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CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE RECEPTION OF JESUIT
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN MING CHINA
Introduction
Historical context of Jesuit missions in Ming China
During the Ming dynasty, Europe's influential nations dispatched religious
missions to Asia in hopes of converting the locals. Among these were the Jesuits. This
order of Catholic priests, founded in 1534, was the most scholarly and diplomatic of
the many missionary orders. The Jesuits penetrated deeply into Chinese society and
rose to high positions at the emperor's court. They did not simply try to win the
Chinese for Christ; they also attempted to understand Chinese society and used what
they learned to bring Europe and China closer together.
The historical backdrop of Jesuit missions in Ming China is part of a much larger
geopolitical situation. The Ming dynasty was not just a prosperous and powerful state
but also an extraordinarily centralized one. Compared to other times and places in
world history, the Ming was not exactly an 'enlightened' regime; even so, its lengthy
and stable tenure allowed for the growth of a certain amount of flourishing culture and,
above all, a pretty extraordinary level of intellectualism during its reign. In this fertile
soil, the Jesuits and other new missionary orders of the time saw not just an
opportunity for conversion to Christianity but also an opportunity for a much more
fundamental realignment of ways of thinking, for a conversion of intellect.
Matteo Ricci, the first Jesuit to enter China, arrived in 1582. Unlike earlier
missionaries, Ricci took a novel, respectful, and even reverent approach. He
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understood that simply coming to China was not enough; one had to enter and engage
with its profound culture, with a language and way of life that was several millennia
old. Ricci devoted himself to all this. He lived it and would not be a poor substitute
for those he was trying to reach. He would engage with them on their level, in their
way, using the Confucian path he was well able to follow.
The Jesuits’ accommodation into various cultures was not in terms of language
and philosophical discourses; they also offered knowledge classes that were focused
on the fundamental aspect of the sciences and the western technologies. For example,
they produced maps that combined Western and Chinese geographical knowledge,
which delighted the Chinese court, and served as part of their gaining access to the
imperial court and to influential scholars. It was also a two-way street as the Chinese
were gaining from this Western-class knowledge and learning the Western sciences,
which concerned the Jesuits, since the Grand Secretary of the Court was a Catholic
convert and they were not sure where their newfound Chinese friends were heading.
The Jesuit missions also had their share of problems since the late 17th century,
the Ming dynasty had begun to shut itself off from foreign ideas. Though the Ming
was politically and socially unstable and wished to isolate itself from the outside
world, it soon fell; the Qing dynasty then began to rise in a suspicious manner, first
toward all kinds of foreign influences. For the hard-pressed missionaries, it was really
trying. It was hard enough for the missionaries to carry on themselves, as well as for
the "converts" they were hoped to have, but it became even worse when serious
controversy erupted inside the Catholic Church over the "Chinese Rites. " The
difficulties experienced by the Jesuit missions in China had a dramatic effect on the
relationship between China and the West. The missionaries did not win many
converts, but they affected something even more profound in the coming together of
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East and West, the Jesuits carried the first wave of Western culture (and Western
science) into China and, by that, achieved something in Sino-Western relations that is
very rare indeed. The bases of two very different cultures were brought into contact
with a level of understanding and respect that is hardly seen in historical precedents.
An overview of Jesuit scientific contributions during this period
In the heat of the European religious wars that followed the Protestant
Reformation, a new Catholic religious order was founded which is the Society of
Jesus. This was devoted largely to education and to a more rigorous kind of way of
life and scholarship. The order seemed to sprout instantly, almost miraculously, all
over Europe, and it reached out into many other parts of the world with the same
speed and energy. Perhaps the most eloquent testimony to this order’s success is the
fact that in most places where it went, it established right away a school or some kind
of place of learning. Even the places that it reached out to in Asia, Africa, and the
Americas—aided by the printing press and its incredible power to conjoin a
community of learning with unthinkable speed and to unimaginable places—really
became places of astonishing success for a new kind of education.
It is because they built and operated more than their fair share of observatories in
the New World; they were crucial in developing in the New World their superb
methods for teaching astronomy. They did these things so well that, despite the
sometimes hazy nature of their earthly vision, they managed to achieve, on a number
of occasions, a very clear celestial vision. They were fundamentally a "good"
astronomy group. Still, at the time when they were operating, there was also someone
named Christopfer Clavius—who may well have been the best astronomy teacher that
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ever walked the face of the Earth—accompanying their deeds, and, in some cases, at
least, that of Clavius turning as well, to a very clear vision of the heliocentric model.
The field of mathematics owes a considerable debt to the Society of Jesus. For
not only were they the first to bring sophisticated, new concepts—such as algebra and
calculus—to Europe, they were also and especially the first to open, as it were, a
"mathematics road" in the many educational institutions they established all over the
continent. One of their most famous mathematicians was and is Juan Caramuel y
Lobkowitz. (A pal of the renowned combinatorial logician, Gottfried Leibniz, and an
equally impressive figure in the history of mathematics.) What these "math Jesuits"
did—especially in the 16th and 17th centuries—was exemplary in two ways. They
taught both the "how" and the "why" of mathematics.
The scientific work of the Jesuits was often surrounded by controversy,
particularly because the methods they used were sometimes at odds with popular,
religious teachings of the time. Nevertheless, by the late 1500s, the Jesuits occupied a
competent and well-regarded place in the scientific community, a place that only
seemed to gain in legitimacy and security through the 1600s and 1700s. We now
associate the quest for new scientific knowledge with groups like the Jesuits, but at
the time, this association was hardly guaranteed. For too long, scientific knowledge
had been the almost exclusive property of monastic institutions and the Church. Yet
here was a group of clerics who were also scientists, breaking through that prejudice
and into the thicker air of the knowledge society.
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Cultural dynamics significantly influenced Ming Chinese acceptance of Jesuit
science
The Ming dynasty of China was the time that saw major changes in the Chinese
political, cultural and economic realms which historians refer to as the
‘transformations’ and this was from 1368 to 1644. From this time ideas and notions of
the West started to enter the Chinese society. This was mainly because of the
commitment which was exercised by the Jesuit missionaries who arrived in China in
the course of the Ming dynasty. The Jesuits not only came with Christianity but a lot
of information about the western world in them. They brought many people in China
to new set of ideas which were unknown to many of them. In particular, they
introduced the European science.
During the late 16th century, when Jesuit missionaries began to arrive in China, a
singular cultural exchange also began. The Chinese, especially such luminaries as
Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell entertained the Chinese literati by
offering them the best of science that prevailed in Europe of the time which had made
progress in astronomy mathematics and cartography. Jesuit knowledge, the
missionaries made clear, was on the same moral and intellectual plane as the values
Chinese scholars held. Indeed, knowledge and values were the twin pillars of the
Jesuit approach to conversion.
The major social ethos of Ming China was defined by Confucianism that
prescribed order, priority and moral order within governance. As noted in the Concept
of knowledge in the Confucian elite in Ming China, knowledge that offers
harmonious coexistence in the society as well as in governance was valued. Therefore,
the elite had to create a space concerning their culture and accept the knowledge that
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the Jesuits possessed. Knowledge that the Jesuits imparted was couched in terms
acceptable to the Confucian literati. They also stressed, for instance, usage of their
astronomical expertise in such areas as calendar and agricultural activities– two
critical undertakings to the agrarian society of the Ming dynasty.
Furthermore, the Jesuits held Chinese traditions in high regard and were
determined to learn not only the local language but also the local customs. They
presented a more familiar facade, so to speak, that made people in China much more
receptive to them and what they were trying to accomplish. The Jesuits went so far as
to adopt Confucian rhetoric and even to try to engage in scholarly discourse. They
presented themselves as not just foreign missionaries but, in many ways, as
intellectual equals.
