Editing Flat Earth (section)

====Ming Dynasty in China====
A spherical terrestrial globe was introduced to [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan-era]] [[Khanbaliq]] (i.e. [[Beijing]]) in 1267 by the Persian astronomer [[Jamal ad-Din (astronomer)|Jamal ad-Din]], but it is not known to have made an impact on the traditional Chinese conception of the shape of the Earth.<ref>Joseph Needham et al.: "Heavenly clockwork: the great astronomical clocks of medieval China", Antiquarian Horological Society, 2nd. ed., Vol. 1, 1986, {{ISBN|0-521-32276-6}}, p. 138.</ref> As late as 1595, an early [[Jesuit]] missionary to China, [[Matteo Ricci]], recorded that the [[Ming dynasty|Ming-dynasty]] Chinese say: "The Earth is flat and square, and the sky is a round canopy; they did not succeed in conceiving the possibility of the antipodes."<ref name="Cullen"/>

In the 17th century, the idea of a spherical Earth spread in China due to the influence of the Jesuits, who held high positions as astronomers at the imperial court.<ref name="needham volume 3 499">Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. p.&nbsp;499.</ref> Matteo Ricci, in collaboration with [[Chinese cartography|Chinese cartographers]] and translator [[Li Zhizao]], published the ''[[Kunyu Wanguo Quantu]]'' in 1602, the first Chinese [[world map]] based on [[Age of Discovery|European discoveries]].<ref name="Baran">{{cite news |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/12/16/tulip-map/ |title=Historic map coming to Minnesota |last=Baran |first=Madeleine |date=December 16, 2009 |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=19 February 2018 |location=St. Paul, Minn. }}</ref> The astronomical and geographical treatise ''Gezhicao'' ({{lang|zh|格致草}}) written in 1648 by Xiong Mingyu ({{lang|zh|熊明遇}}) explained that the Earth was spherical, not flat or square, and could be circumnavigated.<ref name="needham volume 3 499"/>