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Brief: This passage profiles the Kangxi Emperor, China’s longest‑reigning monarch. Selected for surviving smallpox, he was a diligent scholar of Confucian classics and Western science. He studied astronomy, math, and anatomy with Jesuit missionaries, resolved the calendar debate, and sponsored major scholarly works. A unique ruler who blended Eastern tradition and Western knowledge.
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Zu Chongzhi (429–500 CE) was a preeminent scientist of the Southern Dynasties during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Wenyuan, and his ancestral home was Qiu County, Fanyang Commandery (in present-day Laishui, Hebei).