Johann Schreck

Johann (es) Schreck, also Terrenz or Terrentius Constantiensis, Deng Yuhan Hanpo (Chinese邓 玉函, Pinyin Deng Yuhan ), Deng Zhen Lohan, (* 1576 in Bingen, diocese of Constance; † May 11, 1630 in Beijing) was a Jesuit, China missionary and polymath.

He is considered the discoverer of the scientific and technical languages.

Life

Place of birth

Where Schreck was born, in science for a long time was not known. Erich Zettl, professor at the HTWG Konstanz, discovered in ancient documents of the University of Freiburg, that fright has applied for a scholarship as a student and also get. This document was just the name of the student, the term " Bingensis " meaning " of Bingen ." Zettl and his colleague Hartmut Walravens science made ​​sure whether the Bingen in Hohenzollern was meant. To this end, Walravens Bingen visited at Sigmaringen and turned to Joachim stopper, Meßner the Church of the Assumption, who told him that there is still the family name Schreck, respectively Schröck or Schrök in Bingen. The professors wanted to take insight into the church books. The baptismal, marriage and death books range but only up to the year 1625, the scholar but was already born in 1576. On the other hand, there is a property list ( "holy land register " ) from the year 1615th Here a Sebastian Schreck is mentioned as the owner of a farm with different properties. 1615, the scholar was already 39 years old, and Sebastian fright could have been both the father and a brother. In Bingen, there are several former farms that come into question. The one opposite the Chestnut pharmacy and is inhabited by the family Reinhold Schrök. Schrök know that on his farm are the Schröks home for centuries. Enter the last name " Krauta - Kaspar ". Kaspar is also the grandfather of the scholars have been called, as well as possibly other descendants.

Who could send his son to study in the Middle Ages, had to have been prosperous. This means that the scholar was born on a large farm.

Study

Schreck first studied medicine and became a matriculated on 19 December 1590 on 4 January 1594, he was at the Bachelor and Master of January 9, 1596, first at the University of Freiburg, also at the University of Altdorf Altdorf bei Nürnberg and 1603 in Padua. He was a highly respected physician and a member of the Academy " dei Lincei " (the " sharp-eyed " ) in Rome, as well as other contemporary scholars, such as Galileo Galilei. At the Academy, he worked with the Academy members Fabio Colonna and John Faber (1574-1629) to a version of the estate of Francisco Hernandez de Toledo which appeared under the title " Rerum medicarum novae Hispaniae Thesaurus ".

Missionary time

To everyone's surprise ( "Una gran perdita " - " a great loss " Galileo wrote disappointed ) Schreck 1611 Jesuit to go as a missionary to China. In 1614 he met the Belgian Jesuit Father Nicolas Trigault with which he prepared a scientific Misson in China. Despite the negative attitude of Galileo, to support the mission with equipment, he could take, among others, of Milan, Cardinal Federico Borromeo, a Galilean telescope in reception. On April 16, 1618, the group broke out of 22 missionaries from Lisbon to China. After pirate attacks and epidemics on board the ship they met on 4 October in Goa in western India. There he began his work " Plinius Indicus ", a botanical and zoological encyclopaedia of Asia, which was never completed by him. On July 22, 1619 they reached Macao on China's south coast. In 1621 he reached Hangzhou, and in late 1623, Beijing. Here he brought it to the Chinese imperial court mainly because of its technology transfer from Europe to China also high honors.

Schreck had extensive knowledge of languages; he spoke fluent Italian, Portuguese, French and English; his letters he wrote in Latin; he mastered the original languages ​​of Christian culture, Greek and Hebrew and even Chaldean. With considerable energy he learned the Chinese language.

He wrote and translated the beginning of the 17th century together with Niccolo Longobardi and Chinese scholars several Chinese textbooks for mathematics, engineering, medicine and astronomy. In 1629 he and Longobardi from Imperial Minister Xu Guangqi ( 1562-1633 ) was commissioned to carry out the reform of the Chinese calendar. After Schreck's death this project by Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666) and Giacomo Rho was continued.

Schreck was at that time with important contemporary people in contact; Johannes Kepler sent him his latest astronomical work on the way to China, " Rudolfine Tables ", but he could not take delivery - they met only 16 years after his death in 1645 in a Macau. He died probably in a medical experiment on himself and was buried in the cemetery Beijing Zhalan.

Works

Nightmare wrote with his friend Wang Zheng The Chinese textbook of European mechanical engineering. The work was published in the year 1626.

Quotes

• In ... the Beijing office of Konstanz originating in Germany Johannes Terrentius died. In the age of only 54 years, of which he spent in ( our ) Order, after four vows 20, he went into a better life. He was a man who was well versed in many arts and sciences, particularly in mathematics. Then he realized what a great service he was able to afford our Lord in the Empire (China), requested and received from your paternity ( the Superior General of the Jesuits ), permission to come (after China ). He renounced the great honor and authority that was him by numerous princes in Europe given that harbored a strong desire to win it for their provinces and residences. With great dedication he devoted himself to the study of languages ​​and literature and the ' acquired in such knowledge. that he was capable of a number of works to translate the fame and prestige of the Order. - Annual Report on Portuguese about the death and funeral of John Terrentius ( Archives of the Jesuit Order in Rome).
• D.O.M. John P. Terrentius Constantiensis Germanus Societatem Jesus professus, vixit in ea XIX annis, et IX in Missione Sinica, vir in omni scientia egregie doctus, et germanae sinceritatis tenacissimus, cum sinensi calendario initium faceret, finem vitae posuit, Pekini the XI Maii AC MDCXXX Aetatis suae LIV. ( German: " The German Father John Terrentius from Constance, who belonged to the Jesuit order 19 years and nine years in the China Mission was active, an eminent scholar in all fields of science and by a real, unbending sincerity, decided during he led the Chinese calendar reform in the ways of his life in Beijing on 11 May in the year of Christ 1630, 54 years. "- grave inscription )

Portrait

A portrait of Father Schreck, a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens, is to be in a New York library.

Appreciation

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of its entry into the Jesuit Order organized Schreck's home town Bingen 2011 John Schreck- year with different events. Among other things, the community of non-professional actors in the play Once Bingen- Beijing, no turning back! the Sigmaringer theater director Siegfried Schreck Gebhardt represented life.