Chinese mathematics

Chinese mathematics is a body of mathematical traditions developed in China, known for practical computation, algorithmic methods, and early treatments of algebra and geometry.

Counting rods: Small rods arranged in patterns to represent numbers and perform arithmetic calculations. Rod numerals gave Chinese computation a flexible place-value notation.
The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art: A foundational Chinese mathematical text organized into nine chapters of problems and procedures. Its algorithms show how arithmetic, geometry, and administration were taught together.
Sunzi Suanjing: A Chinese mathematical text containing practical problems, including an early remainder problem. Its remainder problem became a celebrated route into modular arithmetic.
Chinese surveying: The measurement of land, distances, and heights using instruments and geometric calculations in China. Surveying problems in the Nine Chapters motivate right-triangle calculations.
Chinese numeral system: The systems of symbols and conventions used to express numbers in Chinese writing and calculation. Its written numerals and spoken number words differ from rod-based calculation.
Chinese algebra: Methods for representing and solving equations developed in Chinese mathematical texts. Rod arrays and systematic elimination enabled solutions to multiple unknowns.
Liu Hui: A third-century Chinese mathematician known for commentaries on the Nine Chapters and geometric methods. His commentary preserved explanations and proofs for procedures in the classic text.
Chinese astronomy: The study and observation of celestial motions in Chinese scholarly and administrative traditions. Astronomical calendars relied on mathematical computation and numerical tables.
Decimal place-value system: A numeral system in which a digit’s value depends on its position and powers of ten. Rod numerals used positional decimal notation centuries before it became widespread elsewhere.
Tian yuan shu: A Chinese algebraic method that represents an unknown quantity using a positional arrangement of symbols. It extended rod-based calculation to polynomial equations.

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