The work related to this publication was undertaken by a research group dedicated to the Development of Mechanical Knowledge in China and coordinated by Matthias Schemmel. The group integrates research of the project on Mental Models in the History of Mechanics, headed by Jürgen Renn, at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, of its Partner Group, headed by ZHANG Baichun, at the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences in Beijing (IHNS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), as well as work of an international group of experts on sinology and Jesuit science.