Background
Xu Guangqi was born in Shanghai in 1562.
Xu's father engaged in both farming and teaching to make ends meet, while his grandmother and mother augmented income with spinning and weaving.
Xu Guangqi was born in Shanghai in 1562.
Xu's father engaged in both farming and teaching to make ends meet, while his grandmother and mother augmented income with spinning and weaving.
At the age of 19, Xu Guangqi passed the first stage of the Chinese service examination system, receiving the shengyuan (bachelor) degree.
When the chief examiner Chiao Hung (1541 - 1620), concerned that Xu Guangqi could not find an outstanding candidate for the "Number One Graduate" position, began to review some of the rejected exam papers, he was surprised to find the excellent essays of Xu Guangqi.
Quickly elevated from the "failed grade" to the "Number One Position, " Xu became well-known.
But it took him another two attempts over a seven-year span before he passed the third stage jin-shi (chin-shih; doctorate) exam in 1604.
At the age of 42, he was finally qualified for higher government positions.
Division of family properties with relatives led to further impoverishment.
He became aware that the Ming dynasty was ten times weaker militarily than the Song (Sung or Soong) dynasty (960-1279) which had been conquered by the Mongols.
The question of how to make the dynasty prosperous and strong absorbed a great deal of his thinking.
According to his only son, Xu Guangqi harbored a deep sense of patriotism toward the Chinese nation.
Conversion To Catholicism By the early 17th century, the Ming dynasty was not only economically and militarily weak, but also politically corrupt.
The abilities of the emperors degenerated and the eunuchs steadily gained power.
Others searched for new answers to the old problem of dynastic decline.
Thus, the new knowledge about a distant Great West (i. e. , Europe), which the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552 - 1610) and his companions brought to China from 1583 onward, attracted the attention of a number of enlightened and patriotic Confucian scholar officials.
There were several factors involved in Xu's conversion.
Firstly, the new knowledge concerning a well-governed Europe attracted his deep interest.
Secondly, Xu admired the lifestyle of the Jesuit missionaries such as Ricci, Lazare Cattaneo (1560 - 1640), and Joao de Rocha (1566 - 1623).
Fourthly, Xu was fascinated by European science and technology which the Jesuits brought to China.
Fifthly, the Jesuit missionaries, under the leadership of Ricci, had adopted a policy of cultural accommodation vis-a-visConfucianism.
This policy had grown out of a respect for the Chinese tradition and the Sinocentric view of the world.
This policy impressed the Chinese intellectuals that Catholicism and Confucianism were complementary.
Last, but most important, the conversion of Xu Guangqi was made possible because it occurred at a time when the Chinese did not possess any first-hand knowledge of Europe.
Being an idealist, Xu was more or less convinced that a utopia existed in Europe.
During his lifetime, Xu himself seemed to have succeeded in compartmentalizing his own religious acculturation.
That is, in religious matters, he accepted the Roman Catholic faith and followed the instructions of the Jesuit fathers.
But in the field of political and social obligations to the state, he acted like a typical Confucian scholar official in his loyal service to the dynasty.
These positions gave him knowledge of the inner workings of the court; they also insulated him from the factional strife which became frequent as the dynasty weakened.
He probably knew that he was not without sympathy in the court when he defended the Jesuits against unjustified accusations in 1616.
He would also be assigned a few special duties: in 1611, he would be asked to teach Confucian classics to the eunuchs; in 1613, he would serve as a co-examiner for the jin-shi examination; and in 1617 he would be dispatched to the province of Ningxia (Ninghsia) to bestow imperial investiture on a member of the imperial family.
Efforts To Educate With Christian Teaching Before returning to Shanghai in 1607 to observe the mourning period, Xu received instructions in mathematics, astronomy, and Christian theology from Matteo Ricci.
A lasting result of their joint efforts was the preparation of a Chinese translation of the first six chapters of Euclid's Elements of Geometry which was published in May of 1607.
This translation was based on the Latin version of Euclid produced by Christopher Clavius, a famous Jesuit mathematician and Ricci's professor in Rome.
