Xu Guangqi
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Xu Guangqi 徐光啓 Servant of God |
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Portrait of Xu Guangqi.
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| Born |
April 24, 1562 Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture, Southern Zhili, Ming Dynasty China |
| Died | November 8, 1633 (aged 71) Beijing, Shuntian Prefecture, Northern Zhili, Ming Dynasty China |
| Resting place | Guangqi Park, Xujiahui, Xuhui District, Shanghai Municipality, China |
| Residence | Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Other names | Paulo Xu (Baptismal Name) |
| Citizenship | Ming Dynasty |
| Education | Jinshi Degree (1604) |
| Occupation | scholar-official (Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary) |
| Employer | Ming imperial court (under the Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi and Chongzhen Emperors) |
| Home town | Shanghai |
| Spouse(s) | Wu |
| Children | Xu Ji (徐驥) |
| Parent(s) | Xu Sicheng (徐思誠) (father) |
| Relatives |
Candida Xu (granddaughter) (Xu Zhun) (Xu Maheux) |
| Xu Guangqi | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 徐光啓 | ||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 徐光启 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | Xú (surname) Light-Enlightenment | ||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xú Guāngqǐ |
| Wade–Giles | Hsu Kuang-ch'i |
Candida Xu (granddaughter) (Xu Zhun)
Xu Guangqi (simplified Chinese: 徐光启; traditional Chinese: 徐光啓; pinyin: Xú Guāngqǐ; Wade–Giles: Hsü Kuang-ch'i; April 24, 1562 – November 8, 1633), who later adopted the baptismal name Paul (simplified Chinese: 保禄; traditional Chinese: 保祿), 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". His current title is Servant of God.
Xu Guangqi was born into a relatively poor family in Shanghai on April 24, 1562. His father, Xu Sicheng, was in a difficult financial situation when Guangqi was a child, and had to support the family with a small vegetable farm, but apparently still earned enough to be able to send his son to school at the age of six. Xu received the equivalent of his bachelor's degree at nineteen, but did not receive higher degrees until his thirties. Afterwards, he spent the majority of his time in positions of high office serving the Ming court. When he died, he held positions of Minister of Rites (禮部尙書)(minister for culture, education, foreign affairs, etc.) and Deputy Senior Grand Secretary (內閣次輔)(i.e. "Deputy Premier of the Cabinet"). He lived in a period when Chinese mathematics had gone into decline. The earlier efforts at algebra had been almost forgotten. Xu blamed some of the failures on a decline in interest of practical science in China and became something of a critic of Chinese society.
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