卫匡国(Martin Martinius, 1614～1661)，字济泰，西文名马尔蒂尼，意大利人，耶稣会
传教士，是一位对中西文化交流有过重大贡献的人物。

1614年9月20日，卫匡国出生于意大利北部的特兰托山城。1632年10月入耶稣会，进罗马
公学，师从基歇尔(A.Kirchero,1602～1680)研习数学、地理学等。

1643年(明崇祯16年)，夏季抵达澳门，作短暂停留。不久即被派往浙江兰溪传教，先赴杭
州，后即北上南京。适逢明、清交替之际，战乱频仍，他居无定所，往来奔波，曾“游行
各省，抵京师，登长城”，借机测定了许多城市的经纬度。后来，因卷入汤若望与利类思
、安文思之间的纠纷，受傅凡济、龙华民、阳玛诺等人之邀入北京，以取代汤若望未成，
反被驱逐北京。

由于卫匡国奉行利玛窦“入境随俗”尊重中国人民祀祖祭孔的礼仪，故教徒大增。后来，
由于教会内部矛盾。西班牙多明我会和方济各会传教士为了削弱葡萄牙耶稣会在华的传教
势力，反对利玛窦的做法，认为祀祖祭孔是崇拜偶象违反天主教教规，并派人到罗马教廷
去控告。1635年第一次控告，教廷未作答复。1643年多明我会教士黎玉范再次分赴罗马，
对耶稣会提出17条指控，挑起了历时二百年的基督教“中国礼仪之争”。

1645年教皇英诺森十世批准多明我会反对耶稣会的指控，谕令谴责中国耶稣会，耶稣会不
服。1654年耶稣会派卫匡国，赴罗马教廷申诉。

经过五个多月的辩论，教廷终于赞同卫匡国的主张。1656年3月23日，教皇亚历山大七世
发出通谕，批准中国信徒可以参加祭祖尊孔礼仪。

1657年，第二次来华，并率领17名新传教士，其中包括比利时神父南怀仁、殷铎泽等，从
里斯本出发东行，途中遭遇海盗和风暴，历经艰险，死亡12人，仅6人抵华。

1658年7月上旬抵澳门，通过汤若望，获得清政府同意，返抵杭州，重整旧业，得到浙江
巡抚佟国器的赞助，教务有发展，兴建新教堂。1661年6月6日病故，葬于杭州西交留下附
近，杭微公路南侧，桃源岭麓方井。

卫匡国在回欧洲期间，带回了许多中国书籍，竭力宣传中国文化，在阿姆斯特丹出版了一
些著作。1654年出版的《鞑靼战纪》(De Bello Tartarico)，记载了从崇祯未年到清兵攻
下广州，永历帝从肇庆逃梧州的许多史事，皆出自作者的目睹耳闻，是为乱世存文，弥足
珍贵。1655年出版了《中国新地图集》(Novus Atlas Sinensis)，共收图17幅，包括1幅
中国全图，15幅分省地图，以及附1幅日本图。每幅图的四周都刻划精密的经纬度格，图
上画出海陆、山脉、河流、湖泊、运河、长城和大小城市，向西方详尽介绍了中国地理。
1658年在出版了《中国上古史》(Sinice historie decas prima)一书。这三部出版著作
，使欧洲人和西方人真正地开始了解和认识中国。

近期比利时史学家诺尔(Noel Golvers)在“VIAGGIO DI RECLUTAMENTO DI M.MARTINI S.J
.ATTRAVERSO I PAESI BASSI NEL 1654”一文中介绍了卫匡国在布鲁塞尔期间与丹麦文物
收藏家沃尔姆(Olaus Worm)的一封关于罗盘上八卦图的通信。

这封通信刊登于1655年在荷兰莱顿出版的《沃尔姆博览》(Museum Wormianum)一书第372-
373页，由于史学家诺尔的文章是以意大利文撰写，以及沃尔姆所介绍的与卫匡国通信内
容又是拉丁文，故笔者专门拜访诺尔，并请诺尔做了英文翻译，以供参阅。译文如下：

Here,I will conveniently report on an elegant Chinese compass.It has
a round form, and is made of wood, covered with varnish. Its
circumference measures about 2 feet. Its diameter is about four thumb
and a half, and has a cover of the same kind of wood. In its centre
is a hole, of nearly one thumb large. On the bottom (of this hole) is
the very small style of a see needle; this is circumfered by a large
perforated sliver plate, fitted to contain this cup-shaped vessel. In
one of its extremities, that which is directed to the South, the
needle itself is tinged with red colour. A very transparent glass
closes the entire hole in which the needle is contained. Through that
glass, one can easily observe the movements of the needle. In the
circumference (of the compass) one can see circles, signed with black
Chinese characters. The most exterior circle contains 24 parts, and
so also the second and third one. The fourth circle has eight small
compartments with notes in such a way as one can discern, expressed
in this figure.

