This is the first comprehensive work on one of the key figures in early Chinese-Western relations. Xu Guangqi was one of the first promoters of Western science in China, worked together with the Jesuit Matteo Ricci on translations of Western science, was one of the first Chinese converts, a high-ranking statesman, organizer of a major calendar reform, introduced Western weapons into the Chinese army, etc. etc.
His astonishingly multifarious activities are now for the first time pieced together within their (Chinese and Western) social, intellectual and cultural context. The result is a composite profile of this complex figure that is solidly anchored in Chinese (and Western) primary sources A major achievement.
'...a birdâs eye view of Himalayan languages and language communitiesâ¦a primary source for much new, hitherto unpublished data on several languages.â
Laurie M. Selters, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, 2002.
'The volume will become a standard reference work for important developments in the intellectual history of Late Imperial China.â
Ina Asim, East Asian Science, Technology and Development, 2003.
All those interested in Chinese history, China-Europe interactions, history of science, history of Christian missions, intellectual and cultural history.