A shared view of the heavens

摘要

Not far from Beijing station, in a cityscape dominated by new buildings and multi-lane highways, stands a squat, ancient tower. On top sits the world's greatest historical ensemble of large-scale astronomical instruments. They were mainly designed and installed in 1673 by Ferdinand Verbiest, the Flemish Jesuit who was mathematician and astronomer to the Kangxi Emperor. Verbiest makes a striking appearance in a coloured 1827 woodcut (pictured) by the Japanese artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi. He stands in Chinese state robes, accompanied by smaller variants of his celestial globe and sextant while enumerating points on his fingers. The inscription on the print tells us that it portrays Chitasei Goyo, one of the 108 rogue heroes of the popular classical Chinese novel, Water Margin. How was the master of Chinese astronomy transformed into the clever strategist of a military gang?