It was equally important for the Jesuits to have the Ming imperial court accept
their science. What the court required was foreign knowledge that would enhance its
authority and reputation, and the science achieved by the Jesuit appeared to be ideal
for that. Particularly during the reign of Emperor Wanli, the court's interest in and
admiration for the Jesuits' scientific capabilities (e.g., their eclipse predictions and
superior Western astronomy) led to the Jesuits being involved in state affairs to some
degree, which is to say the scientific bit of their program was clearly helpful to their
overall aim of getting their religious message out to more people.
The Jesuits had a rather ambiguous attitude toward the imperial court. The
factions in court gave it a run for its money, and so it was the case with the Jesuits
with internal pressures. They were subjected to a lot of scepticism from the people
especially the Confucian scholars who dominated the imperial court. These Confucian
scholars were not only skeptics but very wise men and they put to the Jesuits a lot of
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traditional Chinese values. And the Jesuits, as a rule, could do no other than go along
with the gag.
Socio-political culture of the Ming Dynasty also influenced the reception of
Jesuit science–especially the possibility of useful knowledge which might help the
dynasty solve some of the existing issues. The promises derived from the knowledge
of the modern sciences are also two-fold, in terms of aspects. First, the idea of
‘practical’ gains and possibilities of the reforms that could enhance agriculture and
civil administration; second, these ‘theoretical’ gains that lay in the ideas of
rationality and empiricism that replaced what was seen as ‘science’ of divination and
rational ways of running the state in recent historical past.
They claimed that the scientific accomplishments of the Jesuits were regarded as
methods of gaining the power of the empires often. The Jesuits were not stupid to
understand that being loyal to the state had its benefits for them. They identified it
with the empire and pretended to assist state and the so called order and success of the
empire. This did not necessarily make them many friends though it did help them
ward off some of the Confucian scholars they met who appeared rather unwilling to
accept the message the Jesuits brought.
Conflict between Traditional Chinese Cosmology and Western Science
Divergent explanations of celestial phenomena and astronomical events
Ever since the creation of human beings they have been seeking to know more
about the stars that are present in the sky. This has in turn given rise to conception of
various and sometimes opposed notions about the character of the universe. Two
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systems that have occupied a central place in our intellectual history are Traditional
Chinese Cosmology and Western Science. While the former is largely the product of
an ancient and medieval intellectual tradition emanating from the cultures of East
Asia, predominantly China, Tang, and Song, and serving up until modern times, the
latter has been for the past few hundred years only too happy to serve itself up in a
way that has taken mankind by storm.
Traditional Chinese cosmology is affected a lot by philosophical, religious and
cultural beliefs. Its roots reach back to ancient texts like the 'I Ching' (or Book of
Changes), as well as the works of Confucius and Laozi. Concepts of harmony and
balance form the basis of this cosmology, which is often expressed through the Yin-
Yang duality and the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). These
elements (or virtues) are believed to mix and match, or pull and push, in a dynamic
“system” that not only influences natural but also human affairs. Celestial phenomena
in traditional Chinese cosmology are interpreted through the sights and sounds of the
system and its philosophy. When a comet or eclipse appears, it is read as an omen or
moral/political message from the heavens that reflects the state of the Earth. The
whole unfathomable universe is viewed as a seamless and holistic system.
In Western science adopts a systematic, empirical approach to comprehend the
workings of the universe. It started from the Greek philosophy and later on continued
during the Scientific Revolution. The reality of the universe particularly the theories
regarded as the laws of nature are what a certain scientific way attempts to clarify. For
instance, the heliocentric model of the solar system and the laws of planetary motion
proposed by Copernicus and Kepler, respectively, shifted humanity's understanding of
the cosmos towards one that is mechanistic, where celestial bodies are governed by
predictable laws, and events occurring in the heavens are comprehended using
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mathematics. Eclipses, for example, are understood through the Earth, Moon, and
Sun's mechanics, where their relative positions determine just how, when, and why,
an eclipse occurs. Indeed, eclipses were figured out long before the Bible was written,
but you wouldn't know that from reading the stories of creation that the various
biblical authors told.
The disparity between Traditional Chinese Cosmology and Western Science is
clear in the explanations each provides for celestial events. In ancient Chinese thought,
the appearance of a supernova or comet augured monumental changes or signified the
ruling dynasty's tenuous grip on power. Such judgments may not have represented
any relationship to the political or the social change that was actually taking place, but
they are laded with cultural messages and very often they were followed by real
changes in politics and in society. In contrast, Western Science would interpret these
same events using astrophysics. A supernova, for instance, would be explained as a
stellar explosion resulting from the gravitational collapse of a massive star—a
teaching moment for any physics instructor leading students through an understanding
of the life cycle of stars. Western Science, it seems, can't help but take the celestials
and make them part of a physics lesson.
The Traditional Chinese Cosmology and Western Science see the universe in
different ways. These are not simply differences in interpretation; they are more
significant, reflecting divides in the kind of philosophy and the way of knowing
(epistemology) associated with each system. Cosmology seems to require a kind of
philosophy. Traditional Chinese Cosmology appears to be almost entirely at home
within the holistic world where it seems to embrace all experiences of human life as a
part of "nature." Western Science seems to embrace the reductionist world where it
appears to isolate and quantify what it perceives as "natural phenomena." What are
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the implications of these systems for our lives, especially if they interact and
sometimes seem to conflict with one another?
The current discourses in academia are full of pleas to reconcile the TCM and the
Western Medicine cosmologies. These calls come from such scholars, trained in the
Western tradition, who seek answers from TCM which posits a worldview which is
different from the biomedical one, the latter being, according to many, inadequate for
understanding the basic nature of health and disease. Despite the fact that the models
of therapies in TCM (as well as medicine of other civilizations) are based on forms of
reasoning that do not lead to the kinds of empirical tests regarded as paradigmatic in
the Western world, these scholars still find value in TCM’s conceptualizations. They
regard this value as life-saving in a world that at a throat-rolling speed is putting the
health of both people and the environment they live in to a natural death.
The conflict between the Chinese cosmogony and the astronautics once more
reveals impossibility of understanding the universe clearly. While giving us very
different descriptions of heavenly occurrences, these two systems also give us
something useful such as an example of the various methods of thinking and feeling
that human beings use to try and square things out. If the conflict is seen as a chance
to seek ore for the strengths and to know the flaws of both systems, then we may
come up with a clearer idea as to why either of the system is effective.
Challenges to Chinese geocentric model by Jesuit heliocentric theory
The other important change that might be noted in the history of astronomy is the
fact of the replacement of geocentric concept with heliocentric one at China with the
help of the assistants of Western Jesuit Missionaries after knowing that Chinese
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believed in geocentricity. The model with the sun at the center threatened not only to
displace the Earth but also to crowd out the cultural, religious, and authority figures
who had long occupied the center of the Chinese cosmological system. This essay will
first outline the geocentric cosmology familiar to the Chinese before the timely advent
of heliocentrism. The Chinese geocentric model of the universe, which was planted
deep in Confucian philosophy and traditional cosmology, had the Earth at the center
of a universe that, scientifically speaking, was without bounds. This was not merely a
scientific proposition; it was also deeply embedded in social, political, and religious
structures and beliefs. The cosmic model was usually depicted as hierarchical, with
the emperor at the center—talk about a close and dangerous call for the rulers, who
had to be up there in order and harmony to keep the universe functioning!
