DOCSLIB.ORG

V Chinese Mathematics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
V Chinese Mathematics V Chinese Mathematics The ancient record of civilization in China began in the more northern Yellow River Valley where the Yangshao culture existed from about 5,000 to 2700 B.C.E. These people lived in the middle and lower parts of the river valley. They cultivated rice and millet, kept pigs, wove baskets and made pottery without a wheel. Their pottery was dyed red with black geometric designs painted on it, and also pictures of fish and human faces. Archeologists have found pottery from these people with the symbols for 1, 2, 5, and 7 painted on the dishes. The next culture, one which evolved from the Yangshao, was the Longshan culture, which thrived from 3,000 to 2,000 B.C.E., approximately. This culture domesticated the water buffalo, sheep and cattle. They made black pottery on a wheel. The pottery was not painted but decorated with grooved or raised rings. From about 2100 to 1600 B.C.E. the Xia (or Hsia) dynasty controlled the Yellow River Valley. Recent discoveries have unearthed a large city with a wall and a moat for defensive purposes surrounding the city. This city has been dated to the early Xia dynasty. It is in Henan Province in today’s China. From about 1500 to 1000 B.C.E the Shang dynasty controlled the area with a capital city at Anyang, also in current day Henan province, just north of the southern bend in the Yellow River. They also used the walled and moated city of the Xia, mentioned above. By 1300 B.C.E. the Shang scribes had invented a brush for writing on bamboo strips, and had a decimal system of writing numerals. We have records of their kings through oracle bones, bones with inscribed writing that were used to foretell the future. Their writing was pictographic and had pictures of the objects referred to in the writing as the symbols used to write. After the Shang dynasty we come to the period of classical Chinese culture, that of the Zhou (or Chou) dynasty. The early Zhou is usually dated from 1027 to 771 B.C.E. with the later Zhou extending from 770 to 256 B.C.E. During the later Zhou dynasty the territory controlled extended to include the more southern Yangtze River Valley. Also during this period the two social strata which formed the basis of Chinese society until 1911 were formed. These are the peasant farmer class and the scholarly scribes in more administrative positions. The Zhou nobility studied a curriculum of ritual, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy and mathematics. They had a sexagesimal calendar but a decimal arithmetic for daily life. During the 700’s B.C.E. the first construction on the Great Wall of China began, and iron was introduced into China. The period from 551 to 233 B.C.E. is known as the Hundred Schools Period of Chinese history. The great philosopher Lao Tsu seems to have predated Confucius in this period. His dates are a matter of speculation. A school of philosophy emerged from his teachings. He tried to reform the government. His philosophy was one of non-striving and non-interference, and came to be known as Taoism. He believed that his central principle could not be expressed in words, so his writings are contradictory and difficult to absorb. His ideas lead most people to a more passive role towards reform. He taught that the Tao is The Way, how the universe actually works, and trying to oppose it is fruitless activity. There were elements of mysticism in his world view. From about 550 to 470 B.C.E. the philosopher Kung Fu Tsu (Confucius) expounded a moral code that included respect for the past, for elders, loyalty, universal education and responsible government that would bring a decent life to all of its citizens. He stayed away from speculations on the nature of existence and the shape of the universe. His writings espouse a more activist way of dealing with life. A very old book, The Book of Diverse Crafts (Kao Gong Ji in Chinese), was written by 476 B.C.E. with later additions in the Warring States Period. The book includes the state of Chinese thinking on engineering, administration, astronomy, physics and mathematics at that time. In the area of mathematics it contains material on fractions, with tenths singled out as the commonest fractions in use, the geometry of measurement for use in surveying and building, standard metrological units and angle measurements of 90o, 45o and 22.5o. The third great philosopher of China is Master Mo, who lived about 470 to 390 B.C.E. He was a master engineer and an expert on fortifications. So he was sought out by rulers to help them become dominant rulers. He had a pacifist philosophy and did not ! think one should blindly follow the principles of the past, as they were innovative in their own day. He urged people to lead lives of self-restraint, avoiding both material