From Chief to Ball

If there is no Xu Guangqi, there will still be geometry.

But if that is the case, it is unknown whether geometry is called geometry, and whether obtuse angles are obtuse angles is also an open question.Geometry is the name of geometry but not geometry itself. If an obtuse angle is called an acute angle, it is still an obtuse angle but not an obtuse angle any more.

It was Xu Guangqi who helped Chen Jian translate these things without racking his brains, and Chen Jian fed back to him without Xu Guangqi's knowledge. This similarity of thought is a tacit understanding that is difficult to explain in words.

This arithmetic and geometry is the perfect book that Xu Guangqi conceived in his heart. As a person who is constrained by the times and wants to surpass the times, he must be the elite at this time, the one-in-a-million existence.

So when he started translating "Elements of Geometry", Xu Guangqi didn't just think about translation, but wanted to establish a mathematical system, a mathematical system with logic.

Algorithms are art and logic is Tao.

However, luckily, Matteo Ricci wanted to translate the astronomy and calendar to please higher-ups such as the emperor. In addition, his purpose was to preach, and after Xu Guangqi translated the first six volumes, his father died and Ding You returned to his hometown... If everything is normal, when he When he returned to the capital, Matteo Ricci had passed away, and the remaining missionaries did not have such thoughts or talents, so they left half a volume of books behind.

The bait that is easiest to take the bait is often what you want most in your heart, like a mirror reflecting yourself that you don't even know.

Looking at those translations that are too familiar, except for a small number of translations such as isosceles triangle, which are slightly different but can be understood after careful thought, Xu Guangqi understands that what he has always wanted can finally have a second kind chosen.

At this time, Xu Guangqi was still in conflict. He had not yet completed the ideology of the unity of Buddhism and Confucianism in his heart, but he saw another "Tao" that appeared many times in these books, which he was very familiar with. word.

This way may not be the other way, but Xu Guangqi opened the door to a new world. The shock in his heart is no less than when he first came into contact with missionaries and saw the original geometry.

Different paths lead to the same goal, the road leads to the same path... Vaguely, he had such an idea, but he couldn't grasp where this idea came from.

What he likes the most among these books is the translated title of "Science", which coincides with many things in his mind, but those are only budding ideas that have not systematically formed a complete idea in his heart.

When translating European hydraulic engineering monographs, Xu Guangqi vaguely felt that the techniques of these Europeans "take the measurement step as the first", and the rest of the technology and machinery are behind.

And Chen Jian used the translation of science, which was exactly in line with Xu Guangqi's thoughts at this time.Keji's technique of fighting volume is the way, and those machines are based on this way.

This wonderful coincidence and recognition made Xu Guangqi a little dazed, and the familiarity that came from his mind and flowed back to his mind gave him an inexplicable closeness.

In fact, he is close to himself, and he is also the person who is the easiest to get close to. It's just that Chen Jian put his skin in his book and changed his name without his knowledge.

A few days later, he put down the books and invited the mysterious guests to ask more questions.

Looking at the leading young man sitting here, he was amazed at his youth, so he picked up "Arithmetic and Geometry" and asked: "This book will definitely shine in the future, and everyone can read it. Everyone must read it. How many people read this book in your country?"

Young people have also read the contents of the book. Although the characters are different, some formulas in it can be seen at a glance. Compulsory knowledge. It cannot be said that everyone must read it, but there are still many people who read it. After reading this book, they can calculate money and food, dig river embankments, and build fortresses. However, Mr. Chen wrote very deeply, and some things are actually just circulated among a small number of people."

Xu Guangqi nodded his head and sighed softly. He also heard about this "Mr. Chen" who was not yet established and was only respected for his knowledge. Hearing the faint respect in this person's tone, he smiled and said: "I think the Mr. Chen you mentioned must be He is a learned talent, but it’s a pity that he’s not lucky. Now that I’m staying at home, even if he goes to the capital to discuss trade, it’s only two years away. By the time I enter the capital, I’m afraid he’s already gone south and returned to the country.”

Thinking about some of Chen Jian's instructions, the young man hurriedly said, "Science makes friends, so why bother to meet each other? This time, Mr. Chen is actually asking for something."

After pausing for a moment, he said: "Mr. Chen said that science is for everyone and is universal. And the more people who study, the more results can be achieved. Putting aside morality, only in this kind of science that is not determined by the environment, seasons and countries In terms of changing things, later generations always know more than predecessors. Therefore, he hopes to establish some schools with the help of Mr. Xuan'an to teach this scientific method. Only when more people learn and communicate with each other can they continue to learn. progress."

Xu Guangqi hurriedly said: "This is a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people, and I will not refuse it if I can. It's just... I am short of money, and the house in Shanghai County is also a place for preaching..."

The young man laughed and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Xuan'an, Mr. Chen is also a first-class capitalist in our country, and money is not a problem."

The word "capital" is easy to understand. The original meaning of the word "capital" was often used in the Song Dynasty vernacular scripts, and it has been circulated in the Ming Dynasty. There are often sayings such as "investing in the rice market with tens of millions of capital". Chen Jian just used his own The identity translation is clearer.

The word capital in front and the word family in the back have two meanings.Either they are people who make a living from capital profits, or they are schools such as Confucianism, Fa and Mohism.

After thinking for a while, Xu Guangqi understood what this person meant by capitalists, and he naturally took the previous meaning, because he said with a smile: "I didn't expect that, it turned out to be a wealthy family with huge land assets."

