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The Eclipse of 21 June 1629 in Beijing in the Context of the Reform of the Chinese Calendar

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The Eclipse of 21 June 1629 in Beijing in the Context of the Reform of the Chinese Calendar Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 23(2), 327‒334 (2020). THE ECLIPSE OF 21 JUNE 1629 IN BEIJING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REFORM OF THE CHINESE CALENDAR Sperello di Serego Alighieri INAF ‒ Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] and Elisabetta Corsi Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper examines the predictions made by Chinese, Muslim and Jesuit astronomers of the eclipse of 21 June 1629 in Beijing, allegedly the event that determined Emperor Chongzhen‘s resolution to reform the calendar using the Western method. In order to establish the accuracy of these predictions, as reported at the time by the Chinese scholar and convert Xu Guangqi, we have compared them with an accurate reconstruction of the eclipse made at NASA. In contrast with current opinions, we argue that the prediction made by the Jesuits was indeed the most accurate. It was in fact instrumental in dissipating Chongzhen‘s doubts about the need to entrust Jesuit missionaries serving at the Chinese court with the task of reforming the calendar, leading to the first important scientific collaboration between Europe and China. Keywords: Eclipses, Chinese calendar reform, Jesuit savants. 1 INTRODUCTION to the Empire, and making astronomical pre- dictions and calculations, may not be fully ap- Eclipses are inauspicious events in Chinese preciated unless attention is paid to the quality traditional worldview, bearers of major disast- of the Jesuit scientific and technical expertise, ers. For centuries astronomers serving at the a condition that enabled them to retain a lead- Chinese Court—from the Tang Dynasty on, ing position in the Astronomical Bureau for a there were also foreign astronomers, firstly century and a half, starting with Adam Schall Brahmans then Arabs and lately Europeans— von Bell‘s appointment in 1644, at the estab- strove to make the best eclipse forecasts, lest lishment of the Qing Dynasty. In order to do the Emperor, who was believed to be the tianzi so, we begin by outlining the context in which 天子, the Son of Heaven and a link between this expertise was acquired. Heaven and Earth, might cause havoc among his subjects by acting in an unworthy way un- 2 CONTEXT der the evil spell cast by the celestial event. Indeed, a major calendrical reform had already Jesuit missionaries soon realized the high taken place in Europe about fifty years earlier status that astronomy and eclipse prediction and the Jesuits had been instrumental in car- enjoyed among the ruling elite of China and rying it out successfully. The year 1582 is used their knowledge in the field to compete when the so-called Gregorian reform of the with court astronomers, so that they succeed- calendar was implemented in Europe under ed in persuading the Chongzhen Emperor that Pope Gregory XIII (1502‒1585). As it is they were more qualified than Chinese and known, the need for the reform rose from the Muslim court astronomers to perform the long fact that discrepancies between the tabulated needed task of amending the calendar. As Spring equinox and the observed one had Catherine Jami (1995: 174) pointed out, ―Pre- been increasing to a lapse of ten days in Pope cision in the prediction of celestial phenomena Gregory‘s time, causing serious problems to might be a matter of life or death for the offi- the date of Easter (Heilbron, 1999; see espec- cials in charge. Astronomy and time-keeping ially 24‒46, 144‒175). both had heavy political implications, and their importance in that respect should be kept in The year 1582 is also when the Jesuit mind.‖ missionary Matteo Ricci (1552‒1610) arrived in China to proselytize (Brockey, 2007; Fra- The Jesuit involvement with the Astronom- anke, 1976; Hsia, 2010). As it is known, he ical Bureau (Qintianjian 欽天監) in Beijing, an managed to reach the Imperial Court in Beijing Imperial establishment whose tasks were es- thanks to the knowledge of mathematics and sentially those of providing the official calendar natural philosophy he had acquired during the Page 327 Sperello di Serego Alighieri and Elisabetta Corsi The 21 June 1629 Eclipse and the Chinese Calendar years spent at the Collegio Romano. Estab- two months, Theory of the Planets four lished in 1551, the Collegio Romano was soon months, Perspective three months, during to become one of the most reputed Jesuit high the remainder of the time Clocks and education institutions in Europe and a model ecclesiastical Computation (Monumenta Paedagogica, 1901, cit. in Bernard, 1935: for similar establishments in the colonial world 30). (Bernard, 1935; Corsi, 2012; Grendler, 2002). Thanks to the Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum