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Xu Guangqi (; April 24, 1562 – November 8, 1633), who later adopted the baptismal name Paul (), 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.〔Roman Catholic Diocese of Shanghai: (徐光启列品案筹备进程 )〕 == Early life == Xu Guangqi was born into a relatively poor family in Shanghai on April 24, 1562.〔Timothy Brook, “Xu Guangqi in His Context: The World of the Shanghai Gentry” in Catherine Jami, Peter Engelfriet, & Gregory Blue, editors, ''Statecraft and Intellectual Renewal in Late Ming China: The Cross Cultural Synthesis of Xu Guangqi (1562–1633)'' (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 93.〕 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.〔Timothy Brook claims Xu's father's name was 'Xu Sicheng' (徐思誠), but provides no sources. Timothy Brook, “Xu Guangqi in His Context: The World of the Shanghai Gentry” in Catherine Jami, Peter Engelfriet, & Gregory Blue, editors, ''Statecraft and Intellectual Renewal in Late Ming China: The Cross Cultural Synthesis of Xu Guangqi (1562–1633)'' (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 93–94.〕 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 of culture, education, foreign affairs, ''etc.'') and Deputy Senior Grand Secretary (内阁次辅)(''ie'' "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. He was a colleague and collaborator of Matteo Ricci, the Italian Jesuit. Together they translated several classic Western texts (most notably part of Euclid's ''Elements'') into Chinese, as well as several Chinese Confucian texts into Latin.〔Stone (2007)〕 Ricci's influence led to Xu being baptized as a Roman Catholic in 1603, under the name "Paul Siu". His descendants remained as Catholics and Christians into the 21st century. From 1607 until 1610, Xu was forced to retire from public office, and returned to his home in Shanghai. It was during this time that he experimented with Western-style irrigation methods.〔 He also experimented with the cultivation of sweet potatoes, cotton, and the ''nu zhen'' tree.〔 He was called once more to serve the Chinese bureaucracy, where he rose to a high rank and became known late in his career simply as "The Minister".〔 Yet he continued to experiment and learn of new agricultural practices while he served his office, promoting the use of wet-rice in the Northeast of China.〔 From 1613 until 1620 he often visited Tianjin, where he helped organize self-sufficient military settlements (''tun tian'').〔 Xu Guangqi's tomb still exists in Shanghai in Guangqi Park just a short walk from the Xujiahui Cathedral in the Xujiahui area on Nandan Road (南丹路). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Xu Guangqi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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