Draft:Lin Zhizao

Li Zhizao (Portuguese: Ly Leam, October 13, 1571 – November 1, 1630), also known as Wocun and Zhenzhi, was known as Liang'an Jushi, Liang'an Yimin, Lianganzi, Liangsou, Cunyuan Jisou, etc. His religious name was Leo. Born in Renhe County, Hangzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, he was a political figure, translator, and astronomer in the late Ming Dynasty and one of the three pillars of the Chinese Holy Religion. Baptized into Catholicism with Xu Guangqi.

Life history

Li Zhizao was born in the fifth year of the Longqing reign of Emperor Muzong (1571). In the 26th year of the Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong (1598), he passed the imperial examination and was ranked fifth in the second class of the Wuxu year. He was appointed as a Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Works. In July of the 31st year, he participated in the Fujian Provincial Examination with Chen Zhilong, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy. In the 36th year, he was demoted to Kaizhou Governor of Zhili. In the 38th year, he was promoted to Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Works in Nanjing, managing the Baoyuan Bureau, and was later investigated and dismissed.

In the first year of the Tianqi reign of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty (1621), he was promoted to Right Counselor of the Guangdong Provincial Governor's Office. The following month, he was appointed as the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple and the doctor of the Water Department in charge of the Ministry of Works. He was ordered to dispatch sixteen city towers and weapons and cast Western cannons, chariots, firearms, and gunpowder for the Ministry of Works. In the third month of the second year, he was promoted to the Shaoqing of Taipu Temple and continued to manage the Langzhong of the Water Department in charge of the Ministry of Works. He submitted a memorial on the two strategies of using barbarians to attack the barbarians, stating that Western cannons could control enslaved people, and the Ministry, So the Governor General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Hu Yingtai, sent guerrilla Zhang Tao to escort seven barbarians, one envoy, and sixteen companions to Beijing for use. In February of the third year of Tianqi, Li Zhizao was picked up by Kedao and called to Nanjing.

In the 29th year of the Wanli reign (1601), he studied Western science under Matteo Ricci. In February of the 38th year of the Wanli reign (1610), Li Zhizao fell seriously ill in Beijing. I believed that he would die and left a will. Matteo Ricci "bowed to the bed day and night as a caregiver" [3]. In the same year, he converted to Catholicism and became a saint named Leo. He destroyed the Buddha statue offered at home and replaced it with a statue of Jesus. When Li Zhizao first met Matteo Ricci, Matteo Ricci advised him to join the church but was unsuccessful. The main reason was that Li Zhizao had a concubine, and Catholicism practiced monogamy. After many years of interaction with Matteo Ricci, Li Zhizao finally decided to divorce his concubine and be officially baptized. However, Li Zhizao himself was "addicted to gambling, and no one could match his passion for playing chess and mahjong."

In the first year of the Tianqi reign of Emperor Xizong (1621), he was appointed as the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, responsible for developing cannons. He resigned in the third year of the Tianqi reign (1623). In the second year of the Chongzhen reign of Emperor Sizong (1629), he was reinstated and responsible for revising the calendar. Li Zhizao also made his own astronomical instruments such as the globe, which were almost everywhere in the mansion. [5] In his later years, he became blind in one eye and had very weak vision in the other. He still pursued learning tirelessly. [6] The following year (1630, the third year of the Chongzhen reign), he passed away due to illness during his tenure.

Li Zhizao recommended the calendar passed down by missionaries to the Ming court and introduced cannons from the Portuguese in Macau to resist the Manchus. At the same time, he is also good at translation, and many Western classics are directly or indirectly translated, edited, and published by Li Zhizao. [7] In the title of "Kunyu Wanguo Quantu", Li Zhizao expressed surprise and strong interest in the level of technological development in the world at that time. [7]

Work

Li Zhizao and Matteo Ricci collaborated to compile the earliest Western arithmetic translation in China, including "Tongwen Suanzhi", astronomical works such as "Jingtianji", "New Algorithm Book", "Tianxue Chuhan", and the important "Kunyu Wanguo Quantum" in the history of world mapping. Philosophical translations such as "Exploration of Ming and Li" and "Universal Explanation" exist.

Zheng Cheng, associate researcher at the Institute of Natural Science History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, edited and Li Zhizao wrote the Li Zhizao Collection, which Zhonghua Book Company published in June 2018.