The idea of the hypothetical Magellanica Continent(Terra Australis Incognita)was introduced into China by the Jesuit missionaries during the seventeenth century.While not accepted by the Chinese government,it was affi...The idea of the hypothetical Magellanica Continent(Terra Australis Incognita)was introduced into China by the Jesuit missionaries during the seventeenth century.While not accepted by the Chinese government,it was affirmed and transmitted to the public by a few Chinese scholars,including Feng Yingjing,Cheng Bai'er,Zhang Huang,Xiong Mingyu,Xiong Renlin,You Yi,Zhou Yuqi,Jie Xuan,Wang Honghan,and Ye Zipei.Most of them communicated closely with the Jesuit missionaries,and several even helped the missionaries compose the maps.The concept was updated progressively by Matteo Ricci,Giulio Aleni,Johann Adam Schall von Bell,Francesco Sambiasi,and Ferdinand Verbiest.Chinese scholars copied the missionaries'relevant maps and textual introductions without much modification.However,they paid little attention to advancements in the idea,and many of them circulated outdated knowledge.It was not until the middle-and late-nineteenth century that Chinese scholars reexamined the correctness of this hypothetical continent.展开更多
Nitric acid or qiangshui强水(“strong liquid,”from lat.aqua fortis)was introduced to China multiple times by European missionaries during the Ming and Qing dynasties.Xu Guangqi徐光啟(1562-1633)was the first Chinese t...Nitric acid or qiangshui强水(“strong liquid,”from lat.aqua fortis)was introduced to China multiple times by European missionaries during the Ming and Qing dynasties.Xu Guangqi徐光啟(1562-1633)was the first Chinese to record related knowledge from his communication with Johann Schreck(1576-1630).Johann Adam Schall von Bell(1591-1666),Joachim Bouvet(1656-1730),and Matteo Ripa(1682-1746)independently described the substance to the Chinese in their writings,explaining production methods together with different applications such as separating and assaying of gold and silver,etching of iron or copperplates,and manufacturing of thermometers.This paper focuses on newly discovered Chinese materials,mainly from the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior(Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致,1640)by Schall von Bell and his Chinese collaborators,but also from the Record of Essentials of Inception and Completion(Kaicheng jiyao開成紀要)by Xu Guangqi.It analyzes different aspects of knowledge transmission processes including the identification of useful knowledge,the purpose of transmission,the sources of European knowledge,and the applied methods of translation and explanation.From these analyses we can better understand the reasons of their failure or success.展开更多
This article explores Adam Schall von Bell’s Investigations of the Earth’s Interior(Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致,1639-1640),a significant Jesuit work aimed at reforming the Chinese mining and smelting industry by introducing...This article explores Adam Schall von Bell’s Investigations of the Earth’s Interior(Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致,1639-1640),a significant Jesuit work aimed at reforming the Chinese mining and smelting industry by introducing relevant European technologies during the late Ming period.After being lost for centuries,the recent rediscovery of a partial manuscript housed in the Nanjing Library has reinvigorated scholarly interest in this treatise.The authors present findings on the manuscript’s origins,dating,and its reliance on Georgius Agricola’s De re metallica alongside other Renaissance works,such as those by Lazarus Ercker or Vannoccio Biringuccio.They challenge claims that the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior introduced the Western concept of“minerals”(kuangwu礦物)to China,arguing that the term retained its traditional meaning of“ores and materials.”Additionally,the article presents new historical documents revealing attempts to implement the treatise’s methods and the bureaucratic challenges that prevented its widespread adoption.These topics shed light on the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior’s role in early global knowledge transmission and its potential impact on China’s mining and metallurgical practices during the Ming-Qing transition.展开更多
In 2015, a previously unknown manuscript was discovered in the Nanjing Library. It contained a Chinese mining and metallurgy handbook, and was identified as a copy of the Kunyu gezhi 坤輿格致, known as the lost Chines...In 2015, a previously unknown manuscript was discovered in the Nanjing Library. It contained a Chinese mining and metallurgy handbook, and was identified as a copy of the Kunyu gezhi 坤輿格致, known as the lost Chinese translation of Georgius Agricola’s(1494–1555) De re metallica(1556) by Jesuit Adam Schall von Bell(1592–1666). A closer look at the text, however, reveals that, besides parts of Agricola’s book, content by at least four other European authors was included: Vannoccio Biringuccio(1480–1539), Modestinus Fachs(?–before 1595), Lazarus Ercker(1528/30–1594), and José de Acosta(1539/40–1599/1600). This study demonstrates how their books became available in China, why they were selected as sources for the Kunyu gezhi, and how they were eventually used and incorporated. From this, it becomes apparent that Schall and his collaborators spared no effort to conduct this ambitious knowledge transfer project, and to present European technology at its best to the emperor.展开更多
文摘The idea of the hypothetical Magellanica Continent(Terra Australis Incognita)was introduced into China by the Jesuit missionaries during the seventeenth century.While not accepted by the Chinese government,it was affirmed and transmitted to the public by a few Chinese scholars,including Feng Yingjing,Cheng Bai'er,Zhang Huang,Xiong Mingyu,Xiong Renlin,You Yi,Zhou Yuqi,Jie Xuan,Wang Honghan,and Ye Zipei.Most of them communicated closely with the Jesuit missionaries,and several even helped the missionaries compose the maps.The concept was updated progressively by Matteo Ricci,Giulio Aleni,Johann Adam Schall von Bell,Francesco Sambiasi,and Ferdinand Verbiest.Chinese scholars copied the missionaries'relevant maps and textual introductions without much modification.However,they paid little attention to advancements in the idea,and many of them circulated outdated knowledge.It was not until the middle-and late-nineteenth century that Chinese scholars reexamined the correctness of this hypothetical continent.