The late 16th century saw the arrival of Western scientific knowledge in China,
thanks, in large part, to Jesuit missionaries. Scientists in the West themselves had only
recently begun to discover and promote the revolutionary new concepts of what we
now call the "Scientific Revolution." This was an era when new and electrifying ideas
were being proposed and debated: for instance, when Copernicus suggested that the
Earth revolves around the Sun, developing some deeply troubled but ultimately
fascinating conversations within Western intellectual circles.
Initially inclined to skepticism, the Chinese elite found it hard to straighten out
this new model of the solar system in their established belief system. After all, their
deep belief in Tradition was not a shallow one. Centuries of familiar, comfortable
human experiences with a geocentric worldview—complete with an indulgent
embrace of its many marvelous astronomical arts—had set the "Earth at the center"
principles in all but solid rock. Yet the new "solar system" idea had its own attractive
camouflage. In the model, the "Sun" was not at all covered up.
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The heliocentric theory brought by the Jesuits was not just an academic study; it
had very serious cultural and religious implications. In the Jesuits' approach to science,
there was an intense linkage to their missionary activities. The confounding of science
and religion was a major reason why many Confucian scholars viewed the teaching of
heliocentrism not just as an imperialist activity but also as a form of religious
indoctrination.
Furthermore, the Jesuits were adamant in asserting that heliocentrism was
entirely compatible with Confucianism. Nevertheless, they did not succeed in getting
this point accepted. Some Chinese scholars were unconvinced and said that
heliocentrism was not compatible with Confucianism and that it would in fact subvert
not only the "foundational ludic and moral principles" of Chinese society but also the
"foundational ludic and moral principles" of any society.
While there was resistance at first, the heliocentric model started to find favor
among certain groups in China's intellectual elite. The accuracy of predictions made
using Jesuit astronomy and the improved calendrical and nautical systems that
Western science provided began to win over some of China's star-watching scholars.
One of the best examples of this is Xu Guangqi, a noted Ming Dynasty astronomer
and one of the first to fully embrace heliocentrism. Xu Guangqi was not just an
astronomer; he was also a well-known official who had immense credibility—and a
good deal of influence—among China's educated classes.
Nonetheless, the heliocentric theory did not receive the accolade from all and
sundry as it is celebrated today. A substantial number of scholars persisted in their
support of the geocentric model, which they believed better accounted for their
observations of celestial objects. This scientific debate reflects the tough problem of
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integrating Western ideas into a Chinese cultural system that had "space" (as it were)
for certain kinds of celestial phenomena and "observation" (in the sense that the
human eye could "see" better with certain sorts of telescopes than with others). One
could attempt to make the scene clearer if we were to look at it through the ‘lens’ of
the heliocentric theory and, of course, if we were to consider only a political system
which had no issue in accepting any of the Western ideas. The problems which arose
in connection with the application of the Jesuit heliocentric theory to the Chinese
geocentric concept are an excellent subject of science, civilization, and religion. On
its initial introduction to Chinese society heliocentrism was for the most part,
dismissed and a lot of people resisted the theory. Eventually, however, select Chinese
scholars began to accept certain components of astronomy that they had been taught
by their Western counterparts. And from then on, it was as if these scholars had
embarked on a cross-continental (and oceanic) voyage of mind. Once they were on
board, there was no turning back; the transformative power of "Western" science in
reshaping long-held worldviews became undeniable.
Attempts to reconcile traditional Chinese and Western cosmological views
Both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions have long devoted themselves
to the significant project of investigating different cultures' celestial perceptions. The
intricacies of classical Chinese cosmology tend to baffle the uninitiated. Even scholars
of Chinese antiquity can find it a challenge. Michelle Wang, one such scholar, states,
"much of what is discussed in these texts is not directly related to celestial bodies and
their earthly manifestations." So, then, if crucial centrifugal concepts like the Dao, the
Five Elements, and the profoundly creative Yin-Yang are not directly related to a
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model of the heavens as understood by contemporary astronomy, just what are they
doing, and what relevance does such an ancient model have for us today?
These two basic forces are "the Two," as Chinese cosmologists call them, and
they are basic to the Chinese worldview—complementarily and oppositely. The Five
Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—further specify this understanding.
Even though this is the case, Western cosmology owes much of its present form to the
Scientific Revolution and the new physics that emerged from it. Copernican
heliocentrism, the Newtonian laws of motion, and Einstein's relativity have pushed us
toward a conception of the cosmos that is largely mechanistic and very often
reductionist. Michelle Wang, one such scholar conclude that this understanding—if
one can even call it that—has underpinned and fostered a profound division between
humans and the natural world.
In the Cartesian worldview, it is even acceptable to envision and portray
humanity as being superior to the nature around us, which we have been assured is
beneath us. Philosophy, science, and religion have directly participated in many
attempts to reconcile the two groups' different cosmological perspectives. One
prominent path toward reconciliation takes a basic roundabout through systems
thinking, which is hardly new and whose name's nearest ancestor is probably general
systems theory, which was first "invented" by Austrian biologist Ludwig von
Bertalanffy in 1945. Systems thinking moves through different components of a
whole, not just a part, and it can deal with the interconnectedness of components
within a whole and across wholes.
Moreover, modern non-linear physics finds a kindred spirit in the ancient
Chinese conception of a dynamic, cyclical cosmos. While the construction of the
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Great Wall kept the Mongol hordes at bay, it—along with the wall itself—figured in a
largely successful attempt by the Chinese elites to construct a healthy societal
immunity. They built an immunity that allowed their culture to remain largely
untouched by the most important developments in the post-Alexandrian, Greco-
Roman world, in medieval Europe, and finally, during the European Enlightenment.
For millennia, then, the Chinese way of thinking—rooted in deep traditions and rich
intellectual soils—course through its society's highly distinct, non-linear, and
interdependent cosmological framework.
The other area of reconciliation is in spirituality and ethics. The profoundly
beautiful and profound Traditional Chinese cosmology is also premised on an
inherent ethicality. It is what makes sense of the world and what is allowing us to
figure out how to live sustainably in it. It seems "increasingly urgent" to discuss
environmental ethics, which may well take "increasingly prominent" Traditional
Chinese principles like those espoused by Wang Yangming as counterpoints to the
increasing descent of "pale green path" Western environmental ethics. The way
Traditional Chinese ethics sidesteps an overly simplistic dualism mirrors both the way
"spirituality and ethics" are reconciled in Traditional Chinese cosmology and allows
for ample room in making sense of either path of sustainability.
The wellness landscape in the West now incorporates practices of enlightenment
from the East, such as Tai Chi, Qigong, and the well-known mindfulness and
meditation practices. This is largely the result of well-trod integrative health
approaches at places like the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the
University of Arizona. These practices which are borrowed from wisdom schools of
the East are assisting in the process of awakening the western minds on the holistic
nature of man. They are even helping us reshape the puritanical notion of health in a
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culture that increasingly seems to be fixated with the self-enhancement process. An
attempt to explore the difference between the Chinese and the Western world has
been made but misunderstanding still exist. The two societies have very different
epistemological foundations. Thought in traditional China is often intuitive, relying
heavily on what might be called "experiential" knowledge. As a way of contrasting
this, thought in the Occident is usually based on "empirical" validation and "rational"
discourse. This almost humorous divergence in foundational thinking creates a
comical situation when one tries to interpret the ancient work of Chinese thinkers.
Another big difference comes in "ways of being." History in the West is full of
unsightly quests for dominance over nature. Meanwhile, the history of China (and
even the ancient thinkers of China) is much more about quests for a harmonious
existence in the natural world.