In addition, Xu wrote a postscript for a book on Christian teaching written by Ricci.
Xu wrote two booklets on the surveying method as well.
On his way to Shanghai via Nanjing (Nanking), Xu also invited Father Cattaneo to establish a Catholic church in his hometown.
Meanwhile, Xu used the mourning period to engage in agricultural enterprises.
He planted sweet potatoes, which were then introduced into China from America, and advocated their widespread planting in order to deal with drought and flood emergencies.
He promoted the seeding of turnips for food as well.
From 1611 onward, Xu continued to introduce Western scientific and technological knowledge into China.
At that time, he also made an unsuccessful bid to have the Ming court employ Jesuits to reform the Chinese lunar calendar on which many of the farm activities were based.
In 1613, securing a sick leave, he went to the area of Tianjin (Tientsin), about 100 miles from Beijing, to establish a 120-acre (800 mou) experimental farm.
While there, he tried new methods of reclamation, irrigation, and flood control.
Protecting The Jesuits In July of 1616, Xu was quickly recalled to the capital.
Private church services and rapid conversions had fostered suspicions of secret aims.
Xu boldly defended the missionaries, offering to receive punishment himself should there be any truth in the false charges.
His petition to the throne, the Pien-hsüeh chang-su (Memorial on Western Teachings), is the most important document in the early history of the Chinese Catholic Church.
Eventually Xu, together with Li Zhizao and Yang Tingyun, were able to protect those Jesuits who were not involved in the Nanjing episode.
The rumors were false, however, and no attack occurred.
Then the Manchu-Qing tribes began to threaten the Ming dynasty's mandate to rule China.
As a consequence, Xu was forced to retire to his hometown in Shanghai, and he returned to his agricultural studies.
It was during those years that he compiled the Nung-cheng chuan-shu (Complete Treatise on Agriculture) which became one of the five most important works on agriculture in Chinese history.
He also published his recollections concerning the throne, and its dealings with the Manchu threat, under the title Hsü-shih pao-yen (Xu's Private Thoughts).
Copies of this book were later destroyed during the literary inquisition ordered by the Manchu Emperor Qianlong (Ch'ien-lung; r. 1736 - 96).
Fortunately, a rare copy was kept in the French Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and was reprinted in 1933 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of Xu Guangqi.
From Retirement To Politics Xu ended his years of forced retirement in 1628 after the Chong Zhen emperor, the last Ming ruler, ascended the throne.
In completing the reform of the Chinese calendar from 1629 until his death in 1633, he earned the perpetual gratitude of the Chinese people.
In that task, he brought in the Jesuits to help.
He not only safeguarded their positions in China but also paved the way for the German Jesuit Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591 - 1666) to become influential in the early Manchu dynasty.
Under Xu's direction, the Jesuits and their Chinese co-workers translated Western books on astronomy into Chinese, designed new astronomical instruments, calculated the movements of the celestial bodies, and produced a new system of Chinese lunar calendar which was in use officially from the mid-17th to the early years of the 20th century.
Unofficially, this calendar is still referred to today when Chinese people everywhere in the world celebrate the annual lunar New Year's Day.
Xu again urged the use of Western cannons and firearms to cope with the Manchu threat.
He also suggested the training of new armies and the enlistment of Portuguese soldiers.
The fall of the Ming dynasty could be partially traced to the fact that such measures as proposed by Xu were not implemented.
Xu also recommended that the Calendrical Bureau be transformed into a sort of Science Academy, this also was not accepted by the imperial court.
Had this proposal been acted upon, Chinese science nd technology would not have been so behind the Western world when the Opium War broke out in 1839.
"Heaven Religion" meant Catholicism.
This work, which consisted of 20 previously published titles written by the Jesuit missionaries and their Chinese collaborators, deals with various religious and scientific subjects.
It stands out as a great landmark in the history of Sino-Western relations and a permanent tribute not only to Matteo Ricci and his Jesuit companions, but also to learned Chinese Catholics of the early 17th century.
His descendants continued to be active in the Catholic Church in China.
Xu Guangqi married Wu.