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This map showing the two hemispheres of the world was made for the 2nd Qing Emperor, Kangxi (1662-1722) by the Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88), in 1674. Verbiest was one of a few Jesuits who were employed at the Chinese court during the period.<br/><br/> Printed from woodblocks using Mercator's projection, the map was part of a larger geographical work called Kunyu tushuo (Illustrated Discussion of the Geography of the World) and called: Kunyu wanguo quantu (A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World). It was one of a series of maps produced by the Jesuits at the Court in Beijing, beginning with Matteo Ricci's two maps of 1584 and 1602.
This map showing the two hemispheres of the world was made for the 2nd Qing Emperor, Kangxi (1662-1722) by the Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-88), in 1674. Verbiest was one of a few Jesuits who were employed at the Chinese court during the period.<br/><br/> Printed from woodblocks using Mercator's projection, the map was part of a larger geographical work called Kunyu tushuo (Illustrated Discussion of the Geography of the World) and called: Kunyu wanguo quantu (A Map of the Myriad Countries of the World). It was one of a series of maps produced by the Jesuits at the Court in Beijing, beginning with Matteo Ricci's two maps of 1584 and 1602.
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He proved to the court of Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy.<br/><br/> He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> Verbiest was the only Westerner in Chinese history to ever receive the honour of a posthumous name by the Emperor. He is buried in Beijing.
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He was known as Nan Huairen (南懷仁) in Chinese.<br/><br/> He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of the Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy. He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> He became close friends with the Kangxi Emperor, who frequently requested his teaching, in geometry, philosophy and music. Verbiest worked as a diplomat and cartographer, and also as a translator, because he spoke Latin, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian. He wrote more than thirty books.