Xu Guangqi

Xu Guangqi (simplified Chinese: 徐光启; traditional Chinese: 徐光啟; pinyin: Xú Guāngqǐ; 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.

Early life

Xu Guangqi was born into a relatively poor family in Shanghai on April 24, 1562. His father, Xu Sicheng, was in 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 (礼部尚书)(minister for culture, education, foreign affairs, etc.) and Deputy Senior Grand Secretary (内阁次辅)(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.