In the process of learning from the West in the late Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the introduction of Western scientific and technological knowledge occupies an extremely important position in the history of our country. The demise of the Ming Dynasty caused many people of insight to conduct profound reflection and finally came to the conclusion that the pedantic theory of the Song and Ming dynasties was the culprit, and "the way to save the evil lies in practical learning, not in empty words." Therefore, they demanded that "the reality be forced by the virtual", throw away the stupid and backward dregs of sinology, and absorb the essence of advanced Western science. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, a group of scholars proficient in astronomical almanacs started from this pragmatic idea and devoted themselves to the study of basic disciplines such as mathematics and physics, and the development of Chinese science entered the modern stage with the gradual learning of the West and the East as the main content.
In ancient times, scholars who were proficient in astronomical calendars were called chóu people. Since most of the officials in charge of astronomical almanacs are hereditary, the study of astronomical almanacs is also called "the study of people". The study of the study of domain people reached its peak in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, and scientist Ruan Yuan, who was inspired by the spirit of craftsmanship and dedication of the domain people, devoted himself to compiling the book "Biography of domain people" and passed it down to the world. Among the early Qing Dynasty domain people who made important contributions to the development of Chinese science and the integration of Chinese and Western sciences, Xue Fengzuo was recognized as the first, because he made outstanding contributions to the dissemination of Western astronomy, calendar, mathematics, geography, physics and other knowledge. "Worthy of the merits of a generation of domain people," the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty said of him.
"Biography of the Domain" book shadow (network map)
Linzi God calculates the time of guiding the heavens
During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Linzi Jinling Town (present-day Jinling Hui Town, Zibo City, Shandong).
It was mid-spring, the season of collecting farm tools and ploughing the fields and sowing seeds, and a group of farmers gathered in xue's courtyard on the west side of the town. In the middle of it was a man, about fifty years old, dressed in green clothes, and was burying his head in calculations. Originally, the main crops were rice and wheat, and farmers chose to sow one of them according to the climate and geology of each year. Everyone used to worry about choosing whether to grow rice or wheat, and Mr. Xue Lao, who could pinch and calculate, returned to his hometown to solve this problem.
After about half an hour, Mr. Xue raised his head and said slowly, "This year, I still plant on my back!" "Everybody, you look at me, I look at you, and I can't speak. This is Mr. Xue Lao's code word, indicating that it is suitable for growing wheat. If he bows his head and says, "Plant with a low face," it means that he is suitable for rice cultivation. He has been proposing to grow wheat for two consecutive years, and he does not want to continue this year.
Statue of Xue Fengzuo (network diagram)
"Everyone listened to the old man's words," an old man with white hair stood up and said, "Xue Banxian is a famous divine operator here, who knows astronomy and geography at the bottom, and knows everything in the hundreds of sons." We listened to him, and he was right. ”
As soon as everyone heard that it was reasonable, they scattered and prepared the wheat seeds. Half a year later, the wheat harvest in Jinling Town was bumper. When everyone took the melons and fruits to the Xue family's courtyard, Fang knew that Mr. Xue had left home for Beijing for many days.
Eunuchs travel in all directions to seek science
Mr. Xue Lao's original name was Xue Fengzuo,the number of The Ji Zhai, the jinling town people's clan. In the history of ancient Chinese science, Xue Fengzuo should have been a very loud name, but except for its neighbors, it was rarely known for various reasons. For example, the story of him planting wheat for the villagers in the previous article is only circulated in his hometown.
Xue Fengzuo was the second generation of authentic officials. His grandfather, Xue Gang, was a native of the Ming Dynasty and settled in Jinling Town. His father, Xue Jinsu, entered the priesthood in mid-1644 and was given the title of Zhongshu Sheren (中書舍人). Dissatisfied with the dictatorship of eunuchs at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he lived in seclusion in the countryside, immersing himself in the study of learning and educating his son. The solid family laid the material foundation for Xue Fengzuo's later scientific research and promotion of Western studies, and also solved his worries by writing various scientific classics.
Although he was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, the young Xue Fengzuo was not interested in obtaining meritorious names. He came to Hebei alone to seek advice from the masters of science Sun Qifeng and Lu Shanji. Seeing that he was talented and intelligent, the two deliberately recommended him to become an official in the imperial court. Xue Fengzuozhi was not here, and after a year of study, he had the ambition of "tasting the ambition to make achievements at the time, not to talk about it to dazzle people's eyes and ears", and turned to the university scholar Wei Wenkui as a teacher, immersed in the study of traditional calendars and arithmetic. Wei Wenkui, whose character Yushan, studied the calendar with the Ming Dynasty astronomer Xing Yunlu and had a deep knowledge of astronomy. He was well aware of the shortcomings of Song Ming's theory, advocated pragmatic teaching, and vigorously promoted Western science. Many ideas have a profound impact on Xue Fengzuo.