and spiritual excesses. He evaluated actions based on their utility to promote the good for people. He argued for a universal benevolence and love for all people, whereas Confucius argued for deeper love for ones’ own parents and superiors. During the Warring States Period, from 403 to 221 B.C.E. the Chinese used a system of counting rods to calculate. This used bamboo, wood or ivory rods shaped like the numerals and arranged in columns by place value, with the larger powers of 10 going to the left. This has a natural place value arrangement, and has no need for a zero, as one merely left that column empty. It carried on the earlier base 10 arithmetic. Another old book is “The Records and Rites of the Zhou Dynasty (Liji in Chinese). In this book we find the curriculum for the Zhou nobility mentioned above as well as mention of the two main classes of administrative officials, the Sihuai who were statistical arithmeticians and the Chouren who were astronomers in charge of the calendar. In the second section we find mathematical problems included to support the development of mathematical innovation. The Book of Master Mo (The Mozi in Chinese) contains the beginnings of theoretical geometry in China. At the start are definitions of point, circle, line, surface and solid figures. In this book is the principle that “A stick, though half of it be broken off each day, will never be exhausted.” This suggests some interest in the idea of a limit 1 1 1 1 to us, and in the infinite series + + + """ + + """ = 1. 2 4 8 2n After the Zhou Dynasty the Qin (221 to 206 B.C.E.) rose to power in China. This Dynasty was a severe and ruthless government, which destroyed the old nobility and instituted large scale public works. With their military they were the first to unify all of China, but they did not! last long. They standardized the characters used in writing as well as Chinese metrology. They considered scholars dangerous to their power, and burned all books that were not for engineering or agriculture. The Imperial Library was destroyed in 206 B.C.E. The famous terra cotta army, a collection of 8,099 larger than life ceramic soldiers was buried with the first Qin emperor in an ornate mausoleum. This is near the Qin capitol city of Xi’an, on the Yellow river near the current city of Xianyang in Shaanxi province. The Han Dynasty avoided the excesses of the Qin, and lasted from 206 B.C.E. to 220 A.D. The Han reunited China, and extended it to cover most of central Asia. They reassembled old books from fragments and reopened schools. By the first century A.D. they were trading with Persia, Alexandrian Egypt and the Roman Empire. The famous Silk Road was thriving. Papermaking was invented in China by 100 A.D. It was in Egypt by 900 A.D. and in Spain by 1150 A.D. There are two venerable texts on Chinese mathematics which date from this Han Dynasty. They are the Zhoubi Suanjing (The Zhou Shadow Guage manual) and the Jiuzhang Suanshu ( The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.) The Zhoubi Suanjing was primarily a book about astronomy which included plenty of mathematics. It was probably written between 100 B.C.E. and 100 A.D. There were two competing theories of astronomy at that time in China. Gai Tian theory held that the earth is an inverted basin bounded by four seas with a heaven that is a concentric hemisphere overhead. HunTian theory held that a rotating sphere contains the heavenly lights and is centered around the earth. The text records the measurements of the moon’s movements, those of the sun, and uses the Gougu Theorem (Pythagorean Theorem ) to calculate distances. Here Gu refers to the length of a vertical stick in the ground, while Gou refers to the shadow cast by the stick. The theory of similar triangles is part of the mathematics used in this book. A picture like the following for 3, 4, 5 triangles appears to justify the Gougu Theorem. It is claimed that this is just a numerical check, but 9 + 16 = 25 is an easier check. It seems that this picture, which generalizes, can be thought of as a proof. 4 3 5 5 5 5 3 4 The Zhoubi Suanjing, probably written around 100 A.D. but based on much earlier material, gives rules for calculating with decimal fractions and approximates square roots, without explicitly recording how to do this.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Proquest Dissertations
    University of Alberta Qin Jiushao and His Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections in Thirteenth-Century China by Ke-Xin Au Yong A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History History and Classics ©Ke-Xin Au Yong Fall 2011 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de ('edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-81281-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-81281-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats.