Linguistic Challenges in Transmitting Scientific Knowledge
Difficulties in translating Western scientific terms into Chinese
The first difficulty that arises when translating from Western languages such as
English into Chinese is the attempt to translate scientific knowledge and terms. As Liu
(2017) points out, there may be difficulties in searching for the proper equivalents,
defining the meaning of terms in the target language, and translating concepts and
abstractions. One of the main challenges is that the Chinese language historically did
not possess the lexicon and grammatical constructions to express modern scientific
concepts derived from the Western world in the fields of biology, physics, chemistry,
etc (Zhou, 2021). Translators also need to deal with various disparities between
English and Chinese language use and the ways of writing.
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There is one concern though, and it is that compounding which is frequently used
in scientific discourse to create new words is not applied in the same way in the two
languages (Liu, 2017). English uses word roots, prefixes, and suffixes rather flexibly
to produce new terms such as ‘biodiversity’ or ‘pseudoscience.’ Chinese, on the other
hand, prefers individual morphemes, and therefore translating long English
compounds often implies creating compound descriptive phrases, composed of
several characters. This can generate Chinese scientific terms that are even more
complicated or have more uncertainty than the original English ones (Zhou, 2021).
Also important is that Chinese grammar makes use of context-dependent idioms and
the difference of meaning that do not necessarily correlate with empirical truths which
it is the goal of scientific prose to communicate.
Liu (2017), assert that the other challenge is the fact that the language has
cultural associations and implications that are difficult to overcome. There are certain
scientific ideas and objects that were not present in Chinese cultural sphere in any
case and that is why the language does not possess the needful vocabulary or idea
(Liu, 2017). Words for simple concepts such as the elements in the periodic table or
human organs need a lot of scrutiny to ensure that the terms match their meanings and
do not have any negative connotations. Lacking this sensitivity, scientific translations
into Chinese may not accurately translate from English the intended denotations
which could lead to misapprehending cultural connotations for Chinese audiences.
Technical writing style also differs, however, as English scientific
communication prioritizes brevity and accuracy wherein, Chinese focuses more on the
metaphorical and the contextualized ways of presenting information (Zhou, 2021). It
may be not easy for the translators to rewrite the scientific text that was structured
argumentatively in terms of the linear sequences of the empirically based arguments
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to fit into the Chinese readers’ expectations and the ways to perceive the difficult
concepts. Simplifying or not applying prose form in an appropriate manner might
effectively obliterate conceptual significance.
This is a reason why the translation of Western scientific jargon into Chinese
thereby requires the cultural and logical harmony as well as the technicality of the
language. As Liu (2017) notes, it is an activity that involves skill and finesse to
transfer foreign empirical thought into the paradigms of the target language
seamlessly. De-emphasis of terminology differences AGAINST attempts at
translating the cultural connotations that have been built into the terminology also
assists in the decoding of meaning and the efficient spreading of knowledge cross
religious languages.
Creation of new Chinese vocabulary for Jesuit scientific concepts
When the first Jesuit missionaries landed in China in the 16th century, they had
with them the modern western science and ideas which were unknown to the Chinese.
Thus, there was a necessity to develop new words in Chinese to transcribe these
foreign concepts (Spence, 1999). Historian Jonathan Spence (1999) note that the
Jesuits were very rigorous and methodical in their attempts at creating a Chinese
terminology for western science. They would read up on it, dissect the Chinese
language to find the closest term, talk to converts who are Chinese, and try out
possible phrases before arriving at the most suitable one.
In one of the aspects, which reveals that many new words were necessary, it is
necessary to mention astronomy and the Copernican model of the universe. According
to Mungello (1985), the Chinese were far advanced in observational astronomy for
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astrology and divination but they lacked the heliocentric outlook or understanding of
the universe as the post-Renaissance Europeans did. Therefore, in order to find the
terminology necessary for delivering their message, Matteo Ricci and other Jesuit
astronomer – missionaries had to invent such terms as qixing for “planet” – “circled
star”, yuandou for “satellite” and zhoutian for “universe” which, in Chinese, literally
means “sky – field” (Mungello, 1985). Most of these terms are still the modern
Standard Chinese words which have roots in the Jesuit terminology.
According to Hsin-han Lee (1964), it was a common practice to use phonetic
loans in translating especially for the peculiar concepts and the Chinese characters
borrowed were selected for the phonetic values as well as for the suggested meanings
of the borrowed characters. For instance, the Greek concept of ‘essence’ is translated
as jingjie, which means a combination of ‘equilibrium,’ as well as ‘boundary’;
‘accident,’ on the other hand, may be understood in terms of ‘disaster’ and
‘abnormality.’ This goes to show how the Jesuits attempted at explaining to the
Chinese a bit of the terms’ philosophical connotations that the said terms held. They
could thus extend the writers’ conceptual universe of written Chinese through new
formations, or through recombining their existing characters in different ways.
However, the formation of this new vocabulary was influenced by the Jesuits’
desire to become part of the sino-centric Chinese society. According to Jacques
Gernet (1996), instead of totally replacing the traditional modes of thinking and
understanding, the Jesuits’ scientific vocabulary was thus integrated into the Chinese
systems of correlation and oppositions, as well as into divination practices. For
example, while astronomy was subsidiary to astrology, abstract geometry was a
unified application of number and form. As a result, such a syncretism may have
distorted concepts in the transmission process since the acculturation process involved
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the replacement of Chinese frameworks with those concepts instead of replacing those
frameworks with other frameworks (Gernet, 1996). According to Gernet (1996), the
systematic manner in which the Jesuits went about their work made it possible to
introduce foreign knowledge in a manner that brought about shifts in knowledge
paradigms.
Role of bilingual Chinese scholars in interpreting Jesuit texts
The European astronomical devices, maps, and books with scientific and
mathematical concepts were introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries who visited
the country in the 16th-17th centuries (Spence, 1999). These materials interested
Chinese scholars but very few of them could comprehend the Latin documents. This
provided bilingual Chinese converts and collaborators with a significant cultural
interpreting role as they translated the Jesuit works into Chinese (Wills, 2011).
One of the well-known Chinese who embraced Christianity was Xu Guangqi, an
official and mathematician; he collaborated with Ricci in translating european science
(Spence, 1999). Xu also understood the rich astronomical and calendrical knowledge
contained in the Jesuit books and translated four mathematical works into Chinese,
including Elements by Euclid (Wills, 2011). According to Wong (2014), Xu argued
that China could learn from the West and considered that ‘translation was
instrumental in the dissemination and acceptance of Western science’ (p. 556). Other
bilingual converts like Li Zhizao were also completely engrossed in translating
various works of Jesuits on astronomy, geography, and mathematics into Chinese
(Wong, 2014).
21
These scholarly translators served an important middleman role to translate
modern Western science concepts into Chinese and then spread them through printing
to the elite scholars (Chen, 2014; Wills, 2011). To borrow Chen’s (2014) account,
they played a role of building up a perception of superiority in the Western science
and mathematics within the eyes of the Chinese intellectuals regarding western
culture and knowledge. At the same time, adopting native Chinese terminologies and
frameworks while translating the works of Jesuit scholars enabled those translators to
intermediate the processes of synthesize of the Western and Chinese science and,
therefore, the assimilation of Western knowledge (Wong 2014). This allowed for the
communication and dissemination of knowledge across the two cultures through their
agency as interpreters and translators.
Impact of Imperial Court Dynamics on Scientific Reception
Emperor's attitude towards Western learning and its consequences
From what the emperors in China hold about the Western learning, a number of
effects have been realised in the course of its history. In the broad sense, Chinese
rulers translated "… Although the Chinese did not endeavour to emulate the West in
any way…” Both extremes existed; from supporting and promoting the transmission
of Western ideas, to prohibiting and rejecting them. Such fluctuations in imperial
policy for procuring external knowledge in sociology affect the sociocultural,
technology, politics, and economic change in China.
