Article
ID: CBB378241867

An Elementary Study of the Unearthed Mathematics Book, Suanshu Shu (2017)

unapi
Mathematics East Asia, civilization and culture Qin dynasty (China, 221-207 B.C.) Han dynasty (China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.) Ancient China

The transcription of the Suanshu Shu 算數書 (a bamboo book of mathematics) in simplified Chinese characters offers a new opportunity to explore the history of Chinese mathematics in ancient times. This paper analyzes the style and structure of the Suanshu Shuand makes comparisons with the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures and a number of other texts in various social contexts. It will be shown that the Suanshu Shu was compiled from at least two sources, and that no direct textual interplay exists between the Suanshu Shuand the Nine Chapters, although both share the same origins in the Pre-Qin period when the major mathematical methods in the Nine Chapters came into being. It will also be shown that the Suanshu Shu was accomplished with the methods used in certain mathematical books in the Pre-Qin period or their results, which later led to the Nine Chapters, and by accommodating the actual conditions of the lower government administration. The Suanshu Shu is significant for establishing the evolution of algorithmic mathematics from the Warring States period to the Han dynasty.

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Authors & Contributors
Cullen, Christopher
Chemla, Karine Carole
Miller, Ian Matthew
Felt, D. Jonathon
Sanft, Charles
Ma, Biao
Journals
Ziran Kexueshi Yanjiu (Studies in the History of Natural Sciences)
Early Science and Medicine: A Journal for the Study of Science, Technology and Medicine in the Pre-modern Period
Science in Context
Nei Menggu Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Ziran Kexue Ban)
Lishi yuyan yanjiuso jikan (Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica)
Journal of Dialectics of Nature
Publishers
State University of New York Press
Ke xue chu ban she
Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Harvard University Asia Center
Concepts
East Asia, civilization and culture
Mathematics
Astronomy
Medicine, Chinese traditional
Bureaucracy
Historiography
Time Periods
Ancient
Han dynasty (China, 202 B.C.-220 A.D.)
Qin dynasty (China, 221-207 B.C.)
Zhou dynasty (China, 1122-221 B.C.)
Tang dynasty (China, 618-907)
Song Dynasty (China, 960-1279)
Places
China
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