Xu Guangqi's request. It is in this historical context that Xu Guangqi, in addition to translating books such as "Geometric Origins", also actively conducted research on mathematics, astronomy and other fields, and posterity praised him as "the ancestor of the translation of Western learning and Eastern learning".
Ancient Chinese science had its own glory, but by the 14th century it had begun to lag behind. At this time, the West rose the Renaissance, science and technology had good conditions for development, began to make great strides forward, to the 16th century, European science and technology began to catch up with and surpass China in many aspects, Western culture also accompanied by the pace of missionaries to the east also began to introduce to China, and Xu Guangqi was born in the 16th century in the first climax of Cultural exchanges between China and the West, in the face of the surging cultural trend in the West, Xu Guangqi did not have the attitude of "Chinese to despise the knowledge of outsiders, thinking that foreign cultures are under China "What has been said, to resist it outside the door, to deny it in an all-round way; there is no panic and mourning, what will China do in the future; there is no depression, drifting with the tide, and blind Westernization.
In how to learn and absorb advanced Western science and technology? How to inherit and carry forward the strengths of traditional Chinese science? How to integrate and integrate the essence of the two major cultural systems of China and the West? At the moment when it was related to the choice of the motherland and the nation, Xu Guangqi was far-sighted and imposing, and loudly put forward: "If you want to win a victory, you must be able to understand, and before you can understand, you must first translate", that is, you must strive to learn from the West and actively catch up with and surpass the West. For Western missionaries, Xu Guangqi valued their "various useful learnings", and the Ming Shi Foreign Fu Sen Yi Biography said: "There are internal officials who say that Xiangguo Ye Gongwen is loyal: 'All the guests from afar, from ancient times, there is no burial, how can it be more generous than the lizi?'" Wen Zhonggong said: "Zimi from the ancient guests, its moral learning, is the same as the benefit of the people?" Needless to say, the translation of the book "Geometric Origins" is cheap to give the funeral! ”
With this article, I would like to commemorate the 459th anniversary of Xu Guangqi's birth.
Author: Song Haojie
The image comes from the Internet
Editor: Ye Fangfang