When Europe began direct contact with China in sixteenth – seventeenth
centuries the emperors of Ming dynasty encouraged the combination of Western
technology, science, mathematics and religion together with traditional Chinese
22
culture (Spence, 2013). This attitude fostered successful reciprocation and
acclimatization where such Chinese acquired improved understanding of subjects like
astronomy from the missionaries and merchant counterparts while the other way
round the foreigners learnt about Chinese architecture, porcelain and epistemology
(Spence, 2013). However, such mutual openness reduced in the eighteenth century
with leaders who were parasitic, they banned teachings on ideas such as Catholicism
which they deemed as a threat to their imperialism (Dreyer, 2016). Such a shift and
vigorous defense against ideas that were on the verge of entering China was also had
negative impact and interfered with the positive China’s interaction with the West.
It was also preceded by occasional infestation of western ideas into the country
through strange ways owing to the conventionalist governments of the Qing period
though they lacked formal support and therefore their depth and scope were limited. It
was only during the Opium Wars interactions, the key reformist officials managed to
convince the successive emperrs to shun the isolationist thoughts, the last emperor
responsible for extensive learning from overseas (Spence, 2013). This wise action
made it possible for programs to acquire up to date western education from
steamships to electricity making it the period of intensive nation building. On the
other hand, such a drastically switched position also signaled the fact that past
opportunities of gradual and balanced adoption of foreign models were missed –
instead, Chinese went through extremely accelerated and forced processes of
modernization to make up for the lost ground.
Consequently, it can be argued that fluctuations in the Luzerne Succession
between the successive rulers’ positions regarding how to treat the problem of
interaction and incorporation of outside information produced lasting effects. Phases
of openness and inter-state interactions were succeeded by a limited growth and
23
integration phases and isolated, xenophobic phases entailed limited development and
a clearly hard time when relations were resumed. If the tone had been less radical and
more constant from the side of the imperialistic power China might have experienced
a longer lasting process of development on the basis of the new ways of thinking in
sciences and politics drawn from the encounter with the West. Hence, centuries-long
multifaceted relationships with external ideas evolved from the Chinese emperor’s
multiple transformations, and cognitive liberation from the static national identities
predominating the Song period narrative.
Resistance from traditional court astronomers to Jesuit methods
In 16th and 17th century the ‘Jesuit astronomers’ started introducing better
approaches towards the observations and supported the theory of heliocentrism
namely despite opposition by the traditional court astronomers who favored
geocentrism and conventional observations and measurement (Dreyer, 1953). This
was due to disparities in cosmological beliefs as well as conflict of the new social
order of the Jesuits with the old scholarly class.
When Jesuit order become more influential they introduced new astronomy
science which was heresie in the plotmaic system. For example when teaching the
new Gregorian calendar developed by Clavius he assisted to further enhance the mode
of determining positions of stars. In the similar manner, Giovanni Riccioli discussed
and formalized the use of telescopic sights for increasing the quality of observations
as did Mary Somerville for astronomy (Granney, 2012). Such methods made it
possible to measure planetary motions that were in contrasting with the geocentric
model advanced by Ptolemy. Nevertheless, universities sided with Ptolemy due to
prejudices of idolizing ancient Greek Scholars and there was anti-Jesuit sentiment at
24
period (Kuhn, 1957). Some of the court astronomers like Tycho Brahe had to continue
supporting old geo-heliocentric systems because of prejudice and pressure of the state
and to keep their jobs as Copernicanism gained popularity.
The same was the case with observational instruments whereby jesuits accepted
the telescope, and traditional astronomers rejected it. For instance the earlier episodes
of what could be described as astronomical explorations by Galileo using the
telescope were resisted by court philosopher Cesare Cremonini of Padua as noted by
Biagioli in 1993. They asserted that naked eye observation was legal since time
inalienable while the telescope was questionable because of a doubt addition. But
some of the Jesuits for instance Orazio Grassi used the instrument in the observation
of the sunspots that made it to add more force to the advocacy of the model (Reeves
& Van Helden, 2010). Which were enforced by not adopting the telescope as well; all
of these contributed to the opinion that universities continued to set rather
conservative directions, because they sought to uphold conservative frameworks of
hierarchy.
Furthermore, the disciplinal and control issues raised the concerns on analysing
data even higher. Elaborate mathematic astronomical models were put forward by
Jesuits after Copernicus as put by Danielson (1960). This was in contrast with the
descriptive methods as used by traditional court philosophers who were not very
systematic. It is also important to note that due to the strict structure of the jesuit
educational system heliocentrism was also spread through the spread of their schools
and through their printed materials (Harris, 2004). The traditional scholars of
universities started developing anger seeing a disciplined and innovative group of
Jesuits as intruding into what they considered as their exclusive academic sphere. In
25
the debates that took place, one realized that in attempting to consider the subject in
terms of the methodology when in fact it was power contestation.
Therefore, opposition to Jesuit astronomy was due to a conflict of cosmology as
traditional scholars struggled to uphold fading Ptolemaic concepts. But at the same
time, the debates were fights for establishing hegemony and authority in the midst of
blurring disciplinary lines. Although Jesuits contributed toward a productive
revolution of approaches and paradigms, the resistance from court scholars prevented
the adaption of heliocentrism and a conflict between the new and the old, between
progress and stagnation, extended across the European territory.
Political considerations in adopting or rejecting Jesuit science
Politics and science have always had a close yet somewhat uneasy partnership.
This is well illustrated in the analysis of Jesuit science and politics of its practice or
otherwise across regions and certain eras. The Society of Jesus or Jesuits became
critical players in the processes of generating scientific knowledge in the 16th-18th
centuries. Being one of the most significant Catholic religious orders related to Rome,
the scientific activity of Jesuit scholars was conditioned by political processes
(O’Malley, 2015).
In the context of the Renaissance period, the Catholic church sought to regain its
ideological control of the European world that had been threatened by the
Reformation and the challenges to the papacy. In this context, the growth of the Jesuit
science was supported by the institutional authorities as a means of proving that
Catholics were as intelligent as they were portrayed by the Protestants (Feingold,
2010). Reason and observation of the natural world and the empirical study of nature
26
was considered to be an effective apologetic tool that can gain the society’s cultural
capital and defend against charges of superstition and religious influence. Feingold
(2004) has pointed out that “The Jesuits consciously saw science as a tool of
evangelism” (p. 39). Through astronomy and publication of scientific treatises, they
provided tangible evidence in support of their faith tradition. Therefore, Jesuit science
was first of all born in the context of a theologically motivated political necessity.
The propagation and absorption of scientific ideas framed within the Jesuit
context were always conditioned by anti-Catholic perceptions in the areas that were
predominantly Protestant. Science produced by the Jesuits was barely acknowledged
or outright dismissed irrespective of its merit in countries like England (Feingold,
2010). Political rivalry and religious prejudice hindered the uptake of what was
deemed a questionable Catholic venture meant for expansionist religious goals. Thus,
during this period, the decision to accept or reject Jesuit science was as likely to be
associated with a person’s denomination as it was with the empirical foundations of
the arguments.
Wright (2004) opined that the Catholic countries had permitted Jesuit scientists
freedom and patronage for their research through princes’ privilege and papal
approval (p. 82). However, in the subsequent centuries, with the advent of
Enlightenment principles, and their impact on the monarchs and bishops, there
emerged exclusively Baconian assumptions regarding the scientific activity as a non-
religious pursuit. The direct association of science with metaphysical views, which
was so evident in the Jesuit tradition, became an issue as conflicting with ideas of
skepticism and emotional neutrality.
