Process of Receiving the Western Astronomy from the Sixteenth Century to the Eighteenth Century: a Study in China and Vietnam

Abstract

From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, in an effort to introduce and develop Christianity in China and Vietnam, Western missionaries, especially the Jesuit missionaries found an effective way to realize this purpose. That was to use European scientific and technological achievements in order to satisfy the curiosity as well as desire to learn new knowledge of kings, mandarins and intellectuals in China and Vietnam, thereby hope to successfully attract the said social forces to follow the way, which created a unique phenomenon: Christianity gradually entered the hearts of two nations of China and Vietnam along with the process of receiving Western scientific and technological achievements in these two countries. In particular, astronomy is one of the most typical fields.

On the basis of exploiting the original historical data source and study achievements of Chinese, Vietnamese and international scholars as well as combining the application of the study method system of historical science with other methods, especially comparative study method, the article thoroughly analyzes of the method and result of receiving the Western astronomy in China and Vietnam from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century. The study result contributed to clarify the similarities and differences in the process of receiving the Western astronomy in these two countries as well as making specific contributions to the study of the history of East-West cultural exchange in China and Vietnam in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Keywords:

Astronomy, The West, China, Vietnam, Christianity, Society of Jesus, mission, missionary