I thought this was a maritime compass, before I was better informed
through the letters of Rev. Father M. Martini, S.J. who recently
returned from China. He, indeed, wrote on this compass in his letter
sent from Brussels on 27 Feb. 1654 to father Wilhelm Van Aelst, as
follows:

'As the explanation of this compass concerns, I testily that it is a
Chinese one, and that there are very many of them in China, and were
already numerous in most ancient times, because this people applies
this instrument already since three thousand years. But this compass
is not a maritime compass,but a geomantic one.A maritime compass has
another shape, and is not inscribed with so many characters, except
from its outer (most exterior) rim, where the names of the winds (are
inscribed). Thus this compass is a geomantic one, which is applied by
the "mountain-readers" in China, in order to look for a convenient
place for a graveyard. Chinese people, indeed, have always been as
sumptuous and superstitious in the building of graves, and they
believe that below the earth (the ground) lives a Dragon or are
variations of influence,' therefore, they search for its heart, or
its head, or its tail, and other similar things, in the same way as
the chiromancers are looking to the veins and the lines of the hand,
and the 'judicial'astrologers to the aspects of the stars. But about
these things (I will tell) more in my Epitome (Abbreviated version)
of the Chinese histories, which I will publish soon.However, in order
to explain the compass in some way; I add the following
(considerations)for the pleasure of the Very' Learned Sir Olav.

(Wormius)

The outer circle has 24 parts, from which parts, artificially made
with the 10 characters which they call 'kan' and with the characters
of the hours - they make ''happy' and ~ hours, in the way by which
the astrologers are making and inventing 12 houses, when they
establish astrological figures. As the Chinese are indeed calculating
the 'happy (auspicious) and 'unhappy' things for the grave of the
deceased person from the hour of (his) decease, birth and from the (
hour of the) day and year , for that reason they are considering
these letters, by which this people distinguishes the names of the
year, the day and the hours.

In the second circle are almost the same characters, but put in their
order. The first is FZU(子)(cor.TZU) the hour of midnight, the third
one is CHU(丑) the 2nd hour after midnight, etc. The Chinese indeed
divide the day and the night in twelve parts, equal with respect to
the hours,the letters in between (the 2nd,4th,etc.) are the 10 'KAN'
letters,with the addition of two,which I have indicated with the sign
. One of them indicates the fortunes from the Heaven' or 'first
fortunes; the other the 'election'. In the compartments of the 4th
circle are the 4 letters of the 4 parts of the world. A = South, B =
West, C = North, D East. The figure III indicates the heaven, I||
the mountains,and so II| the winds.Finally, ||| the Earth.(* I = -,
| = --) The Chinese have a book (titled) Yekeriq (cor.Yeking = I
Chin g), which is completely devoted to the explanation of these
figures. In this book they make from || and the incomplete |, from
the form I and the complete II 8 figures. From these 8, mutually
multiplicated they constitue 64 'symbols', in accordance to the
totality of all things.I would call this something 'Pythagorean',if
Chinese people would not have had a book CAIN from the time before
Pythagoras".

These are the things said by Martini, who promises to publish shortly
a more accurate description of them, together with other famous things
which concern China, in his Epitome of the Chinese Histories, from the
Diluvion to Christ, and in his Atlas of the Far east ("Extreme Asia").

这封有关罗盘上八卦图通信的内容记载，除了与卫匡国于1658年在出版了《中国上古史》
(Sinice historie decas prima)一书一样外，还与斯比塞尔于1660年在荷兰莱顿发表的
《中国文史评析》(De re litteraria Sinensium commentarius) 一书介绍的“I Ging”
(易经)的内容基本相同，在这些书中都说明了八卦图的演化过程，太极生两仪，四象、八
卦、六十四卦。同时也都提示到毕达哥拉斯(Pythagoras)学派的体系与八卦体系的相同。

卫匡国与沃尔姆的一封有关罗盘上八卦图的通信的时间是1654年2月27日，整理出版于
1655年。从这份历史文献中可知卫匡国在欧洲期间传播八卦体系的较早时间，同时也可以
了解到在八卦流入欧洲要早于卫匡国。目前人们对沃尔姆所收藏的这个罗盘的年代还不清
楚。(原文发表于2002年2月10日) (1/27/03)