Subject: Astronomical instruments--China--History--Construction and operation

Ferdinand Verbiest and Jesuit science in 17th century China : an annotated edition and translation of the Constantinople manuscript (1676). [Xinzhi yixiang tu 新製儀象圖]
AuthorVerbiest, Ferdinand 南懷仁, 1623-1688Golvers, NoëlFerdinand Verbiest InstituteNikolaidēs, E. (Efthymios)Kentro Neoellēnikōn Ereunōn. Κέντρο Νεοελληνικών Ερευνών (Ethnikon Hidryma Ereunōn)
PlaceLeuven
PublisherFerdinand Verbiest Institute, K.U. Leuven
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageEnglish, Latin
TypeBook, Digital Book (PDF)
SeriesLeuven Chinese studies ; 19, Sources of modern Greek literature and learning ; 108
ShelfHallway Cases, Digital Archives
Call NumberQB36.V46 G65 2009
Description382 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. + pdf
Note

Ferdinand Verbiest and Jesuit science in 17th century China : an annotated edition and translation of the Constantinople manuscript (1676) / Noël Golvers and Efthymios Nicolaidis.
Jointly published: Athens : Institute for Neohellenic Research ; Leuven : Ferdinand Verbiest Institute.
In English and Latin.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 371-378) and index.

"This book contains two manuscript texts of Ferdinand Verbiest, S.J. (1623-1688), written in 1676 in Beijing to the attention of the Russian tsar, and brought by the legate Nicolas Spathary Milescu to Moscow. Both texts represent the oldest layer of the Astronomia Europaea corpus, and were until recently forgotten. Their recent discovery was in the form of a manuscript copy, which Chysanthos Notaras had made them in Moscow in 1693. The manuscripts have since then been kept in library of the Metochion of the patriarchate of Jerusalem in Constantinople. In this publication, the authors are reconstituting the Latin text, translating it in English and annotating it. In the Introduction, the manuscripts are situated within the corpus of Verbiest's Latin writings, and are depicted both the parts that were afterwards re-cycled in the well-known Compendium Latinum and Astronomia Europaea edition (Dilingen, 1687), and those that were eventually omitted. Moreover, the story of the Moscow manuscript, and especially that of its Constantinopolitan copy - until now the only remaining testimonium of it - is traced. This description also reveals an until now unknown reception of 17th century Jesuit astronomy, mechanics and physics in post-Byzantine Russia and South-Eastern Europe."--Publisher's description.

Local access dig.pdf. [Golvers-verbiest Jesuit science.pdf]

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ISBN9789080183391
LCCN2011475174
Moving stars changing scenes : gems of the ancient Chinese astronomy relics. [Xing, yi, wu, huan : Zhongguo gudai tianwen wenwu jinghua 星・移・物・換 : 中國古代天文文物精華. English]
AuthorYip Chee-kuen [Ye Ciquan 葉賜權]Lee, Lawrence W. K.Hong Kong Science Museum 香港科學館
PlaceHong Kong 香港
PublisherLeisure and Cultural Services Dept.
CollectionRicci Institute Library
EditionEnglish ed.
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook, Digital Book (PDF)
Series
ShelfDigital Archives, Seminar Room 102-103
Call NumberQB17.Y413 2006
Description176 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 35 cm.
Note

Moving stars changing scenes : gems of the ancient Chinese astronomy relics = Xing, yi, wu, huan : Zhongguo gudai tianwen wenwu jinghua / [author, Yip Chee-kuen ; editor, Lawrence W.K. Lee ; English translation, Lawrence W.K. Lee, Ann L.F. Hui].
Translation of: Xing, yi, wu, huan : Zhongguo gudai tianwen wenwu jinghua 星・移・物・換 : 中國古代天文文物精華.
"Produced by the Hong Kong Science Museum."--T.p. verso.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-175) and index.
***Graphic resource.
Local access dig. pdf. [Ancient Chinese Astronomy.pdf]

 
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ISBN9627797057 ; 9789627797050
Xinzhi yixiang tu 新製儀象圖. Liber organicus astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restitutae sub imperatore Sino-Tartarico Cam Hy....
AuthorVerbiest, Ferdinand 南懷仁, 1623-1688
Place[Beijing] [北京]
Publisher---
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeDigital Book (PDF)
Series
ShelfDigital Archives
Call NumberDig. [QB36.V36 X56 1674d]
DescriptionDig. pdf & jpg
NoteXinzhi yixiang tu 新製儀象圖 = Liber organicus astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restitutae sub imperatore Sino-Tartarico Cam Hy appellato auctore P. Ferdinando Verbiest Flandro - Belga Brugensi e Societate Jesu Academiae Astronomicae in regia Pekinensi praefecto anno salutis M. DCLXVIII [1668] / Nan Huairen zhi南懷仁製.
"序: 康熙甲寅 [1674]"

Library has two digital editions. One from edition displayed at the Galleons & Globalizations exhibition (USF 2010). In two parts with separate covers, partially disbound. Latin t.p. missing. Digitized with permission.
Local access dig.pdf. [Verbiest-Yixiangtu.pdf]

2nd (BnF) ed. online at Gallica.

