Xu Guangqi. Xujiahui is located in Xuhui District, named after Xu Guangqi, a scientist in Ming Dynasty. Xu Guangqi once built a farm here, conducted agricultural experiments and wrote books. He was buried here after his death, and later generations lived and worked in peace and contentment here, so he was named "Xujiahui" at the intersection of Sanjiang.
Xu Guangqi's personal profile
China was an agronomist, astronomer and mathematician in Ming Dynasty. Xu Guangqi (1562- 1633), a Shanghainese, was a Wanli Jinshi, an official of Chongzhen Dynasty, a Jinshi of Wen Yuan Pavilion, and a cabinet assistant.
1603 became a Catholic, and his Christian name was Paul. He studied astronomy, calendar, mathematics, surveying and mapping, water conservancy and other western science and technology from Matteo Ricci earlier, and devoted himself to the research of science and technology all his life and worked hard to write. He is an active promoter of introducing and absorbing European science and technology, and has made important contributions to the cultural exchange between China and the West in the17th century.
Xu Guangqi's main achievements
1, calendar
Xu Guangqi's achievements in astronomical calendar mainly focus on the compilation of "Calendar of Chongzhen" and various sparse plays written for calendar reform. In the almanac, he introduced the concept of the earth circle and the concepts of longitude and latitude.
According to Tycho's catalog and China's traditional catalog, he provided the first all-sky catalog, which became the basis of the catalog in Qing Dynasty. In the calculation method, the precise formulas of spherical triangle and plane triangle are introduced, and the parallax, air difference and time difference are corrected first.
2. Mathematics
Xu Guangqi's greatest contribution to mathematics was his translation of Elements of Geometry (the first six volumes) with Matteo Ricci.
Xu Guangqi put forward the practical idea of "the study of degrees", and also wrote two books, Gouguyi and Measuring Similarities and Differences.
Xu Guangqi first used the word "geometry" as a mathematical term. The translation of Geometry Elements greatly influenced China's original habit of studying and studying mathematics, and changed the direction of China's mathematics development, which was a great event in the history of Chinese mathematics.
3. Agronomy
Xu Guangqi is well versed in agronomy, and has many works, including The Complete Book of Agronomy, The Sparse of Sweet Potato, The Sparse of Miscellaneous Agriculture, The Draft of Agricultural Books, The Taixi Water Law, etc.
12 orders include: agricultural books 3, farmland 2, farming 6, water conservancy 9, farm tools 4, tree art 6, sericulture 4, sericulture 2, planting 4, grazing 1, manufacturing 1, famine relief 18, basically.