{"title":"计算和绘制未来天象:费迪南德-韦尔比斯特的天气预报及其在清廷的终止(1669-1680 年)","authors":"Weixing Niu, Yejing Ge, Haohao Zhu","doi":"10.1007/s00016-023-00301-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>After the resurgence of Jesuit astronomy in 1669, the Flemish Jesuit missionary Ferdinand Verbiest (1623–1688) became the de facto head of the Astronomical Bureau in Qing China. Following the actions of the Italian priest Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and of the German astronomer Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666), Verbiest mainly focused on weather forecasting to substitute Chinese traditional astrology with European natural astrology (how planetary motions affected the weather, disease, and agriculture), thereby disseminating his religious beliefs via Western mathematical science. Meanwhile, a series of strategies were mobilized to boost the credibility of this craft, including claiming its technical superiority based on actual celestial positions and calculations, masking the uncertainties with “approximate agreement” (the widening of the acceptable range), and dedicating mathematical instruments for a deep understanding. However, due to sudden political changes and Emperor Kangxi’s (1654–1722) criticism, Verbiest was forced to compromise on the public astrological discourse. Eventually, as the very speculative nature of his craft became apparent, the authorities declared the end of natural astrology and the full restoration of Chinese astrology. Verbiest’s story broadens the current picture of the calendrical and astrological reforms led by Jesuit scientists in China and provides a wider framework to analyze the global spread of Jesuit science and belief.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":727,"journal":{"name":"Physics in Perspective","volume":"25 3","pages":"137 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Calculating and Mapping the Disposition of Future Heavens: Ferdinand Verbiest’s Weather Forecasting and Its Termination During the Qing Court (1669–1680)\",\"authors\":\"Weixing Niu, Yejing Ge, Haohao Zhu\",\"doi\":\"10.1007/s00016-023-00301-6\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><p>After the resurgence of Jesuit astronomy in 1669, the Flemish Jesuit missionary Ferdinand Verbiest (1623–1688) became the de facto head of the Astronomical Bureau in Qing China. Following the actions of the Italian priest Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and of the German astronomer Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666), Verbiest mainly focused on weather forecasting to substitute Chinese traditional astrology with European natural astrology (how planetary motions affected the weather, disease, and agriculture), thereby disseminating his religious beliefs via Western mathematical science. Meanwhile, a series of strategies were mobilized to boost the credibility of this craft, including claiming its technical superiority based on actual celestial positions and calculations, masking the uncertainties with “approximate agreement” (the widening of the acceptable range), and dedicating mathematical instruments for a deep understanding. However, due to sudden political changes and Emperor Kangxi’s (1654–1722) criticism, Verbiest was forced to compromise on the public astrological discourse. Eventually, as the very speculative nature of his craft became apparent, the authorities declared the end of natural astrology and the full restoration of Chinese astrology. Verbiest’s story broadens the current picture of the calendrical and astrological reforms led by Jesuit scientists in China and provides a wider framework to analyze the global spread of Jesuit science and belief.</p></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":727,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Physics in Perspective\",\"volume\":\"25 3\",\"pages\":\"137 - 168\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2023-09-10\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Physics in Perspective\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"98\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00016-023-00301-6\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"哲学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q4\",\"JCRName\":\"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Physics in Perspective","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00016-023-00301-6","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
摘要
1669 年耶稣会天文学重新兴起后,佛兰德耶稣会传教士费迪南德-韦尔比斯特(1623-1688 年)成为清朝中国天文局的实际负责人。继意大利神父利玛窦(Matteo Ricci,1552-1610 年)和德国天文学家约翰-亚当-沙尔-冯-贝尔(Johann Adam Schall von Bell,1591-1666 年)之后,韦尔比斯特将主要精力放在天气预报上,用欧洲的自然占星术(行星运动如何影响天气、疾病和农业)取代中国的传统占星术,从而通过西方数学科学传播他的宗教信仰。与此同时,他还采取了一系列策略来提高这一技术的可信度,包括根据实际的天体位置和计算来宣称其技术上的优越性,用 "近似一致"(扩大可接受的范围)来掩盖不确定性,以及投入数学工具来加深理解。然而,由于突如其来的政治变化和康熙皇帝(1654-1722 年)的批评,韦尔比斯特被迫在公开的占星学讨论中做出妥协。最终,随着他的技艺的投机性质逐渐显露,当局宣布自然占星术终结,中国占星术全面恢复。韦比斯特的故事拓宽了当前耶稣会科学家在中国领导的历法和占星改革的图景,并为分析耶稣会科学和信仰在全球的传播提供了更广泛的框架。
Calculating and Mapping the Disposition of Future Heavens: Ferdinand Verbiest’s Weather Forecasting and Its Termination During the Qing Court (1669–1680)
After the resurgence of Jesuit astronomy in 1669, the Flemish Jesuit missionary Ferdinand Verbiest (1623–1688) became the de facto head of the Astronomical Bureau in Qing China. Following the actions of the Italian priest Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and of the German astronomer Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1591–1666), Verbiest mainly focused on weather forecasting to substitute Chinese traditional astrology with European natural astrology (how planetary motions affected the weather, disease, and agriculture), thereby disseminating his religious beliefs via Western mathematical science. Meanwhile, a series of strategies were mobilized to boost the credibility of this craft, including claiming its technical superiority based on actual celestial positions and calculations, masking the uncertainties with “approximate agreement” (the widening of the acceptable range), and dedicating mathematical instruments for a deep understanding. However, due to sudden political changes and Emperor Kangxi’s (1654–1722) criticism, Verbiest was forced to compromise on the public astrological discourse. Eventually, as the very speculative nature of his craft became apparent, the authorities declared the end of natural astrology and the full restoration of Chinese astrology. Verbiest’s story broadens the current picture of the calendrical and astrological reforms led by Jesuit scientists in China and provides a wider framework to analyze the global spread of Jesuit science and belief.
期刊介绍:
Physics in Perspective seeks to bridge the gulf between physicists and non-physicists through historical and philosophical studies that typically display the unpredictable as well as the cross-disciplinary interplay of observation, experiment, and theory that has occurred over extended periods of time in academic, governmental, and industrial settings and in allied disciplines such as astrophysics, chemical physics, and geophysics. The journal also publishes first-person accounts by physicists of significant contributions they have made, biographical articles, book reviews, and guided tours of historical sites in cities throughout the world. It strives to make all articles understandable to a broad spectrum of readers – scientists, teachers, students, and the public at large. Bibliographic Data Phys. Perspect. 1 volume per year, 4 issues per volume approx. 500 pages per volume Format: 15.5 x 23.5cm ISSN 1422-6944 (print) ISSN 1422-6960 (electronic)