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Sabatino de Ursis (1575–1620,
*
The Jesuits in China
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Ursis, Sabatino 1575 births 1620 deaths 17th-century Italian Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in China Italian emigrants to China 17th-century Italian astronomers Jesuit scientists
Sabatino de Ursis (1575–1620, Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
name: 熊三拔; pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: Xióng Sānbá) was an Italian Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
who was active in 17th-century China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, during the Jesuit China missions
The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a si ...
.
Career
Born inLecce
Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
, Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
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, Sabatino de Ursis arrived in 1607 in Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, in order to help Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
with astronomical research.Udias, p.40 He also worked together with Xú Guāngqĭ and Matteo Ricci
Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...
on the translation of Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...
's '' Elements'' into Chinese, and with Ricci on the '' Zhifang waiji'', China's first global atlas.
Sabatino de Ursis also wrote a book in Chinese on Western hydraulics
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
, an example of the transmission of Western technical knowledge to China in the 17th century.
De Ursis is famous for having predicted an eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
, which had not been foretold by traditional Chinese astronomers
Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The Ancient China, ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categoriz ...
, on December 15, 1610. This was very important to the Chinese, and was a strong argument to let the Western Jesuits work on the reformation of the Chinese calendar
The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar 曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar 曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar 曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...
. Soon, however, de Ursis and colleague Diego de Pantoja
Diego de Pantoja or Diego Pantoja ( Chinese: 龐迪我, ''Pang Diwo''; April 1571, Valdemoro, Spain – January 1618, Portuguese Macau, China) was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci in Be ...
had to abandon the project in the face of opposition by Chinese astronomers.
In 1612, Sabatino translated orally a work by Agostino Ramelli
Agostino Ramelli (1531–ca. 1610) was an Italian engineer best known for writing and illustrating the book of engineering designs ''Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli'', which contains, among others, his design ...
on hydraulic mechanisms, which was put into Chinese by Xú Guāngqĭ. The book was published under the name 泰西水法 (''Tàixī shuǐfǎ'', ''Hydraulic machinery of the West'').
In 1616, dislike of the Jesuits led to a persecution of Christians at the instigation of Shen Ho __NOTOC__
Shen may refer to:
* Shen (Chinese religion) (神), a central word in Chinese philosophy, religion, and traditional Chinese medicine; term for god or spirit
* Shen (clam-monster) (蜃), a shapeshifting Chinese dragon believed to create mi ...
(Shěn Hè, 沈隺, vice minister of rites in Nanking
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, d. 1624), and de Ursis was expelled to Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, where he died in 1620:
At the renewed suggestion of Xu Guangqi
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...
, an Imperial edict of 1629 would again put the Jesuits in charge of the revision of the calendar, which would be handled by the German Jesuit Johann Schall.
Publications
* Sabatino de Ursis andXu Guangqi
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...
(1612) ''泰西水法'' (''Thai Hsi Shui Fa'', ''Hydraulic machinery of the West'')
Notes
References
* Udías, Agustín (2003) ''Searching the Heavens and the Earth: The History of Jesuit observatories'', Kluwer Academic Publisher,*
Catherine Jami
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, Peter Engelfriet, Gregory Blue (2001) ''Statecraft and Intellectual Renewal in Late Ming China. The cross-cultural synthesis of Xu Guangqi (1562–1633)'', p. 209, BRILL,
Further reading
* John W. O'Malley,Gauvin Alexander Bailey
Gauvin Alexander Bailey is an American-Canadian author and art historian. He is Professor and Alfred and Isabel Bader Chair in Southern Baroque Art at Queen's University.
Bailey is a correspondent étranger at the Académie des Inscriptions et ...
, Steve J. Harris, T. Frank Kennedy (1999) ''The Jesuits: Cultures, Sciences, and the Arts (1540–1773)'', University of Toronto Press
External links
The Jesuits in China
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Ursis, Sabatino 1575 births 1620 deaths 17th-century Italian Jesuits Jesuit missionaries in China Italian emigrants to China 17th-century Italian astronomers Jesuit scientists