Xu Guangqi

Xu Guangqi , courtesy name Zixian , was a Chinese bureaucrat, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and they translated several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of ''Euclid's Elements''. He was also the author of the ''Nong Zheng Quan Shu'', one of the first comprehensive treatises on the subject of agriculture.

Life

Xu Guangqi was born in Shanghai, where his final resting place would be as well. Xu received the equivalent of his bachelor's degree at 19, but did not receive higher degrees until his thirties. Afterwards, he spent the majority of his time in positions of high office serving the Ming court. Ricci's influence led to Xu being baptized as a in 1603, under the name "Paul Xu Guangqi". Like Wang Zhen, Xu lived in troubled times, and was devoted as a patriot to aiding the rural farmers of China. His main interests were in irrigation, fertilizers, famine relief, economic crops, and empirical observation with early notions of chemistry.
*The Fundamentals of Agriculture : quotations from the classics on the importance of encouraging agriculture
*Field System : land distribution, field management
*Agricultural Tasks : clearing land, tilling; also a detailed exposition on settlement schemes
*Water Control : various methods of irrigation, types of irrigation equipment, and the last two chapters devoted to new Western-style irrigation equipment
*Illustrated Treatise on Agricultural Implements : based largely on Wang Zhen's book of 1313 AD
*Horticulture : vegetables and fruit
*Sericulture : silk production
*Further Textile Crops : cotton, hemp, etc.
*Silviculture : forestry preservation
*Animal Husbandry
*Culinary Preparations
*Famine Control : administrative measures, famine flora