What did the Western missionaries bring to us?

China and Europe have a long history of interaction, but in Europe and Asia to Confucianism as the core of Chinese traditional culture and the Greek-Latin and Christian culture of Western culture is basically an independent development of two different spiritual and cultural achievements, the first time these two cultures began to really communicate in history should be in the Ming and Qing Dynasty after the opening of the New Voyages, the bridge between the two worlds of spiritual interaction and communication is the Jesuits as the main Western Catholic missionaries, out of religious zeal and devotion to religion, in order to bring God to the world, and the Western missionaries have brought to the world. The bridge between the two worlds was built by the Jesuits as the main body of the Western Catholic missionaries, who, out of religious zeal and devotion to religion, sent themselves to China in order to spread the Gospel of God to China. In order to get twice the result with half the effort in missionary work, and to eliminate the alienation and suspicion of the Chinese people towards the Western religion, they often used the Western mathematics, astronomy, physics, geology, military technology and other modern scientific knowledge as the medium of missionary work, and thus objectively undertook the historical mission of cultural ambassador of the East to the West.

From the 16th century, along with the geographical discovery, western merchants and missionaries came to China, realizing the yearning, longing and pursuit of the East that had been aroused in the western society since the introduction of Marco Polo's Travels. Among the Western missionaries who came to China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Matteo Ricci was undoubtedly one of the most important, and the intellectual missionary policy he established played a very important role in the formation of the situation of the eastward gradation of Western learning during the Ming and Qing dynasties. From 1583 to 1610, during his twenty-eight years in China, Matteo Ricci was able to carry Western culture into the court and the scholars' group, and to find soulmates among the Chinese scholars and celebrities, establishing an extremely wide social connection that no previous missionary could match. The reason why Matteo Ricci was able to gain a foothold in the Chinese high society and make the Chinese scholarly class happy to interact with him was mainly based on his deep understanding of Chinese traditional culture. Matteo Ricci was y aware of the fact that the Chinese people and Chinese society he approached had already possessed a high degree of spiritual civilization and complex social relations, and that in respect of "the political system and scholarly arts and crafts, they not only regarded the other nations as barbarians, but also as the most important and most important of all. In terms of "political systems and academic arts, they not only regarded other peoples as barbarians, but also as irrational animals" (Ricci's Notes on China (above), p. 13). It was an extremely challenging task to make Western religious ideas accepted and understood by the Chinese scholars who revered authority and orthodoxy. On the one hand, he tried his best to adapt the Catholic liturgy to the Chinese social customs and to find a point of convergence between Christian thought and Confucianism; on the other hand, he benefited to a large extent from the intellectual missionary policy he established, for he realized that China was a land of respect for learning and knowledge. Therefore, he paid particular attention to the dissemination of mathematical and scientific knowledge in his missionary work, often using Western scientific knowledge such as astronomy, geography, and physics as a stepping stone to friendship with Chinese scribes, courtiers, and court rooms. As they recognized, "The first impressions of Christianity among the Chinese scholars were closely connected with the scientific knowledge of their lives, but the excellence of the sciences had the additional effect of causing them to accept the humility necessary for the new faith of a foreigner, in order to relieve the arrogant nation of the yoke of its psychological superiority." Based on the above understanding and strategy, it thus enabled him to achieve great success in spreading Western learning to the East.

In 1584, Matteo Ricci made the first world map in Zhaoqing, that is, the "Kun Bi Wan Guo Quan Tu", and then offered it to Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, the map is painted with the number of latitude and longitude, the equator, the five belts and the note of the countries and customs, for the first time, in front of the Chinese people to show a full picture of the world, and promote the Western astronomical calendar, mechanical engineering, military technology and so on to China. Feng Yingjing, a man of the time, said in a tone of admiration, "Lizi traveled 80,000 miles around, measuring nine heavens high and nine abysses deep, and all of them were not cool to the slightest detail." Thus, scientific knowledge became the key to open the spiritual world of Chinese scholars by western missionaries, and also became the introduction of western learning to the east.

