Auguštin Hallerstein

By Stanislav Južnič

 

The famous astronomer Hallerstein was born three centuries ago, and this is more than a great opportunity for the study of his life and work.

Jesuit studies have for a long time been in the focus of modern history of science. Some scholars focused their research on Jesuits schools outside the major centers. The intercultural relations between Europe and China can bring a special flavor to that research. Hallerstein represents all that. But, as he was born in the area of today's small Slovene nation, with limited resources and an extremely complicated multinational heritage, he had to wait a long time for his biographer - if I may humbly presume that honor.

Hallerstein was raised in the south-ern part of the Holy Roman Empire called Carniola, the central part of to-day's Slovenia. He grew up in the Habsburg monarchy, the powerful middle-European state which included even today's Belgium. He was a member of the privileged nobility. All that, combined with a good Jesuit education, made him into a real citizen of the world, most able to transfer the best in European mathematical sciences to China. And vice versa: the most imporŹtant European scientific media of his time published his Chinese measureŹments. He was among the best, and certainly the last, of his kind, because soon after his death the mission of the old Jesuit Society in Beijing came to an abrupt end.

Without mention of Hallerstein as the last great astronomer of the old Jesuit Society in Beijing the story about its success in China would be incomplete. How did that extraordinary man come to be? What could we learn from his example?

 

Hallerstein's work was highly praised in Europe because of his high po-sition in Beijing. Carniolans, most of all Hallerstein's Erbergs relatives, re-membered him in their manuscripts written at the time of his death. Haller-stein's contributions were researched after the March revolution, mainly by German oriented Carniolans: the secretary of the Historic Society, August Dimitz (1827-1886), and the custodian of the State Museum in Ljubljana Dežman. Dimitz was an economist and a historian, while Dežman was an important naturalist and meteorologist. Dežman first transcribed the more important of Hallerstein's letters from Keller's book, and then used them for Hallerstein's biography. He began with the description of the 2500 years of Chinese history and 1,500 years of contacts with Europeans. He carefully described the beginning of Jesuit and other missions in China. In HallerŹstein's biography he mentioned his scientific collaboration with Hell. He researched Hallerstein's collaboration with the commander, Franc Baron Gallenfels, and with Francis Alemao during Hallerstein's journey to China. He discussed Hallerstein's colleagues in Beijing and Hallerstein's letters to French astronomers and the Portuguese queen.

The Carniolans again took some interest in Hallerstein during their search for their national identity in the new state after the First World War, with Viktor Steska. After the development of the independent Slovene State in the 1990s, the new wave of research into Hallerstein's work spread all over the country, owing to the 300th anniversary of his birth.

Contents

The famous Slovene astronomer Hallerstein was born three centuries ago, and this is more than a great opportunity for the study of his life and work.

Hallerstein was the last great astronomer of the old Jesuit Society in Beijing.

Hallerstein's work was highly praised in Europe because of his high po-sition in Beijing. Carniolans, most of all Hallerstein's Erbergs relatives, re-membered him in their manuscripts written at the time of his death. Haller-stein's contributions were researched after the March revolution, mainly by German oriented Carniolans.