Open AccessShould the History of Chinese Mathematics be Rewritten?
Author(s) -
Li Ma
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
asian studies/asian studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.23
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 2350-4226
pISSN - 2232-5131
DOI - 10.4312/as.2010.14.3.77-84
Subject(s) - zhàng , cornerstone , bamboo , history of mathematics , history , china , classics , ancient history , mathematics , mathematics education , archaeology , biology , ecology
More than one and a half decades have elapsed since the Zhangjiashan archaeological findings showed excitingly that a new collection of mathematical texts on bamboo strips were excavated, dating earlier than the then earliest known and most influential Chinese mathematical classic Jiu Zhang Suan Shu. Now that the contents of the findings have finally been made available to the world outside of the group of archaeologists involved, should the history of Chinese mathematics be rewritten? After comparing the new material with the Jiu Zhang Suan Shu I believe that the place of the Jiu Zhang Suan Shu remains an irreplaceable cornerstone in the history of Chinese mathematics; however, the Jiu Zhang Suan Shu can no longer be seen as the earliest sources for the mathematical knowledge therein.