27
Thus, Jesuit science came into a decline and political support was no longer
provided for. According to Lennox (2021), radical enlightenment thinkers
unjustifiably portrayed the Jesuits as “‘peddlers of superstition’ who were fatally wed
to superstitious theology, not mechanistic cause” (p 150). In this intellectual context,
once sponsored Jesuit institutions were suppressed or forced to adopt the more
empiricist scientific values stripped from religious framework. New sources of
cultural authority related to rapidly progressing secularization processes marginalized
Jesuit science on the political level.
IV. Integration of Jesuit Science into Chinese Educational System
Compatibility of Western science with Chinese examination curriculum
The innovation of the Western scientific concepts and approaches in the context
of the traditional Chinese examination system has been a gradual process for the last
century. This integration seeks to increase the quality of education offered in China
through introducing the learners to more ‘open and flexible’ perspectives an aspect
that is considered to be in congruent with international standards (Zhang, 2013).
However, combining these two systems has not been easy because they are based on
different values and different perception of the world.
The keju examination system hegemonized Chinese education for more than one
thousand years until it was dismantled towards the termination of the Qing dynasty in
1905 (Elman, 2000). This system was founded on the mastery and replication of
learning from the Confucian classics through ‘orthodox interpretation and precisely
stylized writing’ (Elman, 2013, p. 5). The content was highly literary, philosophical,
and governmental, although it was not scientific, mathematical, or practical in terms
28
of statecraft (Widmer, 2006). On the other hand, education from the western part
especially from the ancient Greeks’ believed in reason, arguments, experiments, and
natural laws that governed the physical world (Queen & King, 2014).
Attempts to translate and introduce Western science into Chinese education
started in 1862 with the foundation of the Jiangnan Arsenal and related schools
(Dikötter, 1992). This introduced Chinese students to modern science while retaining
the keju examination in the format of Confucianism. Subjects such as mathematics,
physics, chemistry, biology, and western history and social sciences became part of
standardized tests, but classical texts continued to prevail until after 1905 (Furth,
1976). However, up to date, China’s gaokao university entrance exam allocates 20-
30% of scores in required courses for political and Chinese language/literature
materials (Zhao, 2014).
China has been more successful in the technical assimilation of modern science
into the mandatory examinations, but the conflict in values and what constitutes valid
knowledge remains a steady producer of incompatibilities. On the other hand,
scientism and skepticism of the Western tradition clash with Sinocentric correctness
(Hayhoe & Zha, 2006). Also, the concept of authority, human and nature interactions,
the balance between order and freedom, and individualism and collectivism define the
differences in the form and function of examinations in each system of education
(Huang, 2013; Murphy, 1987). when we look beyond syllabi similarities and
similarities in curriculum content, there exists deeper chasms of ontological discord.
These challenges can only be surmounted if one goes beyond the process of
simply translating Western science into Chinese and implementing it within
contemporaneous frameworks. The open and healthy communication between the two
29
cultures creates a way through which the two can arrive at a synthesis and
complementarity (Du, 2022). There is tension under pressure to align school exams
with archaic or conventional cultural values that negate the authority of useful
advancements from other schools of thought (Bai, 2018). Du (2018) conclude that
sustaining such complex dynamics remains a thorny issue in the assimilation between
Western science and Chinese examination system.
Incorporation of Jesuit mathematics in civil service tests
The societal integration of Jesuit mathematics in civil service examinations has a
rather less idealistic history that is otherwise implicated with issues of justice for the
poor concerning their entitlement to the public service employment prospects. The
Catholic order known as the Jesuits were formed in the year 1540 and they assumed a
leading role in education and curricula, special concentration was placed on
humanities as well as natural philosophy including math (Clements, 2016). Some of
the great personalities of the past were products of Jesuit educational system.
However, critics have deplored these quasi-mathematical problems that are as old as
the Jesuit textbooks to claim that they place test takers from prestigious universities at
an advantage especially those problem solvers who solved problems, not beyond high
school mathematics, while putting the others at a disadvantage (Rury & Saatcioglu,
2021).
Some of the criticisms leveled are that the failure by the public sector employer
using Jesuit mathematics to exclude standardized tests for job applicants is a move
that regressive and limits diversity and equal opportunity. The early twentieth-century
Progressives noted that such tests served the interest of the prep schools’ clients
preparing for obscure math questions unrelated to most government employment
30
while excluding immigrants and working-class individuals from civil services
(Paufler, 2018). In this regard, without minimizing the Jesuit pedagogical tradition as
an intellectually stimulating formation of system education, it could be argued that it
has been relatively more helpful or otherwise to privileged social or class formations
at different times. Instead of receiving equal secondarites education which would start
them on the fundamentals of the mathematics which would remain the preserve of the
social upper echelon and future clergy, Clements (2016). It is also crucial to
remember that when designing civil service, tests assume this level of esoteric,
mathematical knowledge thereby meaning that discrimination is bound to be inherent.
However critics have argued that Jesuit mathematics can also uphold standards
that are reasonable to apply analytic functions within the contexts of government and
politics. Devotees profess that concepts from the most frequently cited Renaissance
and Enlightenment Jesuit mathematicians hold first sounding logical reasoning
capacity for public administration (Paufler, 2018). standardized testing is merit based
and free from biases that may characterize the manner of subjective assessment.
Utilization of Jesuit approach brings the representatives of the contemporary civilized
world closer to the humanistic philosophical patrimony that shaped the West. Such
assumption might spur the removal of such concepts, and consequently results in a
decrease in standards and analytical skills in a working bureaucracy (Rury &
Saatcioglu, 2021).
Debates among Chinese scholars on merits of Jesuit scientific texts
The scientific texts and the knowledge along with the Jesuits being brought to
China starting with the 16th century spurred discussions among Chinese scholars.
Thus the Chinese were subjected to these foreign ideas and theories about nature
31
which slowly encroached a traditional China. As for the arrivals of these western
scientists, some scholars regarded it as beneficial and the offerings brought in as
positive contribution. They liked new Western calendar, astronomy and geography
and even stated that the system and methods of the western scholars were more
logical than the Chinese. There were several such personalities and one of them was
the Chinese astronomer and mathematician named Li Zhizao who combined several
of the western theories and more or less named the result as the translation of this new
system by the Jesuits. He then employed what he translated as well as what he
understood so as to impart his knowledge to others.
However, the scholars who claimed in tradition Chinese teachings also had
some qualms to raise about Jesuit science. Jesuit scientists placed the Earth at the
centre of the universe and this was contrary to the Confucian view of the order in the
heavens. Nevertheless, some of ideas proposed by Jesuit geologists were considered
provoking and even close to heresy related to their texts. For instance, Matteo Ricci
rejected outright the representation a square paradigm with cardinal points. Relatively
to more orthodox Confucian scholars, these differences looked as if they were
provoking the anger of heaven while not only that, but they also seemed to be
challenging the Intellect of the Jesuit masters.
One matter which was a subject of concern was whether China should replace
the Jesuit imports of science and philosophy. These advocates proclaimed Li Zhizao
who noted that China meant to be assimilated completely into what was portrayed as
‘Western’ civilization; this advocator even had the audacity to brand what the Chinese
scholars of the time used as “unreliable” when contrasted with “the splendid European
modes. ” Opposition was adamant that importation of the Jesuit knowledge
encroached on the Chinese norms. Instead, they suggested that it is possible to follow
32
the syncretism model in which the Jesuit and Chinese knowledge would be mutually
incorporated. This path does not have the schools denying the success of either
tradition.
