Jesuit engagement with Asia resulted in vibrant cross-cultural exchange, including in the fields of science.
Knowledge Narrative
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Astronomy was a critical part of this exchange, and Jesuits working in the Tribunal of Mathematics also worked at the observatory in Beijing.
Astronomical instruments made by Jesuits like Ferdinand Verbiest are still visible in Beijing.
The works of the famous German Jesuit mathematician were crucial to the work of Jesuits in China.
Jesuits also mapped where they were and sent these back to companions and scholars where they had been. These maps became important in helping Europeans visualize other parts of the world.
The southern part of China was both a gateway and a barrier for many Jesuits missionaries. This map includes the island of Shangchuan (or Sancian), which is where Francis Xavier died in 1552.
Much of the cross-cultural exchange also involved describing the flora and fauna Jesuits encountered throughout Asia. Some times these were plants little known outside Asia.
Jesuits wrote often about tea, praising its positive benefits when steeped in liquid and describing how it was cultivated.
Jesuits also worked as artists in the imperial court in Beijing, and one of them assisted Chinese scholars in the translation of Andrea Pozzo’s work on perspective. Jesuit writings on Chinese art also influenced such things as garden design in Europe.