"Eastward Spread of Western Learning"

In the 16th century, Western missionaries started arriving in China, setting the stage for "Eastward Spread of Western Learning." The spread of Western knowledge and religions was sensational in China. Fusion of Western cultures and evolving Chinese philosophies and cultures in modern times kept Chinese civilization vibrant and relevant.

While preaching, the Western missionaries also disseminated knowledge about nature, society, and culture. They helped draw Map of the Ten Thousand Countries of the Earth (Kunyu Wanguo Quantu), the first world map in China to show other countries and regions in the world, which set precedent for glob- al cartography in China. Translated Western classics fueled progress of traditional culture and science and technology in China. At the time, enlightened Chinese intellectuals exposed to "Western Learning" such as Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao, and Fang Yizhi adopted and applied Western knowledge and facilitated a fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. In 1607, Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi translated the first six volumes of Elements, the ancient Greek mathematical treatise, into Chinese, introducing considerable mathematics jargons to the country that went on to exert a major impact on mathematical thinking and methodologies in China. In the Republic of China, the "Eastward Spread of Western Learning" advanced to a new stage, marked by a wider range of "Western Learning" being introduced. During this stage, many Western books on politics, philosophy, economics, law, and other disciplines were translated, exerting a substantial impact on academic, ideological, political, and socio-economic fronts.

“西學東漸”

16世紀，西方傳教士來華，揭開了“西學東漸”的序幕，西方學術、宗教等在中國本土的傳播引起很大反響。西方文化的傳入與中國近代思想文化自身的變遷相互交融，推動中華文明在兼收并蓄中歷久彌新。

西方傳教士在中國傳教的同時，也將西方的自然、社會、人文知識帶入中國。他們參與繪制了中國歷史上第一張世界地圖《坤輿萬國全圖》，展現了世界上不同國家和地區，開創了中國繪制世界地圖的先例。他們翻譯的西方學術經典，促進了中國傳統文化和傳統科學的發展。當時，徐光啟、李之藻、方以智等中國開明的知識分子受“西學”影響，為中國文化注入西方知識，推動了中西方文化交融。1607年，利瑪竇和徐光啟譯成古希臘數學經典著作《幾何原本》前六卷，書中大量數學名詞對中國數學思想和數學方法的發展產生了積極影響。到了中華民國時期，“西學東漸”進入新的時期，“西學”傳播內容更加豐富。這一時期，關于西方政治、哲學、經濟、法學等內容的西學書籍被大量翻譯，對中國的學術、思想、政治和社會經濟都產生了重要影響。