DOCUMENTS RELATIFS L'HISTOIRE DE L'ASTRONOMIE CHINOISE ET AUX RAPPORTS SCIENTIFIQUES ENTRE L'EUROPE ET LA CHINE (XVIIE-XIXE SICLES) CONSERVS LA BIBLIOTHQUE DE L'OBSERVATOIRE DE PARIS

Abstracttitle ABSTRACT /title Documentsconcerning the ChineseHistoryof Astronomy and scientificrelationsbetweenEuropeand China (XVII-XIX centuries) The Library of the Astronomical Observatory of Paris contains many ancient documents relative to the scientific relation between Europe and China in the XVII-XIX centuries. These include letters, papers, notes, and astronomical observations of Jesuit scientist missionaries in China such as A. Gaubil (1689-1759), F. Verbiest (1623-1688), I. Kogler (1680-1746), etc., translations including the Bu Tian Ge (Song of Pacing the Heavens, 590 ca.), translated and annotated by A. Gaubil. The documents are important not only in the field of astronomy, but also of geography, anthropology, linguistics, uses and customs, etc., and are indispensable for the comparative study of the Europe-China scientific development. The aim of this second paper on the Paris Observatory's fond chinois is the recovery, analysis, revaluation and systematic presentation of this patrimony.