Since that time, the science of the Jesuits has been of inestimable value which
has given a great deal of food for thought and controversy. Still today the texts are in
some ways being heralded for their scholarly integrity or preposterously counter
posed to nascent, incalculable cultural repercussions of their application. This is
complex narrative with many a subsidiary plot and I believe is still a valuable history
in China’s reception to foreign concepts.
Reception of Jesuit Technological Innovations in Ming China
Chinese responses to Jesuit mechanical devices and clockwork
The clockwork technology as well as other mechanical devices were in fact
brought to the far east by missionaries such as the Jesuits who arrived in china in the
16th century. Most of these devices many of which were previously unknown in
China elicited various responses from Chinese scholars and officials. People
responded with wide-eyed interest, true admiration, and belief as well as with scorn
and disbelief.
Among the wide array of items that elicited a lot of controversy, there was the
‘’Telling Time’’ group under which European clocks and other artifacts fell into.
However, as historian Jonathan S. Spence was able to ascertain that “the Jesuits were
very particular on their gifting of good clocks to the officials”. These were clocks that
utilised gears, springs and pendulums all of which were rooted in mechanical
33
principles which the Chinese lacked adequate knowledge of. For some Chinese
recipients the clocks produced “a kind of amazed delight” reflecting on the fact that
they were able to see the intricate mechanical working (P. 43, Spence 1984). However,
others observed the clocks with some ‘a measure of fear and distrust,’ they seemed to
be alien like and had a certain pulse or life like vitality (Spence, 1984 p. 43).
Other mechanical items that the Jesuits imported are clocks, music toys,
hydraulic presses, cannon and other armaments, astronomical novelties among others.
Historian, Joanna Waley-Cohen has noted that these were ‘products that no one in
China could duplicate’ (1993: 330). Some Chinese were really surprised by the extent
of European mastery in the design of such equipment. It is said even the Kangxi
Emperor kept a music box by his bed and preferred the new sound, (Waley-Cohen,
1993). Part and parcel of the imperial court understood the devices as mere trifles, as
the manifestations of the superfluous ostentation that cannot be connected to the
productive wisdom whatsoever.
The skeptical approach to the European mechanical novelties was partially
caused by Confucian disdain of mechanical devices with no apparent utilitarian
purpose. Referring to the words of the historian N. Standaert (1994) the Confucians
did not found investigation of ‘curious trifles’ useful and an important part of the
educational process paying much attention to the study of ethical texts and self-
cultivation (p. 683). Furthermore, because of the Neo-Confucian education that the
officials received, they placed essentially no value on profit and special vocational
preparation.
Regarding the responses of the Buddhist and Daoist, some of the monks said
that they appreciated the engineering issues applied in the movie. But others labelled
34
the clocks and devices ‘deluding toys’ as they take the attention of individuals from
religious life (Spence, 1984, p. 44). The attitudes of people were also regarded as
diversified; however, there were still numerous common populace that still identified
themselves as Chinese. Regarding some of the ordinary people, these novelties
created wonder and entertainment. But as far as it is pointed out, Spence (1984)
indicates that poorer groups perhaps have associated the mechanical peculiarities with
the world of the warlock and conjurer 44.
The adoption and adaptation of Jesuit cartography techniques
The Jesuit order has been mainly known for the missionary work and yet the
members of this order were scientists as well who were involved in matters such as
mapping in the 16th-18th century. The Jesuits who wanted to spread Christianity to
the unknown world went around China, India, and the Americas and in the process of
evangelization, they were able to draw maps of the unknown territories as viewed by
the Europeans (O’Neill & Majozo, 2017). Other religious orders, travelers, traders
and in the final analysis, imperialists of sundry European nations borrowed the
features of Jesuit cartography and changed it to suit their requirements.
One of the acute precursors of the Jesuit cartographic tradition was Matteo Ricci
who was well acquainted with the Chinese language and Confucianism while being in
China during the ruling of the Ming dynasty. Such an exposure to Chinese language
and culture enabled Ricci to build rapport with Chinese mandarins and padres thereby
allowing him to produce a detailed map of China which has not been made before
(Laven, 2020). In changing the Chinese way of using grid systems Ricci used the
European way of illustrating the terrains and waters in a more realistic way (Wright,
2020). Ricci also changed the language – besides the Chinese characters he used also
35
the European symbols in the maps that were supposed to be seen by two distinct
groups of people. Contrary to other maps depicting the other civilizations based on the
Europeans’ acquisition of knowledge, these maps by Ricci were not impervious to
Chinese epistemologies. As a result of such intercultural engagement new concerns
emerged about the ethnographic portrayal of native peoples.
Like Ricci in China, the Augustinians in Mexico melted with the Aztec society
to a maximum with the use of Nahuatl language and collaborating with Aztec
informants to create Uppsala Map in mid-sixteenth century (Chaparro, 2019). This
map also described the Aztec calendric and numerical systems of identifying how
their notion of time and space was more dimensional than the time line of axis as
perceived in Europe. The Map was revolutionary because it was flow of knowledge
and technique of two different civilization in fact two different world. On the same
note at New France, more missions like that of Francois Xavier Charlevoix
incorporated the indigenous maps such as the Mi’kmaq “soup bowl map” which used
kernels as symbols (Herb, 2016). It was later used in by the British American
colonists and explorers up to the 18th century to trade and acquire leas and cessions of
the land from the natives (Offen, 2015, p. 395).
Notably, Godinho and Dias followed Ricci’s accuracy, cultural understanding
and evangelism purposes to create maps and globes evidencing the newly acquired
civilizations and geography of India, China, Japan, and Ethiopia as part of the
ongoing evangelization (Wright, 2020). In Europe, during the 17th century, globes
and Mappa Mundi were among the assets of the nobles like the Duke of Florence and
the French King Louis IV who appreciated their importance in depicting the outlines
of the continents, seas, and newly discovered territories as European seaborne powers
competed to establish overseas colonies and dominion over trade routes from Europe
36
to Asia via the sea (Chaparro 2019). This history illustrates how far reaching Jesuit
developments in ethnographic cartography were on early modern exploration,
commerce, and intercultural relations between distant societies starting in the 16th
century.
The evaluation of Jesuit contributions to Chinese military technology
The first jesuits got to china in 16th century and if they had come with an agenda
of converting Chinese’s to Christianity (Spence 1997). Besides evangelization and
conversion they attempted to study Chinese culture, understand it and become
familiar with it as far as it was possible for the Europeans. This included providing
inputs in the sciences and in technology that may be useful to the imperial Chinese
military (Hsiung, 2009). An examination and evaluation of those military technology
transfers and their impacts further enlightens the current understanding of the
complex-jesuit policies of china and why the Chinese state was accepting of some of
these technologies but not others.
According to the words of many scholars, through Matteo Ricci Chinese got
new strategic knowledge and techniques in formation from the Jesuit scientific and
humanistic education of the Ming dynasty (Lorge, 2012: Hsia, 2010). Ricci came with
books in Chinese, translated works in astronomy, mathematics and cartography
among others, mechanical clocks, prisms and maps which were developed using
European techniques that the Chinese were unaware of. They made a significant
37
contribution to the advancement of knowledge of Europe, while the same kind of
knowledge later transferred by the same method at the later Jesuit definitely served
the purpose of the new comers, the Qing dynasty in the seventeenth century military
strategy.
