In this blog post, we will look at the intellectual flow of how the innovative changes in Western astronomy in the 16th century tried to harmonize with traditional Chinese thought.
In the first half of the 16th century, heliocentrism was proposed in the West as an alternative to geocentrism. The reform in the field of astronomy that began at this point went beyond simple scientific changes and led to a transformation that changed metaphysics through the spread of empiricism and the development of mathematical science. As Western cosmology spread, there were various reactions to Western science in the East, especially in China. Chinese scholars did not simply accept Western cosmology, but actively attempted to combine it with Chinese ideas. In the process, his interest in his intellectual heritage grew, and this was accompanied by an effort to recognize the excellence of Western science while reaffirming the excellence of Chinese tradition.
“Nicolaus Copernicus,” who inherited the mathematical tradition of simplifying and solving complex problems, sought to find a way to simply describe the movement of celestial bodies. He tried to create a simple model to make complex astronomical calculations more intuitive. However, he did not pay much attention to the metaphysical problems that could arise in the process. The ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Ptolemy explained that the Earth, which is fixed and motionless at the center of the universe, revolves around the Moon, the Sun, and other planets. It was believed that the stars in the sky simply revolved in this model, playing a background role. However, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a different model of the universe, in which the sun was fixed at the center of the universe and the planets, including the earth, revolved around it. According to his theory, the further a planet is from the sun, the longer its revolution period, and this simple principle could explain the complex celestial movements. It was able to explain the visible movement of planets with a much smaller number of circles than Ptolemy, which was recognized as a virtue of simplicity in academic circles at the time. However, many intellectuals and religious leaders who adhered to the metaphysics of Aristotle found it difficult to accept his theory. They saw Nicolaus Copernicus’ theory as relegating humans, who were in the image of God, to the status of mere inhabitants of a small planet in the center of the universe.
By the late 16th century, “Tycho Brahe” recognized the astronomical merits of “Nicolaus Copernicus” but tried to avoid conflicts with the metaphysics of “Aristotle.” He proposed a model in which the Earth was at the center of the universe, the Moon, the Sun, and the stars orbited the Earth, and the planets other than the Earth orbited the Sun. This compromise can be seen as an attempt to accept the innovative ideas of Nicolaus Copernicus while maintaining a traditional metaphysical perspective. However, Johannes Kepler was fascinated by Neoplatonism, a metaphysics that adheres to the numerical order of the universe, and accepted the astronomy of Nicolaus Copernicus, which sought simplicity by placing the sun at the center of the universe. He was also an empiricist who established the laws of motion of the planets revolving around the Sun using the precise astronomical observations of Tycho Brahe. These laws proved the simplicity of the universe anew and made it difficult to maintain the metaphysical view of Aristotle.
In the late 17th century, Isaac Newton succeeded in mechanically justifying the heliocentric theory. He successfully derived Johannes Kepler’s planetary motion law from the law of universal gravitation. According to Isaac Newton’s theory, universal gravitation is the force of attraction between two points, the magnitude of which is proportional to the product of the two points’ masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance. For example, if the celestial bodies including the Earth are assumed to be spheres with homogeneous density or spherical symmetry, the gravitational force of attraction that the celestial body exerts on any external point can be explained by all the volume elements that make up the celestial body. It can also be proved that the gravitational force of attraction between the Sun, which is much larger than the Earth, and the Earth is the same. Isaac Newton applied this principle to prove the existence of universal gravitation through actual measurements of the orbit of the moon and the falling motion of an apple. This led to Isaac Newton being credited with completing the scientific revolution by explaining the order and motion of the universe through mathematical principles.
Western science began to be introduced to China in earnest from the end of the 16th century. The status of Western science was solidified in China when the Qing Dynasty officially adopted the Chongzhen calendar in 1644, which improved the calendar by adopting Western astronomical models and calculation methods. The Chongzhen calendar, which improved its accuracy by adopting astronomical theories by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler in that order, became closely connected to the daily lives of the Chinese people. However, Chinese intellectuals viewed Western science as a source of anxiety, no matter how efficient it was, if it was not properly combined with China’s intellectual heritage. Against this backdrop, scholars fascinated by Western science have made various attempts to solve problems by combining Western science and Chinese tradition.
In the 17th century, two leading scholars, Xiong Mingyu and Fang Yizhi, presented a unique theory that reinterpreted Western science based on Neo-Confucianism, while maintaining a critical attitude toward the cosmology recorded in ancient Chinese literature. They respected the achievements of Western science, but rather than simply accepting them, they sought ways to harmonize them with traditional Chinese thought. For example, their claim that Mercury and Venus revolve around the Sun was influenced by Tycho Brahe, but they also questioned Western astronomical theories about the size of the Sun. They also proposed an original optical theory that linked light and light, and tried to integrate traditional Chinese natural philosophy and Western science.
In the late 17th century, under the influence of Western science, Ma Wenjing and Wang Xiyan sought to understand the principles of the universe through empirical reasoning and mathematical calculations. While recognizing the superiority of Western science, they argued that its core principles were already inherent in Chinese classics. They were engaged in reinterpreting ancient texts to support the Chinese origin theory of Western science. “Mei Wending” connected the Western theory that the earth is round with ancient texts, emphasizing the excellence of Chinese science. Through this, Chinese scholars influenced by Western science continued to make efforts to interpret and develop Western science within China’s intellectual tradition, rather than simply accepting it.
The position of Mei Wending, who sought to reconcile Western and Chinese astronomy, was adopted as China’s official position at the beginning of the 18th century. This position was reflected in the “Siku Zhenzhu,” a collection of Chinese knowledge and achievements. The editors of this series compiled and included numerous astronomical texts from ancient times to the present, showing a tendency to reinterpret the cosmology contained in ancient texts and connect them to modern science. This trend continued until the mid-19th century, and a new intellectual movement developed through the combination of Western science with China’s intellectual tradition in the process of its dissemination and acceptance.
