The Jesuits and the Chinese literati: lessons from the first intellectual contact between China and Europe

The conventional view that attributes China’s scientific stagnation to Confucian literati’s lack of interest couldn’t be farther from the truth. In a quantitative historical study, Chicheng Ma reveals a different picture. In 1582 the Jesuits arrived in China and won over the Confucian elites with astronomy and mathematics. Chinese scientific publications exploded. The problem came later, when the Jesuits were not welcome in China anymore. The stagnation may be related to the autarkic principle of Ming-Qing China.