Research on Missionaries’ Astronomic Translations and Its Significance During Late Ming Dynasty

Abstract

Missionaries from Western countries during Ming and Qing dynasty prompted scientific interflow between two western and eastern cultures immensely. The promotion gave a boost especially in China’s advance of science, among which, astronomy had achieved the most. Missionaries coming to China brought in comparatively advanced astronomic knowledge and instruments, generating bran-new concepts and perspectives for Chinese studies of astronomy, which was on the verge of stagnation at the end of Ming dynasty.