    [Show full text]
  • OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy Synthesis Report
    OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy CHINA Synthesis Report ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT in collaboration with THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, CHINA ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 30 democracies work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where govern- ments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co- ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members. © OECD 2007 No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be sent to OECD Publishing: [email protected] 3 Foreword This synthesis report (August 2007 Beijing Conference version) summarises the main findings of the OECD review of the Chinese national innovation system (NIS) and policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Science Without Modernization: China's First Encounter with Useful and Reliable Knowledge from Europe Harriet T
    Science Without Modernization: China's First Encounter With Useful And Reliable Knowledge From Europe Harriet T. Zurndorfer Abstract This paper reviews how recent revisionist scholarship on the history of Chinese science and technology has recast the Jesuit enterprise in China. It argues that the Ming and Qing governments' efforts to control the Jesuit-transmitted knowledge in these fields stimulated ever-more interest among local scholars in Chinese traditions of mathematics and astronomy which culminated in the 18th century 'evidential research' movement. But because the scientific knowledge the Jesuits conveyed was already 'out-of-date' before their arrival in China, local scholars never had the possibility to make a complete reassessment of their own mathematical and astronomical practices. As the primary and -- at times the only -- translators of Western scientific thought to China, the Jesuits had an enormous historical impact on how Chinese scholars became trapped in a pre-Copernican universe where Chinese natural philosophy with its focus on metaphysical interpretations of the natural world remained entrenched until the 19th century. Introduction: The History of Chinese Science and Technology in Global Perspective and the 'Great Divergence' In 1603, the famous Chinese intellectual and Christian convert, Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) offered the local magistrate of his native Shanghai county a proposal outlining the methodology to measure the length, width, depth, and water flow of a river. Xu's document (later printed in his collection Nongzheng quanshu [Comprehensive Treatise on Agricultural Administration]; comp. 1639) 1 employed conventional surveying practices as well as calculating techniques based on the Pythagorean theorem. Although it is tempting to attribute Xu's achievement here as a direct consequence of his meeting the Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) in Nanjing that same year, it is not certain from extant documentation that this encounter with the European was the defining influence on his water study.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy and Calendars – the Other Chinese Mathematics Jean-Claude Martzloff
    Astronomy and Calendars – The Other Chinese Mathematics Jean-Claude Martzloff Astronomy and Calendars – The Other Chinese Mathematics 104 BC–AD 1644 123 Jean-Claude Martzloff East Asian Civilisations Research Centre (CRCAO) UMR 8155 The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Paris France The author is an honorary Director of Research. After the publication of the French version of the present book (2009), he has been awarded in 2010 the Ikuo Hirayama prize by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres for the totality of his work on Chinese mathematics. ISBN 978-3-662-49717-3 ISBN 978-3-662-49718-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-49718-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016939371 Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 01A-xx, 97M50 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 The work was first published in 2009 by Honoré Champion with the following title: Le calendrier chinois: structure et calculs (104 av. J.C. - 1644). This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
    [Show full text]
  • Hong Jeongha's Tianyuanshu and Zhengcheng Kaifangfa
    Journal for History of Mathematics http://dx.doi.org/10.14477/jhm.2014.27.3.155 Vol. 27 No. 3 (June 2014), 155–164 Hong JeongHa’s Tianyuanshu and Zhengcheng Kaifangfa 洪正夏의 天元術과 增乘開方法 Hong Sung Sa 홍성사 Hong Young Hee 홍영희 Kim Young Wook* 김영욱 Tianyuanshu and Zengcheng Kaifangfa introduced in the Song–Yuan dynasties and their contribution to the theory of equations are one of the most important achieve- ments in the history of Chinese mathematics. Furthermore, they became the most fundamental subject in the history of East Asian mathematics as well. The opera- tions, or the mathematical structure of polynomials have been overlooked by tra- ditional mathematics books. Investigation of GuIlJib (九一集) of Joseon mathemati- cian Hong JeongHa reveals thatQ Hong’s approach to polynomials is highly struc- n tural. For the expansion of k=1(x + ak), Hong invented a new method which we name Hong JeongHa’s synthetic expansion. Using this, he reveals that the pro- cesses in Zhengcheng Kaifangfa is not synthetic division but synthetic expansion. Keywords: Hong JeongHa, GuIlJib, Hong JeongHa’s synthetic expansion, Tianyuan- shu, Structure of polynomials, Binomial coefficients, Zhengcheng Kaifangfa, Shisuo Kaifangfa; 洪正夏, 九一集, 洪正夏의 組立展開, 天元術, 多項式의 構造, 二項係數, 增乘開 方法, 釋鎖開方法. MSC: 01A13, 01A25, 01A45, 01A50, 12–03, 12E05, 12E12 1 Introduction The theory of equations in Eastern mathematics has as long a history as that in the West and divides into two parts, namely constructing equations and solving them. For the former, Tianyuanshu (天元術) was introduced in the early period of the Song dynasty (960–1279) and then extended up to Siyuanshu (四元術) to repre- sent polynomials of four indeterminates by Zhu Shijie (朱世傑) in his Siyuan Yujian (四元玉鑑, 1303).
