Johann Schreck

A Learned Youth

Johann Schreck (also known as Terrentius; Chinese name Deng Yuhan, 邓玉函) was born in 1576 in Bingen, Germany (some say Konstanz). Gifted from childhood and widely learned, from 1590 he studied medicine at Freiburg, Altdorf and elsewhere, and was also versed in botany, astronomy and mathematics. He served in Paris as an assistant to the noted mathematician François Viète and went on to further study in Padua, Italy, making him one of the rare polymaths of the Europe of his day.

Science and Entry into the Society

On May 3, 1611, Schreck was elected a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, only a few days after Galileo Galilei, and the two knew each other well. On November 1 of the same year he vowed to join the Society of Jesus, devoting all his learning to the faith. Galileo regretted his choice, but Schreck's mind was made up: he would use science as a vessel to carry the gospel to the East.

Sailing East with the Mission

In April 1618 he set sail from Lisbon with the mission party recruited by Nicolas Trigault; his companions included Giacomo Rho (罗雅谷) and Johann Adam Schall von Bell (汤若望). They reached Macau on July 22, 1619, where he spent nearly two years studying Chinese and the Chinese classics. In June 1621 he moved to Hangzhou, where he translated and wrote Taixi Renshen Shuogai [Outline of the Western Account of the Human Body], introducing Western anatomy to China. At the end of 1623 he reached Beijing, beginning the most fruitful period of his work in China.

Translating Mechanics

In Beijing, Schreck became close friends with the Shaanxi scholar Wang Zheng (王徵). Wang had long loved ingenious machinery, and the two worked together: Schreck explained the principles of Western mechanics orally, while Wang wrote them down and drew the illustrations. In 1627 they published Yuanxi Qiqi Tushuo Lu Zui (Illustrated Explanations of Strange Machines of the Far West). The book systematically introduced the mechanical principles of levers, pulleys, gears and the like; it was the first book in China to translate and introduce Western mechanics, and its influence was far-reaching.

Calendar Reform

In 1629, when a solar eclipse clearly showed the difference in accuracy between Chinese and Western calendrical calculation, the Ming court resolved to reform the calendar. On the recommendation of Xu Guangqi (徐光启), Schreck joined the Calendar Bureau to help compile the Chongzhen Lishu (Chongzhen Calendar). Within just half a year he wrote Ce Tian Yue Shuo [A Brief Account of Measuring the Heavens], Da Ce [The Great Measurement] and other works, and compiled several volumes of conversion tables. His Da Ce and Ge Yuan Ba Xian Biao [Table of the Eight Lines Cutting the Circle] were among the earliest Chinese works to give a systematic introduction to Western trigonometry; they were later revised and published by Johann Adam Schall von Bell.

Death from Overwork

Sadly, his life was cut short. Worn out by his labors, Schreck died of illness in Beijing on May 11, 1630, and was buried in the Zhalan Cemetery, without seeing the completion of the Chongzhen Calendar. His unfinished work was carried on by Giacomo Rho, Johann Adam Schall von Bell and others.

Looking Back

A first-rate European scholar, Schreck willingly gave up fame to cross the oceans, and passed on without reserve the best of Western medicine, mechanics and astronomy; in his translations he also coined many scientific terms in Chinese. Using science as a bridge and winning people through learning, he left a deep and lasting mark on the history of exchange between China and the West in the late Ming.