文摘Nitric acid or qiangshui强水(“strong liquid,”from lat.aqua fortis)was introduced to China multiple times by European missionaries during the Ming and Qing dynasties.Xu Guangqi徐光啟(1562-1633)was the first Chinese to record related knowledge from his communication with Johann Schreck(1576-1630).Johann Adam Schall von Bell(1591-1666),Joachim Bouvet(1656-1730),and Matteo Ripa(1682-1746)independently described the substance to the Chinese in their writings,explaining production methods together with different applications such as separating and assaying of gold and silver,etching of iron or copperplates,and manufacturing of thermometers.This paper focuses on newly discovered Chinese materials,mainly from the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior(Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致,1640)by Schall von Bell and his Chinese collaborators,but also from the Record of Essentials of Inception and Completion(Kaicheng jiyao開成紀要)by Xu Guangqi.It analyzes different aspects of knowledge transmission processes including the identification of useful knowledge,the purpose of transmission,the sources of European knowledge,and the applied methods of translation and explanation.From these analyses we can better understand the reasons of their failure or success.
文摘This article explores Adam Schall von Bell’s Investigations of the Earth’s Interior(Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致,1639-1640),a significant Jesuit work aimed at reforming the Chinese mining and smelting industry by introducing relevant European technologies during the late Ming period.After being lost for centuries,the recent rediscovery of a partial manuscript housed in the Nanjing Library has reinvigorated scholarly interest in this treatise.The authors present findings on the manuscript’s origins,dating,and its reliance on Georgius Agricola’s De re metallica alongside other Renaissance works,such as those by Lazarus Ercker or Vannoccio Biringuccio.They challenge claims that the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior introduced the Western concept of“minerals”(kuangwu礦物)to China,arguing that the term retained its traditional meaning of“ores and materials.”Additionally,the article presents new historical documents revealing attempts to implement the treatise’s methods and the bureaucratic challenges that prevented its widespread adoption.These topics shed light on the Investigations of the Earth’s Interior’s role in early global knowledge transmission and its potential impact on China’s mining and metallurgical practices during the Ming-Qing transition.
基金This research is part of“Translating Western Science,Technology and Medicine to Late Ming China:Convergences and Divergences in the Light of the Kunyu gezhi坤輿格致(Investigations of the Earth’s Interior1640)and the Taixi shuifa泰西水法(Hydromethods of the Great West1612),”a project supported by the German Research Foundation(DFG)from 2018 to 2021.
文摘In 2015, a previously unknown manuscript was discovered in the Nanjing Library. It contained a Chinese mining and metallurgy handbook, and was identified as a copy of the Kunyu gezhi 坤輿格致, known as the lost Chinese translation of Georgius Agricola’s(1494–1555) De re metallica(1556) by Jesuit Adam Schall von Bell(1592–1666). A closer look at the text, however, reveals that, besides parts of Agricola’s book, content by at least four other European authors was included: Vannoccio Biringuccio(1480–1539), Modestinus Fachs(?–before 1595), Lazarus Ercker(1528/30–1594), and José de Acosta(1539/40–1599/1600). This study demonstrates how their books became available in China, why they were selected as sources for the Kunyu gezhi, and how they were eventually used and incorporated. From this, it becomes apparent that Schall and his collaborators spared no effort to conduct this ambitious knowledge transfer project, and to present European technology at its best to the emperor.
