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Zhoubi Suanjing
The ''Zhoubi Suanjing'' () is one of the oldest Chinese mathematical texts. "Zhou" refers to the ancient Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE); "Bì" literally means "thigh", but in the book refers to the gnomon of a sundial. The book is dedicated to astronomical observation and calculation. ''Suan Jing'' or "classic of arithmetics" were appended in later time to honor the achievement of the book in mathematics. This book dates from the period of the Zhou dynasty, yet its compilation and addition of materials continued into the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). It is an anonymous collection of 246 problems encountered by the Duke of Zhou and his astronomer and mathematician, Shang Gao. Each question has stated their numerical answer and corresponding arithmetic algorithm. The book also makes use of the Pythagorean Theorem on various occasions and might also contain a geometric proof of the theorem for the case of the 3-4-5 triangle (but the procedure works for a general right triangle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by the royal house, surnamed Ji, lasted initially from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou, and the political sphere of influence it created continued well into the Eastern Zhou period for another 500 years. The establishment date of 1046 BC is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. During the Zhou dynasty, centralized power decreased throughout the Spring and Autumn period until the Warring States period in the last two centuries of the dynasty. In the latter period, the Zhou court had little control over its constituent states that were at war with each other until the Qin state consolidated power and forme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liu Hui
Liu Hui () was a Chinese mathematician who published a commentary in 263 CE on ''Jiu Zhang Suan Shu (The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art).'' He was a descendant of the Marquis of Zixiang of the Eastern Han dynasty and lived in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 CE) of China. His major contributions as recorded in his commentary on ''The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art'' include a proof of the Pythagorean theorem, theorems in solid geometry, an improvement on Archimedes's approximation of , and a systematic method of solving linear equations in several unknowns. In his other work, ''Haidao Suanjing (The Sea Island Mathematical Manual)'', he wrote about geometrical problems and their application to surveying. He probably visited Luoyang, where he measured the sun's shadow. Mathematical work Liu Hui expressed mathematical results in the form of decimal fractions that utilized metrological units (i.e., related units of length with base 10 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han Dynasty Texts
Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese people who may be fully or partially Han Chinese descent. * Han Minjok, or Han people (): the Korean native name referring to Koreans. * Hän: one of the First Nations peoples of Canada. Former states * Han (Western Zhou state) (韓) (11th century BC – 757 BC), a Chinese state during the Spring and Autumn period * Han (state) (韓) (403–230 BC), a Chinese state during the Warring States period * Han dynasty (漢/汉) (206 BC – 220 AD), a dynasty split into two eras, Western Han and Eastern Han ** Shu Han (蜀漢) (221–263), a Han Chinese dynasty that existed during the Three Kingdoms Period * Former Zhao (304–329), one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, known as Han (漢) before 319 * Cheng Han (成漢) (304–347), one of the Sixte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Classic Texts
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian tradition, themselves a customary abridgment of the "Thirteen Classics". All of these pre-Qin texts were written in classical Chinese. All three canons are collectively known as the classics ( t , s , ''jīng'', lit. "warp"). The term Chinese classic texts may be broadly used in reference to texts which were written in vernacular Chinese or it may be narrowly used in reference to texts which were written in the classical Chinese which was current until the fall of the last imperial dynasty, the Qing, in 1912. These texts can include ''shi'' (, historical works), ''zi'' (, philosophical works belonging to schools of thought other than the Confucian but also including works on agriculture, Traditional Chinese medicine, med ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Cullen
Christopher Cullen is an English sinologist. He has an MA from University of Oxford in engineering and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies in classical Chinese. He is Director Emeritus of the Needham Research Institute and General Editor of the Science and Civilisation in China series, succeeding Joseph Needham. His own area of research is the Han Dynasty and he translated the Book on Numbers and Computation The ''Book on Numbers and Computation'' (), or the ''Writings on Reckoning'', is one of the earliest known Chinese mathematical treatises. It was written during the early Western Han dynasty, sometime between 202 BC and 186 BC.Liu et al. (2003), ... into English. Publications * * * --, and Vivienne Lo, eds., Medieval Chinese Medicine: The Dunhuang Medical Manuscripts'' Taylor & Francis, Needham Research Institute Series, 2004. . References External links * Christopher Cullen,Making sense of the cosmos in ancient China" Cambridge University. { ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsinghua Bamboo Slips
The Tsinghua Bamboo Strips () are a collection of Chinese texts dating to the Warring States period and written in ink on strips of bamboo, that were acquired in 2008 by Tsinghua University, China. The texts were obtained by illegal excavation, probably of a tomb in the area of Hubei or Hunan province, and were then acquired and donated to the university by an alumnus. The very large size of the collection and the significance of the texts for scholarship make it one of the most important discoveries of early Chinese texts to date. On 7 January 2014 the journal ''Nature'' announced that a portion of the Tsinghua Bamboo Strips represent "the world's oldest example" of a decimal multiplication table. Discovery, conservation and publication The Tsinghua Bamboo Strips (TBS) were donated to Tsinghua University in July 2008 by an alumnus of the university. The precise location(s) and date(s) of the illicit excavation that yielded the strips remain(s) unknown. An article in the '' Guangm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tian
