Did our ancestors really think the world was flat?
HistoryExtra podcast
00:00
The Jesuit Missions to China
The shape of the world, the shape of the universe was a matter of significance to early Chinese thinkers. They were exposed to the Aristotlian idea that the earth was a sphere but they didn't accept it. The Jesuits tried to use European science and astronomy as an advertisement for Christian ways or thinking. And this was obviously really quite controversial. But eventually the emperor kept the Jesuits in the Forbidden City as his pet astronomers over a century or two while at the same time making sure their newfangled ideas stayed under his control.
Play episode from 14:03
Transcript
