Ferdinand Verbiest, (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in the County of Flanders (now part of Belgium). He is known as Nan Huairen () in Chinese.
He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of the Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy. He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the roles of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.
He became close friends with the Kangxi Emperor, who frequently requested his instruction in geometry, philosophy and music. Verbiest worked as a diplomat, cartographer, and translator; he spoke Latin, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, Italian and Manchu. He wrote more than thirty books.
During the 1670s, Verbiest designed what some claim to be the first ever self-propelled vehicle, in spite of its small size, not being able to carry a driver or goods, and the lack of evidence that it was actually built. He died in 1688. He was granted the posthumous name "Qínmǐn" (勤敏) by Kangxi Emperor.
Early life
Ferdinand Verbiest was the eldest child of Joos Verbiest, a bailiff and tax collector of Pittem near Kortrijk, Belgium. Verbiest studied humanities with the Jesuits, in Bruges and Kortrijk, and next went to the Lelie College in Leuven for a year to study philosophy and mathematics. Verbiest took up his first posting in Shaanxi, leading the mission until 1660 when he was called to assist – and later replace – Father Johann Adam Schall von Bell, the Jesuit Director of the Beijing Observatory and Head of the Mathematical Board, in his work in astronomy. Unfortunately for them, the political situation shifted dramatically in 1661, after the death of the young Shunzhi Emperor aged 23. His son and successor, Xuanye (the Kangxi Emperor), was only 7, so the government was placed in the hands of four regents. Unlike Shunzhi, the regents were not in favour of the Jesuits,]]
In 1664, the Chinese astronomer Yang Guangxian (1597–1669), who had published a pamphlet against the Jesuits, challenged Schall von Bell to a public astronomy competition. Yang won and took Schall von Bell's place as Head of Mathematics. Having lost the competition, Schall von Bell and the other Jesuits were chained and thrown into a filthy prison, accused of teaching a false religion. They were bound to wooden pegs in such a way that they could neither stand nor sit and remained there for almost two months until a sentence of strangulation was imposed. A high court found the sentence too light and ordered them to be cut up into bits while still alive. Fortunately for them, on 16 April 1665, a violent earthquake destroyed the part of the prison chosen for the execution. An extraordinary meteor was seen in the sky, and a fire destroyed the part of the imperial palace where the condemnation was pronounced. This was seen as an omen and all the prisoners were released. However, they still had to stand trial, and all the Jesuits but Verbiest, Schall von Bell and two others were exiled to Canton. Schall von Bell died within a year, due to the conditions of his confinement.
Initial projects
thumb|Ferdinand Verbiest published the [[Kunyu Quantu world map in 1674.]]
The 1670 calendar included an extra month unnecessarily added to hide other errors and to bring the lunar months in line with the solar year. Verbiest suggested the errors should be corrected, including removing the extra month. This was an audacious move, as the calendar had been approved by the emperor himself. Fearing the emperor's response, the observatory officials begged him to withdraw this request, but he responded: "It is not within my power to make the heavens agree with your calendar. The extra month must be taken out." Much to their surprise, the emperor after studying the research agreed, and it was done. Other inventions included a steam engine to propel ships.
Instruments for Beijing Observatory
thumb|Instruments in the Beijing Observatory. Some of them were built by Verbiest. thumb|The Verbiest instruments on the terrace of the observatory. Photograph by [[Thomas Child (photographer)|Thomas Child, c. 1875.]]
Having resolved the issues surrounding the calendar, Verbiest went on to compose a table of all solar and lunar eclipses for the next 2000 years. Delighted with this, the emperor awarded him complete charge of the imperial astronomy observatory, which he rebuilt in 1673. The existing equipment was obsolete, so Verbiest consigned it to a museum and set about designing six new instruments:
- Celestial globe, six feet in diameter, used to map and identify celestial objects. A copy donated by the Chinese government is on display at the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.
thumb|Copy of Verbiest's celestial sphere on display at the Ferdinand Vebiest Institute of the [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]]
- Ecliptic armilla, armillary sphere, six feet in diameter, used to measure the ecliptic longitude difference and latitudes of celestial bodies. This was the traditional European device while the Chinese had developed the equatorial armilla.
- Equatorial armilla, armillary sphere, six feet in diameter, used primarily for measuring true solar time as well as right ascension difference and declination of celestial bodies.
- Quadrant Altazimuth, six feet in radius, for measuring altitudes or zenith distances of celestial bodies.
- Sextant, eight feet in radius, used to measure the angle of elevation of a celestial object above the horizon. It is used to calculate the angle between two objects, although it is limited to 60 degrees of arc. In navigation, it is used to take a measure of the angle of the Sun at noon to determine latitude.
These instruments were all very large, made of brass and highly decorated, with bronze dragons forming the supports. Despite their weight, they were very easy to manipulate, demonstrating Verbiest's aptitude for mechanical design.
Final days and death
Verbiest died in Beijing shortly after receiving a wound from falling off a bolting horse. He was succeeded as the chief mathematician and astronomer of the Chinese empire by another Belgian Jesuit, Antoine Thomas (1644–1709). He was buried in the Jesuits' Zhalan Cemetery in Beijing, near those of other Jesuits including Matteo Ricci and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, on 11 March 1688. Verbiest describes it in his manuscript Astronomia Europea that was finished in 1681. A friar brought it to Europe and it was then printed in 1687 in Germany. In this work, Verbiest first mentioned the (Latin) term motor in its present meaning. With one filling of coal, he wrote that the vehicle was able to move more than one hour. As it was only long, and therefore effectively a scale model, not designed to carry human passengers, nor a driver or goods, it is not strictly accurate to call it a 'car'. Despite this, it was the first vehicle that was able to move by 'self-made' engine power.
Since the steam engine was still not known at that time, Verbiest used the principle of an impulse turbine. Steam was generated in a ball-shaped boiler, emerging through a pipe at the top, from where it was directed at a simple, open "steam turbine" (rather like a water wheel) that drove the rear wheels.
It is not verified by other known sources if Verbiest's model was ever built at the time and no authentic drawing of it exists, although he had access to China's finest metal-working craftsmen who were constructing precision astronomical instruments for him.
Students of the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt built 2021 an original model according to the description in the Astronomia Europea. Only design options that were feasible at the time were considered (apart from the steam tank, which for safety reason had a pressure valve). The pressure tank was heated with coal and travelled several metres. The replica demonstrated that the concept was technically feasible. A model of this first ‘Auto Mobile’ is on display at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels.
The Brumm model
The Italian model manufacturer Brumm produced a non-working 1:43 scale model of the Veicolo a turbina de Verbiest (1681) [sic], in their "Old Fire" range of 2002. This model was long, which, when scaled-up, would have suggested that Verbiest's original would have been nearly in length.
However, comparison with drawings in Hardenberg's study shows that this model is not the same as Verbiest's. It is actually modelled on a small steam turbine car built in the late 18th century (presumably 1775) by a German mechanic that was inspired by Verbiest's vehicle but different, for example, only with three wheels.
Major works
;In Chinese
- 仪象志 (Yixiang zhi), 1673 (on astronomical instruments and apparatus)
Memorials
Verbiest is commemorated on several postage stamps. One, featuring his face, was issued in Belgium on 24 October 1988, to mark the tri-centenary of his death, with a matching pictorial cancellation postmark. Several more stamps were issued in Macau, in 1989 and 1999, featuring a sketch by Verbiest of the Observatory in Peking, where he worked.