The first Chinese translation of the last nine books of Euclid's \textit{Elements} and its source (Q1776881)

The identification of the English source of the first Chinese translation of Euclid's \textit{Elements} propounded here by the author is an admirable piece of historical writing. It is wholly convincing and it relies on a perfectly well-sustained argumentation which goes so far as tracing back Alexander Wylie's own copy of the source in question by means of a minute analysis of handwritten elements found in the recto of its front flyleaf. The identification of the source was certainly difficult to obtain because it is rather unexpected since Henry Billingsley`s English version of Euclid's \textit{Elements} was published in 1570, earlier than Clavius's Latin version, which was the basis of the first Chinese translation of the first six books of Euclid! In his whole career, the present reviewer has never seen such an outstanding paper. By any standards, it commands admiration.