Lecture | China Seminar
Mathematical Instruments and their Use: Circulation of Knowledge and Imperial Appropriation in Early and Mid-Qing China
- Date
- Wednesday 4 March 2026
- Time
- Serie
- LIAS China Seminar
- Address
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.47
Abstract
The mathematics and astronomy introduced into China by Jesuit missionaries since the late Ming period have been studied extensively. It is widely accepted that they were appropriated both by the Qing emperors and by Chinese scholars, in different ways. This conclusion is based on the study of textual sources, which provide evidence that some Chinese literati and officials read, discussed, and sometimes rewrote, the mathematical and astronomical works in Chinese authored by the Jesuits and their collaborators. But reading and writing is only part of the practice of mathematics and astronomy. Tracing the use of instruments and techniques introduced by the Jesuits together with the books they published yields a different picture. In this talk I will discuss two examples of techniques relating to instruments, calculation devices and astronomical observations, which, in different ways, illustrate the limitations of the Chinese appropriation of scientific practices introduced by the Jesuits.
Biography
Catherine Jami is a Research Director (equivalent to professor) at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and a member of its Research Unit CCJ (Chine, Corée, Japon). She is currently an Associate Researcher at the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge. Her research focuses on the circulation of scientific knowledge between Europe and China since the 17th century. She has studied the part played by Jesuit missionaries as intermediaries, the role of Chinese scholars in the reception of European mathematics and the links between science and empire under the first monarchs of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Recent research topics include the construction of a mathematical terminology in the Manchu language, and the Qing imperial collection of scientific instruments. She is currently investigating the integration of European methods into Chinese mathematical astronomy, in collaboration with Prof. Christopher Cullen (Needham Research Institute). She is also contributing to ChEDIL, a research project on Chinese-European lexicographical manuscripts.