For full bibliographic citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).

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Yixiang zhi 儀象志. [Xinzhi lingtai yixiang zhi 新製靈臺儀象志. 新制靈臺儀象志. Jap-Sin II, 42, I. II. III.]
AuthorVerbiest, Ferdinand 南懷仁, 1623-1688
Place---
Publisher---
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeDigital Book
Series
ShelfDigital Archives
Call NumberNOT HELD. DESCRIPTION ONLY
Description[14 juan in 16 ce].
NoteFull bibliographic citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).

JapSin II, 42, I. II. III.
Xinzhi lingtai yixiang zhi 新製靈臺儀象志.
By Nan Huairen 南懷仁 (Ferdinand Verbiest, 1623-1688).
Fourteen juan, sixteen ce; Chinese bamboo paper. Bound in three volumes, European style: I (juan 1–4; ce 1–4), II (juan 5–8; ce 5–9) and III (juan 9–14; ce 10–16). No date or place of publication.

The cover bears a label with the title of the book and a Latin inscription: “Theoria, usus, fabrica instru | mentorum Mathematicorum | variis tabulis stellarum | longitud. latit. cir. inclinationum | eclipticae etc. | a p. Ferdin. Verbiest, S.J. | continet 14. tomos.” Another Latin inscription reads: “Opera | mathematica | Patrum NN. | rarissima | pro curia | imperiali edita.”
There is a preface (thirteen folios) by Verbiest, dated Kangxi 13 (1674) and a memorial of Verbiest to the emperor and the latter’s reply (four and one-half folios in all; the numbers marked in the middle of these folios are: 133, 134, 135, 136, and 137).
The table of contents consist of five folios. Folio 1a of juan 1 mentions the title of the book with the number of juan, the author: 治理曆法極西南懷仁著 and the collaborators: Liu Yunde 右監副劉蘊德筆受, Sun Youben and Xu Hu 春官正孫有本,秋官徐瑚詳受 (these three persons are also the collaborators of juan 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12).

Folio 1a of juan 2 bears three large Chinese characters: 儀象志 (A record of the astronomical instruments); they appear also in juan 3–4, 6 and 8–13. The collaborators of the other juan (6–11 and 13–14) were:
Juan 6: Sun Yourong 孫有容, Bao Yingqi 鮑英齊, and Jiao Bingzhen 焦秉貞.
Juan 7: Bao Yinghua 鮑英華, Zhang Wenming 張問明, and Ning Wanbi 甯完璧.
Juan 8: Bao Xuan 鮑選, Yin Kai 殷鎧, and Zhang Dengke 張登科.
Juan 9: Zhu Shigui 朱世貴, Liu Yingchang 劉應昌, and Xue Zongyin 薛宗胤.
Juan 10: Xiao Jinli 蕭盡禮, Li Wenwei 李文蔚, and Feng Fangqing 馮方慶.
Juan 11. Xi Yigong 席以恭, Li Yingqian 李穎謙, and Zhang Wenchen 張文晨.
Juan 13. Zhang Shikui 張士魁, Lin Shengxiao 林昇霄, Li Shi 李式, and Liu Changyin 劉昌胤.
Juan 14. Feng Chengyin 封承廕, Xiao Jinxing 蕭盡性, Wei Qifeng 魏起鳳, Feng Mai 馮邁, and Ge Zhangzhen 戈掌鎮.

There are nine columns in each half folio with eighteen characters in the first column of each paragraph and seventeen in the rest of the paragraph. Annotations are given in double lines and with smaller characters. The title of the book is given in the middle of each folio, and the number of the juan and of the folio are given below the fish tail. The book consists mainly of tables. In his memorial to the throne Verbiest explained why he wrote this book:

When dealing with the [astronomical] instruments one problem is how to make them, and the other is how to use them. Furthermore, there is the problem of how to set them up for permanent use. Unless a full discussion is given with all the details, I am afraid that the knowledge will be confined to myself, and no one will be able to share it. This, to my mind, would be selfish and short sighted. For this reason I have tried to combine old learning with new experiences and, after careful consideration and analysis and by means of a process of inference, I have produced these illustrations, comparing and confirming them by explanations and tables. In all, there are 16 juan, with the title Xinzhi lingtai yixiangzhi [A description of the recently produced astronomical instruments]. It is hoped that the students in the imperial services will learn and understand and thus will find the instruments easy to manage. As to those who are to come after us, they too may do their studies by referring to our books. Your Majesty has been so kind as to allow me to take charge of the Calendar Bureau and in return I feel it my duty to render service to Your Majesty. Furthermore, your servant has one more request. Since this book is laid out clearly in its theoretical and mathematical side and is fully furnished with tables, it is hard to expect that everything will be arranged as neatly as one would wish. For this reason difficulties arise when anyone tries to copy or to draw from the book. Unless it is printed it will be impossible to provide for common use, still less, for the generations to come. I therefore, request your Majesty to give an order to the Ministry [of Works] to have printing blocks made and to deliver these to your servant for the printing of the books, which will be distributed among the students of the Imperial Observatory. The result of this will be that every student in the Academy will be provided with his own copy unfailingly . . .
By way of the Ministry of Rites the emperor gave the following reply:
The memorial [of Verbiest] was presented to the emperor on the twentieth of the first month of the 13th year of the Kangxi reign [1673]. On the third day of the second month [that same year] the imperial reply came which reads: Both the calendar and astronomy are closely related to the rites. From the memorial [of Verbiest] we have learned that the astronomical instruments are completed and that they have been made with great accuracy. Nan Huairen [Verbiest] had spared no energy in this labor; indeed he deserves high praise. He should be given special honors. Let me know about all the items that are discussed in the memorial [of Verbiest]. Let this be reported to the Ministry [of Personnel]. Enclosed are the [manuscript of] the book [of Verbiest] and the tables.
In the Xichao ding’an (Jap-Sin II, 67 II, ce 2, folio 47v) there is a document from the Minister of Personnel, Duihana 對哈納, in which is given the approval obtained from the Kangxi emperor to have Verbiest’s book printed:
該臣(對哈納)議得南懷仁奏稱臣指授嘔心,業將諸儀安列於觀象臺上。以故覃精研慮,繪圖表次,為一十六卷。名曰新製靈臺儀象志,是書樊然不齊也,使非板行勢難盡人而給,且無以遺久。祈仰[束+力]部鏤板一副,交臣印刷,以資給發官生,則守是掌者,皆手習一編,而無缺餘(如?)之憾矣……康熙十三年二月二十日題,本月二十四日奉旨依議,欽此,遵。
In 1674 Verbiest was appointed Director of the Imperial Observatory (欽天監監正) and given the rank of Vice-Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (太常寺少卿) as a reward for his achievements (see JWC 2:176, quoting from the Zhengjiao fengbao 正教奉褒).
One of the proofreaders in juan 6, Jiao Bingzhen 焦秉貞, was an accomplished painter at the imperial court. He was the artist who painted the forty-six paintings in the 1696 edition of the Gengzhitu 耕織圖 (Pictures on Tilling and Weaving, cf. ECCP, p. 329). He was well known as a portrait painter after the European technique. We do not know who his instructor was, but his frequent relations with the missioners must have had a great influence on him in European art.
The Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成, section Lifadian 曆法典 (On the calendar), contains this book of Verbiest in seven juan (89–95), the last three juan consisting of illustrations (Taipei reprint, 1980, vol. 4, pp. 995–1034). Juan Yuan (1764–1849) lists the Xinzhi lingtai yixiangzhi as in sixteen juan (CJC, juan 45, ce 5, p. 592). Actually there are only fourteen juan. This mistake is perhaps due to the fact that there are sixteen ce in the whole book.

Cf. Couplet, p. 42; Pfister, p. 353–354; Hsü 1949, pp. 465–469; JWC 2:163–179. See also NBC, p. 240; Van Hée 1913, pp. 3–4; ECCP 1:569 (Mei Gucheng); Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, vol. III, pp. 451–452; Zhongguo tianwenxueshi 中國天文學史 (Beijing, 1981), pp. 230-231.
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, pp. 340-343.

