Xixue tushuo 西學圖說

Xixue tushuo 西學圖說 is an illustrated introduction to Western astronomical knowledge targeted at a broader audience. The book of 1 juan length was compiled by Wang Tao 王韜 (1828-1897), original name Libin 利賓, then changed to Han 瀚, courtesy name Laijin 懶今. Wang later changed his person name to Tao, courtesy name Zhongtao 仲弢 or Ziquan 紫詮, style Tianzhi Dunsou 天南遯叟 or Taoyuan Laomin 弢園老民.

The book was finished in 1852 and reprinted in 1890. Wang hailed from Changzhou 長洲, Jiangsu (present-day Wuxian 吳縣) and began his career in 1849 as an editor at the Mohai Shuguan 墨海書館 (London Missionary Press) in Shanghai, which was run by British missionaries. In 1862, he returned home to visit his family. From there, secretly wrote a petition under the alias Huang Wan 黄畹 to Liu Zhao 劉肇, a general of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, offering strategic advice. When this was discovered, he was wanted by the Qing government 清 (1644-1911) and fled to Hong Kong. Later, Wang worked as a translator in England and travelled through Britain, France, and Russia. In 1874, he founded the Xunhuan Ribao 循環日報 (Universal Circulating Herald) in Hong Kong, serving as its chief editor, where he vigorously promoted political reform and modernisation. In 1884, he returned to Shanghai and became the head of Gezhi Shuyuan 格致書院 (Academy of Natural Sciences), where he played a key role in advocating for the Reform Movement, significantly influencing the spread of reformist ideas. Apart from his book on astronomy, he also compiled the books Taoyuan wenlu waipian 弢園文録外篇, Taoyuan chidu 弢園尺牘 and Chunqiu shuorun zhiri kao 春秋朔閏至日考. The Xixue tushuo is part of the collection Xixue jicun 西學輯存.

The book has 23 chapters speaking on the Sun (Taiyang shuo 太陽說), the Earth's equator (Diqiu chidao tushuo 地球赤道圖説), the planets orbiting the Sun (Xingxing huanrao taiyang tushuo 行星環繞太陽圖說), further discussions on the planets (Xingxing xushuo 行星續説), the Five Planets (Wuxing shuo 五星說), stellar atmospheres (Xingqi shuo 星氣說), further diagrams of the planets (Xingxing shuo tu ershuo 行星圖二說), the precession (Suicha tushuo 歲差圖說), the atmosphere (Kongqi shuo 空氣說), acoustics (Shengxue qianshuo 聲學淺說), mechanics (Guangdong tushuo 光動圖說), with further diagrams on light aberration (Guang biao cha 光表差) and curved lines (Quxian tushuo 曲綫圖說).

The book introduces the latest Western heliocentric theories. Although Copernicus' (1473-1543) De revolutionibus orbium coelestium was published as early as the 16th century, the Jesuits, while introducing modern Western scientific knowledge to China, discreetly conveyed much of the concrete knowledge from Copernicus' work but kept the heliocentric system itself largely undisclosed. Copernican ideas were extensively referenced in the Chongzhen Calendar (Chongzhen lishu 崇禎曆書), and when the French missionary Michel Benoist (Ch. Jiang Youren 蔣友仁; 1715-1774) presented the geographical book Huangyu quantu 皇輿全圖 in 1760, he also promoted some of Copernicus' theories along with Kepler's (1571-1630) laws. The first clear advocacy of the Copernican heliocentric system in China appeared in the Haiguo tuzhi 海國圖志, compiled by Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794-1857). However, it was the 1859 compilation of Tantian 談天 "Astronomy" - a work based on Outlines of Astronomy (1849) by British astronomer John Herschel (1792-1871) - by Li Shanlan 李善蘭 (1811-1882) in collaboration with British missionary Alexander Wylie that sparked a significant reaction in China.

In 1849, when Wang Tao began working as an editor at the Mohai Shuguan Publishing house in Shanghai, he became acquainted with Alexander Wylie, with whom he collaborated on translating and compiling six books, including Xixue tianwen yuanliu 西國天學源流 "The origins of Western astronomy" and Zhongxue qianshuo 重學淺說 "An introduction to mechanics". Among them was the Xixue tushuo, which contained both translated and adapted content, with a strong emphasis on introducing Copernicus' heliocentric system.

After completing these six works, Wylie chose not to continue collaborating with Wang Tao, as he believed Wang's background in natural sciences was relatively weak. Wylie then moved north and later partnered with Li Shanlan. Although the Xixue tushuo was completed before the compilation of the Tantian, it was published later and thus could only witness the widespread impact of Herschel's Astronomy rather than share in its success.

Nevertheless, the publication of the Xixue tushuo further expanded the influence of Copernicus' heliocentric theory in China. It reinforced the idea that Copernican astronomy represented scientific truth, delivering another significant blow to the outdated geocentric model and contributing to the establishment of modern astronomy in China.