Pittem honors his son: Ferdinand Verbiest sj (Chinese name: 南怀仁 Nán Huáirén, Pittem, October 9, 1623 – Beijing, January 28, 1688) was a Jesuit, missionary and astronomer.
He built an instrumentarium for the Old Observatory in Beijing, which is still there. The current instruments mainly date from his time.
Verbiest was partly responsible for the change of the Chinese calendar, a change that was based on his astronomical observations. He designed light cannons for the army of Emperor K'ang-si, to whom he also gave lessons in mathematics. He designed the first steam car, a small steam car intended as a toy, and a thermometer. And he drew another world map. He also worked as a diplomat and translator thanks to his extensive knowledge of languages. For example, he was at the disposal of the emperor as an interpreter during negotiations with Portuguese and Russian ambassadors. Verbiest wrote more than thirty books and was fluent in Latin, Hebrew, German, Spanish, Dutch and Italian. He also studied the Manchu language, into which he translated the first six books of Euclid of Alexandria.
He died on 28 January 1688 as a result of a fall from his horse and was given a state funeral. The emperor paid for the mausoleum in which he was buried in the Jesuit cemetery of Zhalan.
Source: Wikipedia

Translated by Google •

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Location: Pittem, Tielt, West Flanders, Flanders, Belgium

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