Xu Guangqi
Xu Guangqi | |||||||||||
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| 徐光啓 | |||||||||||
Portrait of Xu Guangqi | |||||||||||
| Minister of Rites | |||||||||||
| In office 1630–1633 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ma Zhiqi | ||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Li Sunchen | ||||||||||
| Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library | |||||||||||
| In office 1632–1633 | |||||||||||
| Senior Grand Secretary | Zhou Tingru Wen Tiren | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | April 24, 1562 | ||||||||||
| Died | November 8, 1633 (aged 71) | ||||||||||
| Resting place | Guangqi Park, Xujiahui, Xuhui District, Shanghai, China | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Wu | ||||||||||
| Relations | Candida Xu (granddaughter)
(Xu Zhun) (Xu Maheux) | ||||||||||
| Children | Xu Ji (徐驥) | ||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Xu Sicheng (徐思誠), father | ||||||||||
| Education | Jinshi Degree (1604) | ||||||||||
| Occupation | scholar-official (Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary), agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, writer | ||||||||||
| Known for | Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism Chinese translation of Euclid's Elements Chongzhen calendar Complete Treatise on Agriculture | ||||||||||
| Baptismal name | Paul Xu | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 徐光啓 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 徐光启 | ||||||||||
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| Courtesy name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 子先 | ||||||||||
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| Second alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 玄扈 | ||||||||||
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| Third alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 文定 | ||||||||||
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| Fourth alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 保祿 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 保禄 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Paulus | ||||||||||
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Xu Guangqi | |
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| Born | April 24, 1562 Shanghai, China |
| Died | November 8, 1633 Beijing, China |
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562 – November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the late Ming dynasty. Xu was appointed by the Chinese Emperor in 1629 to be the leader of the Shixian calendar reform, which he embarked on with the assistance of Jesuits. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and assisted their translation of several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of Euclid's Elements. He was also the author of the Nong Zheng Quan Shu, a treatise on agriculture.
He is one of the "Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism". The Roman Catholic Church considers him a Servant of God. On April 15, 2011, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi announced the start of a beatification process for Xu Guangqi, which has stalled.