Many of the scribes of the Ming and Qing dynasties were Catholics, the most famous of whom were the three pillars of Chinese Catholicism -- Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and Yang Yanjun. An important root cause of the conversion of the scholars was the attraction of Western science. From the arrival of Matteo Ricci in the sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, the Jesuits, while preaching religious theology, translated and introduced a considerable number of works on astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, medicine, botany and zoology. There are about 370 kinds of Chinese translations, and about 120 kinds of scientific translations (Hou Weilu, "A General History of Chinese Thought", Volume 4, Book 2, P1246, P1255). The term "western science" came with this activity, from the beginning of the missionaries to translate western science at the same time, the Chinese clergymen actively cooperated for the sake of the world. 1606 Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci cooperated in the translation of the "Geometry of the original", which contained the western rigorous scientific method of logical reasoning; Li Zhizao and Matteo Ricci cooperated in the writing of the "Tongwen arithmetic finger", which contained the western scientific method of logical reasoning. In 1606, Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci collaborated on the translation of the Geometrical Principles, while Li Zhizao and Matteo Ricci collaborated on the Tongwen Jianzhi, and the Shaanxi native Wang Zheng (the religious name of Fei Li Bo) collaborated with the cleric Deng Yuhang on the translation and drawing of the Far Western Chihu Shuo, which was valued by academics for its introduction of Western physics and mechanical engineering. Li Zhizao in the Nanjing Taishu Temple Secretary, for the sake of the bitter heart to help the world, has been on the "please translate the Western history and other books on the疏", want to break the confinement of the closure, the full introduction of Western learning, he wrote in the oversight: "...... its book is not a special book of calendars, but also the water law things, the ingenuity of the best, with which to irrigate the fields of the transport can be a great benefit; and the book of algorithms, without the beads of the calculator. There is a book of algorithms, do not need to count the beads, raise the pen will become. There are also measured the book of hope, can measure the mountains and rivers near and far high and deep, and seven political (Note: the sun, the moon, gold, wood, water, fire, earth) of the size of the high and low, there are instrumental (Note: astronomy) of the book, can be extremely on the body of heaven and earth and its changes in the rationale of the book of ...... Gerd Reasoning, the physical matter, used to guide the beginner, there are the book of geometric originals, specializing in the square square flat and straight, to make tools for the collar. The book of geometry, specializing in squareness, roundness and straightness, was used to make tools. It can be seen that he had great respect for Western learning (the above excerpts from Fang Hao? Biographies of Chinese Catholic Historical Figures? (in Chinese) P150.)

Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao's idea of adopting Western learning has great innovative significance, but because of the xenophobia of the conservative forces in the dynasty and the blame, just blowing the wind of Western learning, stumbling in a faction of the opposition, but it truly reflects the Ming and Qing dynasties, advanced Chinese people, from Chinese and barbarians in the view of the head to accept the new knowledge of the enlightened and the courage to the development of science and technology for the injection of new vitality in China.

The Ming and Qing dynasties, to China to introduce Western military artillery technology and astronomical and calendar knowledge, and achieved significant achievements of the Jesuits Tang Ruowang, Nanhuairen.

Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming court was in urgent need of new military technology in order to fight against the Manchus in the Northeast, and at that time, only Western missionaries were able to introduce and provide China with new technology of Western artillery, and the Western Jesuits, out of their desire to promote the Church, were also extremely interested in introducing Western artillery technology into China in order to gain the recognition and support of the Chinese imperial court for their missionary work. In all the Jesuits in China, to Tang Ruowang casting performance is the most outstanding, it is reported: in July 1642, the Chongzhen Emperor through the Ministry of War Secretary secretly ordered Tang Ruowang casting cannon: "to seventy pounds of heavy artillery into a forty-pound cannon, the required materials iron, lead, red copper, mechanics, and artillery factory (located in the palace in a large square) have been prepared, Tang had to answer the order. ...... Tang Ruowang *** built twenty cannons in the forty miles from the city on a large square live firing. Eunuchs and officers stood far away, do not dare to come close, the launch was a success, the whole field of rejoicing, the sound of four." (Wei holds "Tang Ruowang biography" P162-P164, 1949 Commercial Press) Western missionaries in addition to military science, artillery technology contributed to the court, but also to the knowledge of astronomy and arithmetic into the Jesuit Tang Ruowang in the Qing troops after the entry into the customs, in the promotion of Western astronomy and arithmetic has made significant progress and achievements. Chinese dynasties, under the domination of the idea of celestial induction, the astronomical calendar as an important tool for heaven and God, which has a special body such as the Chintian Supervisor engaged in related duties, Chinese astronomical calendar, not only contains the content of the natural sciences, but also contains the selection of auspicious periods and other more humanistic and social factors, the end of the Ming Dynasty Ricci came to China, Chintian Supervisor for more than 200 years has not been changed by the "Taitung Calendar" repeatedly pushed the eclipse is not true, Ricci that is Suggested that the western astronomical calendar of the long for the Ming Dynasty to speculate on the celestial phenomenon, but was not approved. Chongzhen two years. Chintian Supervision to "Daitong", "back to" calendar projections of eclipses are wrong, the University of Xu Guangqi to the Western method of projecting the unique experience, the emperor was ordered to set up the calendar Bureau, ordered Guangqi supervised the repair of the calendar, Xu Guangqi introduced to China missionaries Long Huamin, Deng Yuxuan, Tang Ruowang, etc. to enter the calendar Bureau, the implementation of calendar action, the opening of the end of the Ming Dynasty, Western learning of the East the precursor to gradual change. After the Qing Dynasty, Tang Ruowang was still serving the new dynasty with western science and technology. In September 1644, there was a solar eclipse, and Tang Ruowang's solar eclipse was more accurate than that of the Han Chinese and the Hui calendar officials, and at the end of the year, the Qing Court approved the use of western method, and Tang Ruowang became the supervisor of the Qin Tian Supervision, which abolished the traditional Chinese calendar of nearly 2,000 years in a matter of a few months and opened up a new era in the history of Chinese astronomy. After Tang Ruowang, the Jesuit Nan Nanyan due to proficiency in Western calendar and casting Western artillery technology, and then into the Chintian Supervisor in charge of the calendar revision work, and y appreciated by the Kangxi Emperor, Kangxi to Nan Huairen as a close friend, and even "when the emperor's mood is not good, as long as the first sight of the South Master, the mood immediately turned around." Under the influence of South Huairen, Kangxi had a deep impression of Western learning, he invited foreign priests into the palace, to South Huairen to learn astronomy and calendar, to the French missionaries Zhang Cheng, Bai Jin to learn geometry, Western geography, medicine, philosophy, music, painting has been involved in everything. He had twice sent missionaries back to Europe to recruit scientific and technological personnel to come to China, and hoped that the Holy See to send proficient astronomical, legal, algorithmic, internal medicine and surgical personnel to China. Kangxi to learn Western learning, advocating Western learning, and Western learning scolded as "strange skills and tricks" of the old school bureaucrats, the Western learning to take a more enlightened attitude, and thus in the Kangxi years, Western learning, foreign for Chinese, had once become a trend.

