Great Compendium of the History of Mathematics in China: Volume 8. Mid-Qing to Late Qing

Author: Wu Wenjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-04-01
Features: In 1984, four experts on the history of Chinese mathematics proposed to compile a comprehensive and monumental work on the historical development of traditional Chinese mathematics, titled The Great Series of the History of Chinese Mathematics. These four professors (in order of seniority) are: Professor Bai Shangshu of Beijing Normal University; Professor Shen Kangshen of Hangzhou University; Professor Li Di of Inner Mongolia Normal University; and Professor Li Jimin of Northwest University. Traditional Chinese mathematics has a long and profound history, with its own unique philosophical system and developmental path. From ancient times to the Song and Yuan dynasties, it was a dominant force in the global development of mathematics for a long period. However, since the Ming Dynasty, due to various political, social, and other reasons—as Xu Guangqi pointed out at the end of the Ming Dynasty—"scholars who focus on theory neglect the practical realities of the world," while "superstitious practices falsely claim that numbers have mystical significance"—traditional Chinese mathematics faced the brink of extinction. It was later completely overshadowed and even monopolized by the Western Euclidean tradition. Although there was a brief period of emphasis during the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns, it was merely limited to the excavation and interpretation of ancient texts. By the mid-20th century, Li Yan and Qian Baocong wrote specialized works on the history of Chinese mathematics to introduce it, ensuring that the ancient Chinese calculations continued to survive, albeit with difficulty.