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Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說
AuthorSchall von Bell, Johann Adam 湯若望, 1592-1666
PlaceShanghai 上海
PublisherShangwu yinshuguan 商務印書館
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeDigital Book (PDF)
Series
ShelfDigital Archives
Call NumberQB17.S26 1936d
Descriptiondig.pdf. [31 p. : ill.]
NoteYuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 / Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 / Tang Ruwang [i.e. Ruowang] zuan 湯如望[i.e. 若望] 纂.
1st. section of vol. 1308 of Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.
"據藝海珠塵本影印" -- T.p. verso.
民國25 [1936].
“....Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 (Explanation of the Telescope, 1626), by Schall, which contained the first account of the Tychonic world system in Chinese..” Cf. Standaert, Handbook of Christianity in China, v.1, p. 714.
See note for ARSI Japonica-Sinica edition.
Local access dig.pdf. [Schall -Yuanjingshuo.pdf]
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Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說. [Jap-Sin II, 39.2]
AuthorSchall von Bell, Johann Adam 湯若望, 1592-1666Li Zubai 李祖白, d. 1665
PlaceBeijing 北京
Publisher---
CollectionARSI
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeBook (stitch-bound 線裝本)
Series
ShelfARSI
Call NumberED. NOT HELD. SEE NOTE
Description1 juan in 1 ce.
NoteSee CSJC ed.

“....Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 (Explanation of the Telescope, 1626), by Schall, which contained the first account of the Tychonic world system in Chinese..” Cf. Standaert, Handbook of Christianity in China, v.1, p. 714.

Full bibliographic citation see: Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).

JapSin II, 39.2
Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說.
By Tang Ruowang 湯若望 (Johann Adam Schall von Bell).
The text was put into Chinese with the help of Li Zubai 李祖白. One juan, one ce. Bamboo paper. No date or place of publication.

The cover bears a label with the title and a Latin inscription: “Explicatio tubi optici, | seu telescopii | a p. Adam Schall | S.J.”
There is a preface written by Schall himself, dated Tianqi 6 (1626). At the end of the preface there is a seal with the emblem of the Society of Jesus in ink. The table of contents consists of one and one-half folios; the verso of folio 2 contains an illustration of a telescope. Folio 1 gives the title of the book and the author’s name: 西洋湯若望著.
There are nine columns in each half folio with 18 characters in each column. The whole text consists of twenty-one folios, including illustrations. The title of the book is given in the middle of each folio; below the fish tail the number of the folio is given.

This is a book on the telescope. Zheng Zhongkui 鄭仲夔 (fl. 1630) in his book Ershi 耳食 (Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編, no. 2946), juan 8 (p. 53), tells of the telescope brought to China by Matteo Ricci which, after the death of Ricci, was taken to Nanzhou 南州 by one of his followers and many people had the chance to see it. The telescope Ricci brought to China must have been of an older type, since the new telescope improved by Galileo did not appear until 1610. Manuel Dias in his Tianwen lüe 天文略 (1615) refers to the new telescope saying that it can reach a distance of sixty miles and mentions that Galileo, a European scholar, was a fully qualified astronomer. Finally he says: “We shall explain in detail the wonder of this instrument, when we have it brought to China.” This condition was realized on the arrival of Adam Schall in 1622. In 1627, a year after Schall had written his book on the telescope, Philip Wang Zheng 王徵 wrote the Yuanxi qiqi tushuo lu zui 遠西奇器圖說錄最 (cf. Jap-Sin II, 53). In the bibliography Wang Zheng mentions the Yuanjing shuo. He did his best to explain the structure of the telescope, its employment in astronomy, in sea voyages, and in warfare. According to Pfister (p. 180, no. 12) the Yuanjing shuo was published in Beijing in 1630, and Fang Hao (1954, vol. 4, pp. 21–22) says that Schall made his translation from Girolamo Sirturi’s Telescopio (Frankfurt, 1616).
Source: Albert Chan, S.J., Chinese Books and Documents in the Jesuit Archives in Rome, p. 326.

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Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說. [mss]
AuthorSchall von Bell, Johann Adam 湯若望, 1592-1666
Place---
Publisher---
CollectionRicci Institute Library
Edition
LanguageChinese 中文
TypeDigital Book, Manuscript (stitch-bound 線裝本)
Series
ShelfDigital Archives, Rare Book Cabinet
Call NumberQB17.S26
Description43 p. : ill. ; 27 cm.
NoteYuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 / [Tang Ruowang zhu 湯如望著].
Undated manuscript copy of 1626 Chinese edition made in Japan during the period of prohibition of Jesuit/Christian works. Includes Japanese reading marks and similar (but not identical) illustrations from the original text.

“....Yuanjing shuo 遠鏡說 (Explanation of the Telescope, 1626), by Schall, which contained the first account of the Tychonic world system in Chinese.” Cf. Standaert, Handbook of Christianity in China, v.1, p. 714.

See Fr. A. Chan S.J. bibliographic entry for Japonica-Sinica II, 39.2 edition.
See full bibliographic entry Ad Dudink & Nicolas Standaert, Chinese Christian Texts Database (CCT-Database).

Local access dig.pdf. [Schall-Yuanjingshuo mss.pdf] & folder with master (.tif) images.

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