Xu Guangqi

Xu Guangqi or '''Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu''', was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was appointed by the Chinese Emperor in 1629 to be the leader of the Shixian calendar reform, which he embarked on with the assistance of Jesuits. Xu was a colleague and collaborator of the Italian Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Sabatino de Ursis and assisted their translation of several classic Western texts into Chinese, including part of Euclid's ''Elements''. He was also the author of the ''Nong Zheng Quan Shu'', a treatise on agriculture.

He is one of the "Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism". The Roman Catholic Church considers him a Servant of God, one of the stages towards formal sainthood. On April 15, 2011, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi announced the start of a beatification process for Xu Guangqi, which has stalled. Provided by Wikipedia