Topic：The Jesuits and Chinese Science
Speaker：Chicheng MA University of Hong Kong
Time：13:30-14:45
Date: April 26, 2019
Venue: 106B，Zhonghui Building

Introduction to speaker：
Chicheng MA, joined the University of Hong Kong in 2017. Previously he was associate professor of economics in Shandong University. Chicheng received his PhD in Social Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2011. His research interests are in economic history and development economics.

Abstract：
Based on the historical context of the Jesuit mission to China between 1560 and 1820, this paper examines the role of knowledge diffusion in scientific production. To facilitate their China mission, the Jesuits introduced European sciences to Chinese cultural elites—the Confucian literati. This stimulated the literati toward scientific research. In places where the Jesuits diffused European sciences, the number of Chinese scientific works increased significantly. The finding questions the conventional wisdom that the Confucian literati of imperial China disparaged science, and demonstrates the importance of access to new knowledge in scientific progress.