In the late 16th century, Matteo Ricci decided to published Western scientific works in order to establish a position at the Imperial Court. With the assistance of Xu Guangqi, he was able to translate Euclid's "Elements" using the same techniques used to teach classical Buddhist texts. Other missionaries followed in his example, translating Western works on special functions (trigonometry and logarithms) that were neglected in the Chinese tradition. However, contemporary scholars found the emphasis on proofs — as opposed to solved problems — baffling, and most continued to work from classical texts alone.