Ming and Qing dynasties, in a group of focus on academic education of the Jesuits and China's Western religious clergymen, under the impetus of the emergence of a wave of Western learning in the Chinese academic world, which at the time of the Chinese society to bring a fresh breath of fresh air at the same time, but also caused the Chinese class of conservatives of the strenuous opposition, because the missionaries preached the theory of Christianity and the traditional concept of China's culture after all, there is a big difference and divergence, and their dissemination of scientific knowledge, and they have a great deal of time and money. Because the Christian theories preached by the missionaries and the traditional Chinese cultural concepts are after all very different and divergent, and their dissemination of scientific knowledge is only an auxiliary activity of the missionaries' missionary work, and based on the traditional Chinese and barbarians, Yang Guang, a conservative official in the early Qing Dynasty, first put forward the high tone of "It is better to make the Chinese have no good calendars, but not to make the Chinese have Westerners," and made difficulties with the Western missionaries, and then, due to the liturgical disputes within the Western churches, it enlarged the relationship between Christianity and the traditional Chinese customs and culture. Christianity and Chinese traditional customs and cultural differences, in 1704 Pope KCMG XI issued a bull, explicitly forbidding Chinese believers to sacrifice ancestors and Confucius, interference in China's internal affairs, caused by the Holy See and the Qing dynasty between the Church and the court of the divergence and conflict of religious power and imperial power, to the Yongzheng Emperor finally issued a ban on the activities of the Western missionaries in China was gradually banned, which began 120 years of prohibition of the period of the Church, the Western missionaries blew up by the Western missionaries. The "wind of Western learning" blown by Western missionaries also declined.

The Ming and Qing dynasties, the spread of Western religion through the face of science and academic experience, Western missionaries in religion, philosophy, language, astronomy, public opinion, mathematics and geography, medicine, engineering, military and all kinds of writings, such as meteors over the night sky, the impact is generally weak, as the recent Jiang Yanfei said: "In the court side -both Ming and Qing dynasties- the status of foreign missionaries is a technical expert status, the court so use them, but because they can improve the calendar and manufacture of francophone and red-coated cannon. ...... How many traces of Western scientific method and scientific knowledge can we find in the artistic and literary works of the Qian, Jia, Dao, and Xian eras?" ("Jiang Yanfei anthology" Wentai Publishing House 1962 P536) but by these religious missionaries to bring the wind of Western learning after all, also produced a bright spark to the eight shares under the system of rigidity and stereotypes of the Chinese academy, culture and thought has brought a ray of fresh air.

Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, Yang Tingjun and other generations of aspiring to help the world, accept the Western faith, but also accept the Western academic, and Western religious dedication to the spirit of modern science and the spirit of evidence and the Chinese tradition of the world of thought combined with the casting of the Ming and Qing times of the Chinese and Western academic and cultural exchanges unique socio-historical connotations, but it is a pity that these did not give rise to a spiritual movement in our country, the culture still maintains the old view of the Chinese culture. Our culture still maintains the old view, with the Qing Dynasty's century-long history of prohibition, China's intellectual world is more closed, pedantic and backward, this is the culture of sadness, but also cast the nation's sadness.

September 20, 2006