中英雙語話中國歷史名人 第80期:梅文鼎

Mei Wending (1633~1721) was a Chinese writer on astronomy and mathematics whose work represented an association of Chinese and Western knowledge.

梅文鼎(1633~1721 )，天文學家、數學家。梅文鼎的著作是中西知識聯合的結果。

In 1645 China adopted a new, controversial calendar that had been prepared under the direction of the Jesuit Adam Schall von Bell.

1645年中國採用了一種新的、有爭議的歷法，這種曆法是在耶穌會傳教士湯若望指導下編制的。

Together with his three younger brothers, Mei studied calendar design under the Daoist Ni Guanghu.

梅文鼎和三個弟弟一起跟道士倪觀湖學歷法。

A member of a loyalist family, Mei remained independent rather than join the "foreign" Manchu administration, but his fame spread far beyond the boundaries of his Province.

作爲忠於明朝的家庭的一員，梅文鼎沒有在外族滿人的政府做官，但是他的聲名傳到了外省。

The Kangxi emperor was interested in Mei's work, the Lixue yiwen(c. 1701; "Inquiry on Mathematical Astronomy"), and summoned him to an audience in 1705.

康熙帝對梅文鼎的著作《歷學疑問》(約1701)很感興趣，於1705年召見梅文鼎。

Mei's comparative studies of Chinese and Western mathematics and astronomy expanded on the earlier work of Xu Guangqi (1562~1633).

梅文鼎對中西數學和天文學的比較研究是以徐光啓(1562一1633 )的著作爲基礎的。

Mei tried to situate the new European knowledge properly within the historical framework of Chinese astronomy and mathematics.

梅文鼎試圖將歐洲知識恰當地融入到中國天文學和數學的歷史框架中去。

In his view, Chinese astronomical knowledge had advanced following the adoption of the new, more accurate Jesuit calendar following the reform initiated by Xu Guangqi in 1629.

在他看來，中國天文學知識隨着採用比較精確的湯若望曆法之後已經取得了進步，而這次更改曆法是徐光啓1629年發起的改革的結果。

In his historical studies, Mei stressed that Chinese astronomy had improved from generation to generation, progressing from coarseness to accuracy.

在他的歷史研究中，梅文鼎強調中國天文學在一代一代地進步，從粗糙走向精確。

Mei gave precisely the same description for the development of Western astronomy.

他也對西方天文學進行了同樣的描述。

In other words, he believed that progress was a universal historical pattern. This was Mei's historical rationale for synthesizing Western and Chinese knowledge.

換句話說就是梅文鼎認爲進步是一個普遍的歷史規律，這是梅文鼎融匯中西方知識的基本原理。

In Jihe bubian (“Complements of Geometry”) Mei calculated the volumes and relative dimensions of regular and semi-regular polyhedrons by traditional Chinese methods.

在《幾何補編》裏，梅文鼎使用中國的傳統方法計算了正多面體和半正多面體的體積和相對尺寸。

He reinterpreted Euclid's Elements in his Jihe tongjie ("Complete Explanation of Geometry"), by reference to the chapter devoted to right-angled triangles in Jiuzhang suanshu (Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Procedtcres), a mathematical classic completed during the Han Dynasty.

梅文鼎在《幾何通解》裏，通過提到《九章算術》裏處理正三角形的那一章，重新解釋了歐幾里德的《幾何原本》(約前300年)。《九章算術》是中國漢代完成的經典數學論著。

Mei helped rehabilitate traditional Chinese mathematics, and he was most widely admired by the scholars of the Qing Dynasty, who generally assumed that the Nine Chapters included all of mathematics without exception.

梅文鼎促進了中國傳統數學的地位的恢復，受到清朝學者的廣泛欽佩。清朝學者一般都認爲《九章算術》涵蓋了數學的各個方面。

The comprehensive collection of Mei's works, Lisuan quanshu, was published in 1723.

梅文鼎的著作總集《歷算全書》出版於1723年。