    [Show full text]
  • Papers Presented All Over World Inc
    THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: The World’s Greatest Boundary Monument! John F. Brock, Australia Keywords: Ancient China, surveyors, Pei Xiu, Liu Hui, The Haidao Suanjing, Great Wall(s) of China, Greatest Boundary Monument. ”… in the endeavors of mathematical surveying, China’s accomplishments exceeded those realized in the West by about one thousand years.” Frank Swetz – last line in The Sea Island Mathematical Manual: Surveying and Mathematics in Ancient China. ABSTRACT It is said that the Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure on Earth which is visible from space (not from the Moon)! The only natural feature similarly identifiable from the outer reaches past our atmospheric zone has been named as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This Fig. 1 The moon from The Great Wall instead of natural wonder of the sea is vice versa which cannot actually occur !!! continuous while the Great Wall of China is actually made up of a series of castellated walls mainly erected along ridge lines causing major variations in the levels of its trafficable upper surface. Some of the barriers built are not formed from stone but from rammed earth mounds. The purpose for these walls was primarily to facilitate protection from hostile adjoining tribes and marauding hordes of enemy armies intent on looting and pillaging the coffers of its neighbouring wealthier Chinese Dynasty of the time. As the need for larger numbers of military troops became required to defeat the stronger opponents, which may sometimes have formed alliances, the more astute provincial rulers saw a similar advantage in the unification of the disparate Chinese Provinces particularly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of Chinese Mathematical Arts on Seki Kowa
    THE INFLUENCE OF CHINESE MATHEMATICAL ARTS ON SEKI KOWA b y SHIGERU JOCHI, M.A. (Tokai) Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 1 9 9 3 ProQuest Number: 10673061 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673061 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT I will consider the influence of Chinese mathematics on Seki Kowa. For this purpose, my thesis is constructed in four parts, introduction, I the studies of editions; Shu Shn Jin Zhang and Yang Uni S u m Fa, II the conception and extension of method for making magic squares, and 1 the analysis for solving indeterminate equations. In the introduction, I will explain some similarities between Chinese mathematics in the Song dynasty and Seki Kowa's works. It will become clear that the latter was influenced by Chinese mathematics. Then I introduce some former opinions concerning which Chinese mathematical book influenced him. I shall show that two Chinese mathematical books, Shn Shn Jin Zhang and Yang Hni S u m Fa, are particularly important.
    [Show full text]
  • On Mathematical Symbols in China* by Fang Li and Yong Zhang†
    On Mathematical Symbols in China* by Fang Li and Yong Zhang† Abstract. When studying the history of mathemati- cal symbols, one finds that the development of mathematical symbols in China is a significant piece of Chinese history; however, between the beginning of mathematics and modern day mathematics in China, there exists a long blank period. Let us focus on the development of Chinese mathematical symbols, and find out the significance of their origin, evolution, rise and fall within Chinese mathematics. The Origin of the Mathematical Symbols Figure 1. The symbols for numerals are the earliest math- ematical symbols. Ancient civilizations in Babylonia, derived from the word “white” (ⱑ) which symbolizes Egypt and Rome, which each had distinct writing sys- the human’s head in hieroglyphics. Similarly, the Chi- tems, independently developed mathematical sym- nese word “ten thousand” (ϛ) in Oracle Bone Script bols. Naturally, China did not fall behind. In the 16th was derived from the symbol for scorpion, possibly century BC, symbols for numerals, called Shang Or- because it is a creature found throughout rocks “in acle Numerals because they were used in the Oracle the thousands”. In Oracle Script, the multiples of ten, Bone Script, appeared in China as a set of thirteen hundred, thousand and ten thousand can be denoted numbers, seen below. (The original can be found in in two ways: one is called co-digital or co-text, which reference [2].) combines two single figures; another one is called Oracle Bone Script is a branch of hieroglyphics. analysis-word or a sub-word, which uses two sepa- In Figure 1, it is obvious that 1 to 4 are the hiero- rate symbols to represent a single meaning (see [5]).
