"Seen through human eyes, humans are noble and things are lowly; seen through the eyes of things, things are noble and humans lowly. Seen from Heaven, humans and things are equal."
If you could look down on the problem you're holding onto from high up in the sky, what would still matter, and what would look small?
The Joseon Scholar Who Said the Earth Turns
Hong Dae-yong was an 18th-century Joseon scholar of practical learning and a pioneer of the Northern Learning school, which argued for learning from Qing China's advanced culture even when many dismissed the Qing as barbarians. Instead of the civil service exams, he devoted himself to astronomy and mathematics.
He built a private observatory, Nongsugak, at his home in Cheonan and installed an armillary sphere of his own making. Visiting Beijing with a diplomatic mission in 1765, he sought out German Jesuit missionaries at the Catholic church to discuss Western astronomy, and later argued that the Earth rotates once a day and that the universe is infinite.