China: Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Anonymous 17th century painting.
China: Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Anonymous 17th century painting.
Xu Guangqi (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???; pinyin: Xú Guangqi; April 24, 1562 – November 8, 1633), who later adopted the baptismal name Paul (simplified Chinese: ??; traditional Chinese: ??), was a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of Euclid's Elements. He was also the author of the Nong Zheng Quan Shu, one of the first comprehensive treatises on the subject of agriculture. He was one of the 'Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism'.
Crédito:
Album / Pictures from History/Universal Images Group