From the above description, we can ob- Societatis Iesu (1599, see Hinz et al., 2004), serve that the instruction in ‗mixed mathemat- astronomy, cosmology, as well as a cluster of ics‘ was quite elementary. Nonetheless, the sub-disciplines that fell under the denomina- more talented students could request their tion of ‗mixed mathematics‘, were formally in- teachers for additional private lectures or they cluded in the curriculum of studies in major could attend the Academy of Mathematics. Jesuit colleges. As Jesuits‘ reputation as edu- Ricci too attended lectures held by Christopher cators of European elite grew, the principles Clavius, although only after 1594 did the cata- and regulations of the Ratio began to affect logi of the Collegio Romano ―… begin to speci- the production and circulation of knowledge in fy a distinct group of mathematicians (the offi- high education institutions of the Catholic cial title of those attending the Academy).‖ world, to the extent that even their antagonists (Baldini, 2002: 52). could not but acknowledge their pedagogical A host of other Jesuits such as Niccolò mastery. Longobardi (1565 ‒1654), Diego de Pantoja Soon after his return to Rome from Coim- (1571‒1618), Sabatino de Ursis (1575‒1620), bra in 1561, Christopher Clavius (1538 ‒1612) Nicolas Trigault (1577‒1628), Johannes had been teaching mathematics at the Colle- Schreck (1576 ‒1630), Giulio Aleni (1582 ‒ gio Romano, in what became known as Clavi- 1649), Wenceslas Kirwitzer (1588 ‒1626), Ad- us‘ Academy. At the Academy, Clavius taught am Schall von Bell (1591‒1666), Giacomo more advanced courses than the public ones, Rho (1593 ‒1638), Martino Martini (1614 ‒ but they went on rather informally until about 1661), and Ferdinand Verbiest (1623 ‒1688) 1594, when Clavius‘ requests to the superiors followed in the footsteps of Ricci, bringing to for its official recognition were finally accepted. the Chinese court further astronomical know- Clavius gave two reasons for the establish- ledge and contributing to solve the problems of ment of an Academy of Mathematics at the the Chinese calendar. Among them, only Sa- Collegio Romano. Firstly, if Jesuit educational batino de Ursis and Giulio Aleni had attended institutions were to compete with public uni- the Academy. versities, especially in Protestant Europe, they De Ursis was there from 1600 to 1601 and should be able to offer instruction of the high- Aleni from 1606 to 1608. It is worth noting that est level, not only in philosophy and theology, De Ursis was in Beijing from 1607, with Ricci, but also on a broad range of secular disci- until he was expelled in 1617. During this pe- plines of a more technical and practical nature. riod he actively contributed to the calendar re- Secondly, Jesuits who were to travel to mis- form and composed a few treatises in Chi- sion stations should gain a scientific and tech- nese on mechanics and hydraulics. Since his nical expertise in order to fulfill the demands of stay at the Academy was quite short, we have their daily lives overseas (Baldini, 2002; Ro- to assume that he may have acquired most of mano, 1999). This point is of particular inter- his scientific knowledge during the years spent est for the reasons that will be provided further at Naples as a novice and later on in Macao, on in this paper. where he returned after his expulsion from By the time Ricci entered the Society, the Beijing (Gatto, 1994; 1995: 283 ‒294). In- Collegio Romano was running its third pro- deed, Clavius resided at the Collegio di Napoli gramme of public studies, one in which arith- for a year from 1595 to establish an Academy metic was no longer included in the first year of Mathematics there; his pupil from the Colle- of the philosophy course but had been trans- gio Romano, Giovanni Giacomo Staserio ferred to the second year: (1565‒1635) was to take the chair in Mathe- matics at Naples and it is from him that De Ur- [In the second year of philosophy]: the first sis received his early scientific training (Bald- four books of Euclid during four months ini, 2000: p. 93, n. 94, p. 94, n. 98). approximately, Practical Arithmetic one month and a half, Sphere two months and Aleni‘s scientific expertise seems to have a half, Geography two months, and, during been even more accomplished, as he had the remainder of the year, Books 5 and 6 studied at the prestigious Collegio di Parma of Euclid. before being admitted to the Collegio Romano. [In the third year of philosophy]: Astrolabe He left Lisbon for Goa in 1609 and once he Page 328 Sperello di Serego Alighieri and Elisabetta Corsi The 21 June 1629 Eclipse and the Chinese Calendar reached the Portuguese enclave he observed ing to the Confucian elite, who had converted a lunar eclipse about which he reported to to Christianity in 1603 thanks to his friendship Magini in a letter dated January 1611 (Baldini, with Matteo Ricci.
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