"The land property is not much, and the main thing is to make money from science. The mirrors, glass, and oil lamps that were given to Mr. Xuan'an before are all Mr. Chen's property. Now in the country, everyone in several counties knows it. That's why the school was built. For things like this, Mr. Chen will naturally pay for it, so you can rest assured. The main thing is to ask Mr. Xuan'an to find some young talents who are interested in science, and this is what he wants to ask Mr. Xuan'an for help."

Taking the opportunity to talk about some stories about Chen Jian's "self-made business" in Fujian, he also talked about the relief of disaster victims in Quanzhou, and the calculation of comet earthquakes. A matter of the universe?"

The young man glanced at the disciple of Mr. Benchu ​​who was prepared by Chen Jian in Mincheng, who is proficient in astronomy and mathematics, and secretly winked. Instead of directly speaking, he asked, "Mr. Xuan'an thinks What is the universe? Can the universe be separated from the universe? Can time exist independently of space?"

Xu Guangqi laughed and said: "How can these profound words be explained clearly in a few words? If you have a chance in the future, you can sit down and talk slowly. Today, I will just talk about comets, astronomy, and solar and lunar eclipses."

Before coming, Chen Jian had told them about this problem. This is a breakthrough, but it is extremely difficult to open this breakthrough.

Even if Xu Guangqi was the first scholar-bureaucrat who came into contact with European astronomy, he was also exposed to the geocentric theory rather than the heliocentric theory.

On the one hand is the Catholic ideology, which is extremely conservative.

As far as the issue of heliocentric theory is concerned, Bruno was burned not because of heliocentric theory, but because Bruno sprayed from Mary to God and then to Catholicism, and after spraying Catholicism, he sprayed Calvin and Luther.After spraying these people, it is not enough. They also put forward slogans to nationalize the land of the church, close the monastery, let the priests serve the people, and so on.Dare to say that, death eight years ago was inevitable, but overall the heliocentric theory did not cause much disturbance.

On the other hand, when Chen Jian calculated the time, when Matteo Ricci came to China, the geocentric theory had the absolute upper hand, even from a "scientific" point of view, and it could never be the heliocentric theory.

This was basically the case before he went to sea, and before that, the heliocentric theory was just a guess in Europe, and even mathematical verification was wrong.

To break this guesswork, two things are needed.

The first is the astronomical telescope.

Observe the satellites of Jupiter to prove that the earth is not the center of the universe, and there are other systems outside the earth.If the earth is the center of the universe, then the moon, the sun, Jupiter and any other planets revolve around the earth.

As long as it can be proved that there is one thing that does not revolve around the earth, the most basic perfect model of this hypothesis will be broken.Jupiter's satellite is the best choice, because it does not revolve around the earth and is easy to observe.

But the role of astronomical telescopes is only to break this perfect model rather than completely overthrowing the geocentric theory.It even needs to be corrected to continue to use the geocentric theory to explain.

Therefore, the second thing called mathematics is needed, relying on observation to calculate the trajectory of the planetary ellipse, and using the upper plane Cartesian coordinate system and simple calculus to solve the ellipse problem. The type that shoots again but still misses.

Without the ellipse theorem and the calculation of the focal point and eccentricity of an ellipse, many heliocentric hypotheses are wrong to use mathematics to deduce the standard circle trajectory.

Fortunately, these two things are not a problem.

The former Chen Jian is spending money to manufacture in Mincheng.

The latter's first astronomy paper he saw in this life was about the eccentricity of the Yinghuo star, and the elementary calculus and rectangular coordinate system had already taken shape. He had read that article for ten years, and the author of the article Sir, he has seen it too, the name of that old gentleman became the name of Meridian, and the disciple followed Chen Jian to the sea to Daming...

In addition, the group from the beginning of the hypothesis has always believed in the heliocentric theory, so the eccentricity event only affects the world's "symmetry circle aesthetics cosmology obsessive-compulsive disorder patients" and does not affect the model of the universe.

A hypothesis is a hypothesis. The heliocentric theory can explain many things, but the geocentric theory can also explain it.

Therefore, if you want to make this hypothesis accepted by people like Xu Guangqi who have accepted the perfect geocentric theory, you need to prepare several years in advance.

The problem now is that Chen Jian has recruited excellent astronomy and mathematics talents from the younger generation of the ethnic group by virtue of his reputation and connections, but Xu Guangqi needs to help him polish "Arithmetic and Geometry" first, and be able to explain it clearly. Understand some calculation methods of the principles of ellipses and triangles.

It's like a strange circle. If you want to eat steamed buns, you need to grow wheat first, and to grow wheat, you must eat steamed buns to survive...

Chapter 63 The Destroyer of Three Views

Therefore, when Xu Guangqi asked about astronomy, the young man did not directly talk about the solar eclipse, lunar eclipse calendar, etc., but asked Xu Guangqi's views on the concept of the universe.

This is also controversial in the Ming Dynasty. The universe is space and time, so can space and time exist independently?Still can't exist alone?This is the philosophical basis for many subsequent things. Perhaps ordinary students only need to give a cram-like formula according to the previous theories, but if you want to destroy the three views of people like Xu Guangqi, you need to start from the root.

The young man did not explain directly, but asked again: "Mr. Xuan'an has read the book "Arithmetic and Geometry" for a few days. Before I talk about this question, I would like to ask Mr. Xuan'an a few questions."

"please say."

"Suppose one plus one equals four, and four plus one equals eight. Then according to that book, one plus one plus one must equal eight, right?"

"Exactly. Although it is counterintuitive, according to the so-called logic, it is correct in this assumption."