''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, Chinese philosophy, philosophy, and Chinese folk religion, religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as ''Shangdi, Shàngdì'' (, "Lord on High") or ''Dì'' (,"Lord"). During the following Zhou dynasty, ''Tiān'' became synonymous with this figure. Before the 20th century Heaven worship was an orthodox state religion of China. In Taoism and Confucianism, ''Tiān'' (the celestial aspect of the cosmos, often translated as "Heaven") is mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of ''Dì'' (, often translated as "Earth"). They are thought to maintain the two poles of the Trailokya, Three Realms () of reality, with the middle realm occupied by Humanity (, ''Rén''), and the lower world occupied by demons (specifically sorcery); (, ''Guǐ'') and "ghosts," the damned, specifically (, ''Mó''). Characters The moder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yang Hui
Yang Hui (, ca. 1238–1298), courtesy name Qianguang (), was a Chinese mathematician and writer during the Song dynasty. Originally, from Qiantang (modern Hangzhou, Zhejiang), Yang worked on magic squares, magic circles and the binomial theorem, and is best known for his contribution of presenting Yang Hui's Triangle. This triangle was the same as Pascal's Triangle, discovered by Yang's predecessor Jia Xian. Yang was also a contemporary to the other famous mathematician Qin Jiushao. Written work The earliest extant Chinese illustration of 'Pascal's triangle' is from Yang's book ''Xiangjie Jiuzhang Suanfa'' ()Fragments of this book was retained in the Yongle Encyclopedia vol 16344, in British Museum Library of 1261 AD, in which Yang acknowledged that his method of finding square roots and cubic roots using "Yang Hui's Triangle" was invented by mathematician Jia XianNeedham, Volume 3, 134-137. who expounded it around 1100 AD, about 500 years before Pascal. In his book (now los ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Chunfeng
Li Chunfeng (; 602–670) was a Chinese mathematician, astronomer, historian, and politician who was born in today's Baoji, Shaanxi, during the Sui and Tang dynasties. He was first appointed to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau to help institute a calendar reform. He eventually ascended to deputy of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau and designed the Linde calendar. His father was an educated state official and also a Taoist. Li died in Chang'an in 670. Background and career The Sui dynasty was integral for uniting China, so it was a good time for learning. But when Li was sixteen the Sui fell, and the Tang rose. Nevertheless, the Tang did not harm the conditions for education. Indeed, it rather strengthened it. The Imperial Academy's math teaching was formalized. He was appointed into the Imperial Astronomy Bureau as an advanced court astronomer and historian, in 627. Once several years had passed, he then was promoted to deputy director of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau in 641, and even d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zu Gengzhi
Zu Geng or Zu Gengzhi (; ca. 480 – ca. 525) was a Chinese mathematician, politician, and writer. His courtesy name was Jingshuo (). He was the son of the famous mathematician Zu Chongzhi. He is known principally for deriving and proving the formula for the volume of a sphere. He additionally measured the angular distance between Polaris and the celestial north pole. See also *List of Chinese mathematicians This is a list of Chinese mathematicians. With a history spanning over three millennia, Chinese mathematics is believed to have initially developed largely independently of other cultures. {{Expand list, date=December 2016 Classical Chinese mathem ... References External links * 480 births 525 deaths 5th-century Chinese mathematicians 6th-century Chinese writers 6th-century Chinese mathematicians Ancient Chinese mathematicians Liang dynasty politicians Southern Qi politicians {{Asia-mathematician-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pythagorean Theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem or Pythagoras' theorem is a fundamental relation in Euclidean geometry between the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides. This theorem can be written as an equation relating the lengths of the sides ''a'', ''b'' and the hypotenuse ''c'', often called the Pythagorean equation: :a^2 + b^2 = c^2 , The theorem is named for the Greek philosopher Pythagoras, born around 570 BC. The theorem has been proven numerous times by many different methods – possibly the most for any mathematical theorem. The proofs are diverse, including both geometric proofs and algebraic proofs, with some dating back thousands of years. When Euclidean space is represented by a Cartesian coordinate system in analytic geometry, Euclidean distance satisfies the Pythagorean relation: the squared dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnomon
A gnomon (; ) is the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. The term is used for a variety of purposes in mathematics and other fields. History A painted stick dating from 2300 BC that was excavated at the astronomical site of Taosi is the oldest gnomon known in China. The gnomon was widely used in ancient China from the second century BC onward in order to determine the changes in seasons, orientation, and geographical latitude. The ancient Chinese used shadow measurements for creating calendars that are mentioned in several ancient texts. According to the collection of Zhou Chinese poetic anthologies ''Classic of Poetry'', one of the distant ancestors of King Wen of the Zhou dynasty used to measure gnomon shadow lengths to determine the orientation around the 14th century BC. The ancient Greek philosopher Anaximander (610–546 BC) is credited with introducing this Babylonian instrument to the Ancient Greeks. The ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Oenopides used the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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