明末，以利瑪竇為主的一批耶穌會傳教士入華，在皇室、官員及士紳之間，掀起一股新的西學風潮。當時，許多士大夫隨利瑪竇學習西方學識，甚而奉教。而被稱作「天主教三大柱石」之一的李之藻，便是從跟隨利瑪竇學習，進而得以融會衍繹、撰著述學的奉教文人。 李之藻除奮力學習外，甚以一生心力編纂的《天學初函》可說是目前存世最早且完整的一部西學叢書。這部書收錄萬曆迄崇禎年間，以利瑪竇為主的一批傳教士與明代文人合作翻譯的西學著述，包括教義思想，及各種天文、曆算、水利等科學技術，是研究明末西學東漸的重要叢書。 然關於此書的研究及討論，過往集中內容考釋、版本流衍，或僅就書中收錄的單一書籍進行分析；而作者李之藻基於什麼樣的心情及考量編成《天學初函》，卻少有完整深入的論析。本文試圖透過明末文集、方志奏疏，並結合晚近的研究成果，析理李之藻個人學養，及其人際網絡，以此勾勒出他在選輯《天學初函》時的種種思量。 晚明西學傳入過程中，對士大夫而言，實為一股新的文化衝擊，然在面臨此種衝擊與轉變時，其應對及接受程度如何，極令人好奇。而隨著明清之際政權交替，此一中西文化交匯所呈現的激盪起伏，或可從《天學初函》在進入清初所面臨的沈潛宿命，有所體會。

In the late Ming dynasty, a group of Jesuit missionaries including Matteo Ricci entered China, influencing the Emperor, ministers, and scholars with new Western learning. At that time, many high level scholars began to study these Western disciplines with Ricci. One of the "three pillars of Catholicism", Li Chih-tsao studied closely with Ricci, and through careful study became an important Catholic convert and writer. In addition to his diligent studies, Li Chih-tsao was also an enthusiastic published. His T'ian-hsüeh Ch'u-han can be considered to be the earliest extant Chinese compilation of Western learning. This book was compiled between the Wan-li and Ch'ung-chen reigns, and principally contains the Western works translated by Father Ricci with the help of Chinese literati. These works include religious philosophy, astronomy, horology, irrigation, and other scientific works; it is an important volume in the historiography of western learning in China. This article will also carefully consider the text of this volume, the spread of different editions, the individual books translated fro inclusion, and Li Chih-tsao's attitude towards compiling the T'ian-hsüeh Ch'u-han. This article will attempt to describe literary compilations of the late Ming, gazettes and memorials, as well as summarize modern research on these works. Further, it will trace Li Chih-tsao's individual academic development, his social network, and how all of these influences came to bear on his compilation of the T'ian-hsüeh Ch'u-han. The transmission of Western science into China during the late Ming dynasty was considered by top-level scholars to be a cultural challenge. They were forced to confront this challenge and adapt, effectively deciding the extent to which they would accept this influence. The late Ming and early Ch'ing was a time of complex political change and cultural exchange. Using the T'ian-hsüeh Ch'u-han, this article seeks to examine the confrontation in culture and science rippling through Chinese society in the early Ch'ing dynasty.