Another Jesuit in the same year was Adam Schall von Bell who joined another
elite stratum of chinese society, the Chinese Board of Astronomy during reign of the
early Qing ruler Shi Zong (Brockey, 2007). From his European education in
astronomy Schall introduced logarithms, new methods of star mapping and correct
calendars to the Qing through better use of mathematics and better observation of
cosmological events (Lorge, 2014). This made it easier for Schall and the Jesuits
under him to make better conjectures on all the events such as eclipse, seasons and
many other astronomical phenomenon that the Chinese dynasties believed were
attributed to their right to reign (Chang, 2015). Lorge (2014) assert that this indicates
the new Manchu Qing dynasty required better and precise calendars in order to add
better authority and durability to the new dynasty. Schall’s (2014) work was a lot to
help in the improvement of the Qing military control and authority. The Qing also
generalized the use of method from the Jesuits in other discipline such as mapping in
order to come up with better maps of their territory and the movement of their
competitor such as the last outpost of the Ming in the south (Withers, 2015).
Therefore while the Jesuits might had been believe that they provided services of
spiritual direction their services were crucial in enabling the Manchu to take over and
dominate the Chinese.
Besides the political and military utilization of Jesuit knowledge concerning
astronomy, some scholars have recently re-examined the direct contributions of
certain Jesuits to the military and technological modernization of the Qing dynasty.
38
Most significantly, the recent archaeological study by King, a historian has studied the
life of Neirmann who, an 18th century Bohemian Jesuit and known in China as Nan
Huairen. She is able to prove that Neirmann not only wrote books about various
subjects and composed treatises on subjects such as geometry and artillery for the
elite consumption in Qing China but was also involved in the production and design
of cannons, which led to the advanced types of weapons used in the Qing dynasty that
includes multiple types of cannons (King, 2011). According to King, this complicates
the conventional approach of distinguishing between Jesuits such as Neirmann who
merely offered conceptual education instead of a direct military support. As we assess
the remaining relics such as the Baodi cannon, it is now clear that Neirmann used his
mathematical skills to the maximum together with the local Chinese to provide the
Qing with one of the best artillery of the time (2011). Therefore, a number of
historians believe that at least some Jesuits deliberately used their profound erudition
to increase the potential of the Qing armies.
These examples create a very dynamic relationship where Jesuits with the
purpose of sharing Christian mentality and principles built strong relations with the
Chinese elites and helped develop various types of knowledge and technology in
order to gain acceptance, confidence and opportunities to continue their mission of
evangelization (Wills, 2011). However, as Withers (2015) and Lorge (2014) pointed
out, it is obvious that the late Ming and especially Qing rulers used these Jesuit
offering in astronomy, mathematics, mechanics, and metallurgy for great military
advantage instead of pure-hearted religious conversion. Thus the Jesuits were ready to
provide military useful knowledge even if it strengthens the powers which are against
their religion. Analyzing this transfer of knowledge and technology show the utility
that even scientifically inclined missionaries provided for dynastic states. From the
39
Chinese perspective, the Jesuits provided the missing and the additional information
to enhance the existing practical rationality that supported imperial authority and
domination, providing the justification and the power required for nation operation
according to the Chinese political philosophy (Mungello, 2009). Thus, in these areas,
Jesuit offerings were complementary to the elite state interests regardless of the
evangelizing intentions. However, the Chinese court both restrained and even rejected
some aspects of Jesuit activity that posed a greater threat to Chinese belief systems
and social order. This included persecuting Chinese converts and rationalizing
elements of the Jesuit doctrine against the state’s ideological stance (Mungello, 2009).
In this way, late imperial Chinese governments could get the best out of Jesuit
knowledge transference for warfare strength and at the same time avoid more cultural
impact which was considered as more subversive.
Therefore, the assessment of the Jesuit engagement with the late Ming and Qing
dynasties reflects a mutually beneficial process in which Jesuits brought about
significant enhancements in Chinese military power with reference to astronomy,
cartography, weapons and other areas that stemmed from Jesuit’s academic expertise.
From state investment in advanced cannons to accurate calculations of lunar eclipses
necessary for political legitimacy, Jesuits consciously as well as unconsciously aided
the imperialist early Qing (Spence, 1997; Chang, 2015). These probably went beyond
or even negated the evangelization purposes but were used by Chinese regimes to
enhance military applications. At the same time, the same rulers maintained these
exchanges circumscribed—excluding the penetration of Christianity within China
while depending on other products of Jesuit learning ( Mungello, 2009). This intricate
relation demonstrates that two seemingly antithetical groups were capable of deep
merging and reciprocation, or rather, barter, albeit, uneven. Thus, only when
40
historians examine both the various aspects of knowledge transfer and power
dynamics can they fully understand the Jesuits’ diverse roles in imperial China.
Conclusion
As it has been identified there are several factors that defined the cultural
encounter of Jesuit science in China in the 16th-18th centuries. As Huang (2001) and
Brockey (2007) has noted, at the beginning of contact the Confucian scholars did not
accept the opinions of the ‘heretics’ especially in terms of astronomy and Christianity.
However, the reasonableness of the Western calendrical methods and the instruments
including the telescope gradually rid the society of ideological barriers (Spence 1990).
One of the reasons was that it [the belief system of the catholic church] was similar to
the belief system presented by Jesuit natural theology and this included the Chinese
concept of tian or ‘heaven’.
First, like most of their Confucian counterparts, dismissed Jesuit science as a
threat to classical Chinese cosmologies (Elman, 2005). That is why the voice of one
of the magistrates in 1664 was right in view of Mathematica, meaning Western
mathematics and astronomy as it could ‘entangle the rule and destabilize the base of
the rationality. ’[Spence 1984] But applications of astronomy in demonstrations of
state occasions, along with Jesuit performances before the emperor and the literati,
turned the tide and resulted in the change in scholastic evaluations (Witek, 1994). One
of the well known examples was a contest in 1629 which observed the Jesuit
horological skills that estimated the solar eclipse and therefore was granted a imperial
approval (Spence, 1984).
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During the 18th century hundreds of Chinese books and calendars incorporated
the Western mathematical and astronomical tables along with corrections of the
gregorian calendar as observed by Clubb (1964). Prominent academicians like Mei
Wending who take amused by the novelty European gadgets patronized the new
formed Astronomical Bureau. As pointed out by Howard (2006) instead of ‘capturing’
or appropriating Chinese science, the Jesuits supported and enabled evidential
reformulations which were consistent with empirical rationalism current. These two
have been recognised by Elvin, (2004) in the modernizers like Wang Fuzhi and Gu
Yanwu. In fact, the anti-Christians also used the western ways of work since they
called the shots, and knew more of practicality than religion.
However, limitations existed. Failure to adapt and learn the language of the
societies, the culture of the society – as Wills (2011) rightly pointed out the majority
of Jesuits did not adapt to societies they were in – slowed down further interaction
(Peterson, 1995). However, concerning the basic ontological assumptions in terms of
which the science was defined – the notion of Tian and Li (principles) late imperial
china still went on importing useful know-how but remained largely untouched.
Science in the modern world would begin to develop from ontological origins in the
different fields in the latter part of the nineteenth century (Kwok, 2017).
The conflict of these two cultures reveals a lot about historical scientific
relations. As Ratto (2021) rightly concludes, while the Jesuits have sprung with the
mission to ‘proselytize’ China, they resorted to practices of accommodation that
demonstrated their utility. In return, instead of adopting or rejecting these ideas in its
entirety, the Chinese scholars conduct a critical examination of the received theories
against the Chinese frameworks and chose to assimilate only the appropriate features.
Power relations were also unequal as mentioned above but there was here local
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neoclassical creativity inasmuch as the features are prescribed for the present day
globalization. Thus, such intricate interweaving of the ‘foreign’ science, which
concerns the utility rather than the power, needs further considerations within the
context of science diplomacy.
