400 years

The Provincial Governor and the Mayor of Pittem organized a commemorative event entitled ‘In the footsteps of Ferdinand Verbiest’ on Friday 20 October 2023 in Beijing.
This event is an initiative of the Province of West Flanders and the Municipality of Pittem, with the support of the Howest Confucius Institute and the Embassy of Belgium.

On 9th October 2023, it was exactly 400 years since Jesuit Father Ferdinand Verbiest was born in the West Flemish municipality of Pittem, Belgium. Starting out in Pittem, he eventually became an advisor to Emperor Kangxi in the 17th century. Ferdinand Verbiest did more than practice astronomy, he also managed to surprise with numerous new and revolutionary instruments.

A large delegation from Flanders visited Hangzhou and Shanghai before the event in Beijing, with delegates from the Province of West Flanders,  the Municipality of Pittem, the University of Ghent and others.
Governor Carl Decaluwé became a Douyin sensation with his clip about Hangzhou!

The program

Prior to the visit the Belgian Ambassador Bruno Angelet visited the Beijing Ancient Observatory. The Director of the Observatory, Mr. Qi Rui, gave the ambassador a tour of the premises and recounted the observatory’s history and the development of Chinese astrology. See here the report of the visit with the background of Ferdinand Verbiest: 231016 Verbiest

October 9 marked the 400th of Ferdinand Verbiest’s birth. On this significant day, an international symposium took place in Beijing, where the Belgian Ambassador Bruno Angelet, esteemed sinology experts and scholars from various fields came together to honor the extraordinary legacy of Verbiest. See here the report of the symposium: 230921 FerdinandVerbiest.

The memorial event was organized in the afternoon of 20 October in the garden next to the Ancient Observatory. The delegates first visited the Observatory.

Morel’s Restaurant provided canapés and drinks before the speeches:

• Welcome address ‘In the footsteps of Ferdinand Verbiest’ by H.E. Carl Decaluwé, Governor of West-Flanders
• Opening remarks by H.E. Bruno Angelet, Ambassador for Belgium in China
• ‘Flanders-China relations in the fields of science, research and trade’ by Koen De Ridder, Economic Representative of Flanders in Beijing
• Music by the Chinese Orchestra of the Zhejiang Provincial Government
• Monologue ‘The Discovery of Heaven’ by Kurt Defrancq, actor
• ‘Ferdinand Verbiest, son of Pittem’ by H.E. Denis Fraeyman, Mayor of the Municipality of Pittem
• ‘Imperial observatory, landmark of Beijing’ by H.E. Tang Li, Vice-Mayor of the Dongcheng district Beijing
• ‘Ferdinand Verbiest’, by Dr. Huang Luqi, Vice President of CAST
• ‘The image of Ferdinand Verbiest in China’ by Prof. Dr. Stephan Rothlin, Director of the Macau Ricci Institute at the University of St. Joseph, Macau
• ‘The involvement of Verbiest at the Old Observatory’ by WANG Xiaofeng, Director of the Observatory
• Unveiling ceremony of the commemorative plaque by Belgian and Chinese officials
• Closing speech by H.E. Carl Decaluwé, Governor of West-Flanders

A great dinner

Later in the evening the delegation and invited guests were treated to a real Belgian dinner in Morel’s Restaurant.

Lively discussion! I also had the pleasure of meeting the delegates from the University of Ghent, where I received my Master in Engineering.

More details

I will soon publish the report of my visit to the Observatory on 14 April 2019 with many pictures of the instruments and the museum.
See here an earlier article about Verbiest,:
25 July 2019 – Belgian Father Ferdinand Verbiest
In 1659, Belgian Jesuit missionary Father Ferdinand Verbiest departed to China, initially to increase the pool of Chinese Christians. He however ended up taking a public test ordered by Emperor Kangxi to compare the merits of European and Chinese astronomy. Unlike his Chinese adversary, Father Verbiest succeeded in all the related tests, and was immediately installed as Director of the Beijing Observatory.
Read all: 190725 FerdinandVerbiest

See above details about the Verbiest Foundation in Leuven, Belgium. They publish a regular newsletter “Courier Verbiest”.