"Tianbu Zhenyuan" book shadow (network map)
During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Xue Fengzuo, who was in his 40s, came to Nanjing and became acquainted with the Polish missionary Munige. While systematically studying Western mathematical and astronomical theory, he focused on Copernicus's "Theory of Celestial Motion", and cooperated with Munigo to compile Western scientific classics. In a few years, Chinese editions of scientific classics such as "Tianxue Tong" and "Tianbu Zhenyuan" were born in their hands. Later, Xue Fengzuo became acquainted with Western missionaries such as John Tang and Luo Yagu, and gathered the strengths of the teachers to become an astronomer who studied both Chinese and Western and was famous for his calendar. As a result, the Qing court appointed Xue Fengzuo as the Qin Tianjian ( 秦天監正 ) , who was in charge of calculating the solar terms and formulating calendars.
Qin Tianjian Zhengtang (Network Map)
Xue Fengzuo, who had learned five cars, resigned his post and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion after less than a year in office. The reason for this, in addition to not wanting to float in the official arena, is to do a good job in the dissemination of Western scientific knowledge. After years of study, he has been thinking about how to quickly and effectively introduce advanced scientific knowledge from the West. After all, Western studies have developed rapidly, and disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and astronomy are becoming more and more mature, and the Chinese people know very little about it.
After repeated thinking, Xue Fengzuo decided to start with astronomy and calendar, focusing on promoting Western mathematical knowledge; if there is time, then study Western geography, water conservancy and other knowledge.
Astronomical masterpieces through the East and west
After more than 20 years of painstaking research and hard work, Xue Fengzuo finally completed the astronomical almanac masterpiece "Almanac", and organized the engraving and printing during the Kangxi Dynasty. In addition to the basic knowledge of mathematics, medicine, physics, water conservancy and other basic knowledge, the "Calendar Society" is more than 50 volumes, which is divided into three parts: "Positive Collection", "Application" and "Test", which mainly introduces the Western astronomical theories and experimental methods studied with Munige, and innovates on this basis.
Black and white photocopy, revised edition of the Calendar (from the Internet)
One of the biggest highlights of this book is Xue Fengzuo's pioneering adoption of the principle of "the material of all parties in the company, the type of model that enters my learning". Because at that time, some scholars put forward two principles of Chinese and Western communication, one is to use Western learning to replace middle schools, and the other is to use middle schools to assimilate Western studies. Xue Fengzuo believes that these two principles are relatively extreme, which is not conducive to the dissemination of Scientific Knowledge in Western Studies.
Another highlight of this book is that Xue Fengzuo, on the basis of continuing the traditional method, adopts the Calculation Method of Western Mathematical Logarithm, which is simple and practical. Mei Wending, a mathematician in the early Qing Dynasty, said that this method "is actually used from the method of teaching time" to the point of use.
In the astronomical theory section of the Almanac, Xue Fengzuo quoted the Copernican heliocentric system theory that was extremely advanced at that time. It turns out that ancient Westerners have always believed that the earth is the center of the whole universe, which is the "geocentric theory" that has lasted for thousands of years. In 1543, the Polish astronomer Copernicus boldly proposed a new theory: the sun is the center of the universe, and the earth revolves around the sun. This theory, known as the "heliocentric theory," is inconsistent with the "geocentric theory" advocated by the church. The church and feudal rulers vigorously opposed the "heliocentric theory" on the one hand, and on the other hand, they wanted to persecute Copernicus. Many Europeans could not accept the "heliocentric theory" in a short period of time, and most of the people who spread to the East did not believe it. Xue Fengzuo was one of the first Chinese scientists to accept the "heliocentric theory", and his pioneering and innovative spirit was appreciated by posterity. Since the publication of this book, the Chinese people have believed in the truth that "the earth revolves around the sun".
Copernicus's theory of heliocentrism (network diagram)
As one of Xue Fengzuo's life masterpieces, and also the crystallization of his dedication to the Chinese and Western science associations, the book "The History of Learning" was warmly welcomed by scholars at that time and later generations, and was widely circulated. The western study monograph "If the Western Calendar" written by the early Qing Dynasty thinker Huang Zongxi refers to the materials of the "Calendar Society"; and another scholar of the same era, Fang Yizhi, also quoted many views and knowledge of this book in his famous book "Small Knowledge of Physics". Today, there are still two versions of this book: one is the "Testament of Xue", which is stored in the National Library of China, a total of 63 volumes; the other is the Kangxi edition engraving in the Peking University Library, a total of 61 volumes. Later generations studied the science of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the gradual process of Western learning and eastern learning, and the "History of Learning" was doomed to be unable to bypass.
At the same time as writing the "Almanac", Xue Fengzuo, a generation of domain people, did not stop the study of traditional mathematics and the introduction of Western mathematics. Known as "Xue Banxian", he deeply understands that mathematics is the mother of natural sciences, affecting the development of various disciplines, and the focus of "almanac" is on "arithmetic" rather than "calendar". So, what contributions did Xue Fengzuo make in the process of introducing Western mathematics? What famous mathematical treatises did he write? How did these monographs influence future generations? For an aftermath, listen to the next episode breakdown.
Author: Wei Deyong
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