ABSTRACT
The telescope was introduced in China in the early 17th century, not long after Galileo made his telescopic observations in 1610. In Europe, Galileo’s discoveries with the telescope provided substantial evidence supporting Copernicanism, shaking the very foundation on which the authority of the Roman Catholic Church was built, thus arousing œerce debates over cosmological issues. What impact, then, would the telescope have on Chinese astronomy and society at large?