    [Show full text]
  • Download Cv (Pdf)
    KARINE CHEMLA SPHERE —UMR 7219 CNRS-University Paris Diderot http://www.sphere.univ-paris-diderot.fr/spip.php?article524&lang=en Table of contents 1. Résumé 1.a Education 1.b Academic Positions 1.c Awards and Honors 1.d Fellowships and Grants 2. Publications 2.a Monographs 2.b Edited and Co-edited Books 2.c Articles and Book Chapters (Last twelve years only) 2.d For a wider readership (Last twelve years only) 2.e Reviews (Last ten years only) 3. Conferences 3.a Organization of conferences: A sample 3.b Lectures (Last seven years only) 4. Teaching activities 4.a PhD students advised 4.b Courses (a sample) 5. Service to the Profession 5.a Editorial activities 5.b Management 6. Activities Towards a Broader Audience (a sample) 6.a Publications and editorial activities 6.b Radio and TV Programs 6.c Lectures Résumé. Karine Chemla. May 2020. p. 1 1. Résumé 1.a Education Born February 8, 1957 in Tunisia. 1973: Secondary school degree. 1976: Entry in the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Jeunes Filles (ENSJF). 1977: 4th year of mathematics (U. Paris 7). 1978: Agrégation de mathématiques. 1979: Master Degree (5th year), Mathematics (U. Paris 7). 1980-1981: Scholarship of the Foundation Singer-Polignac on a project “Science and Culture”, undertaken in China. Self Learning of Chinese. Studies on the History of Mathematics in China at the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Academia Sinica, Beijing. Winner of the Prize of the Foundation to the Best Travel Report. 1981-82: 5th year in the ENSJF.
    [Show full text]
  • A "Chinese Eratosthenes" Reconsidered: Chinese and Greek Calculations and Categories1
    134 EASTM 19 (2002) A "Chinese Eratosthenes" Reconsidered: Chinese and Greek Calculations and Categories1 Lisa Raphals [Lisa Raphals is Professor of Chinese and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Riverside. She is author of Knowing Words: Wisdom and Cunning in the Classical Traditions of China and Greece (1992), Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China (1998), and a range of studies in comparative philosophy, history of science and early Taoism. Recent and forthcoming publications include: "The Treatment of Women in a Second-Century Medical Casebook" (Chinese Science, 1998), "Arguments by Women in Early Chinese Texts" (Nan Nü, 2001), and "Fate, Fortune, Chance and Luck in Chinese and Greek: A Comparative Semantic History" (Philosophy East & West 2003, forthcoming).] * * * In the third century B.C.E., Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-196) attempted to calculate the circumference of the earth using gnomon measurements and the properties of similar triangles. His calculation is widely taken as one of the great achievements of Greek science. In "A Chinese Eratosthenes of the flat earth: a study of a fragment of cosmology in Huai Nan tzu ," Christopher Cullen remarks that a comparison of Greek and Chinese calculations provides a good example of the characteristics of success and failure in science. Eratosthenes had two hypotheses of considerable predictive power, despite the fact that he would have found some difficulty in justifying them: (a) the earth is spherical; (b) the sun is for practical purposes at an infinite distance so that its rays reach the earth sensibly parallel. As it will appear, the Chinese author believed neither of these things.2 1 Earlier versions of this paper were presented in the conference "Rethinking Science and Civilization: The Ideologies, Disciplines, and Rhetorics of World History," Stanford University May 21-23, 1999; at the Needham Research Institute, September 10, 1999; and in the Mathematics Colloquium of the University of California at Riverside (April 27, 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • The Frederick Mccormick Korean Collection This Inventory Is Created Based on the Following Two Sources
    The Frederick McCormick Korean Collection This inventory is created based on the following two sources. The numeric numbers follow the list numbers in Judith Boltz’ 1986 inventory. 1. 1986 inventory of the McCormick collection, by Judith Boltz. 2. Frederick McCormick Collection in the Special Collections in the Claremont Colleges Library, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, 2015. I. CHINESE CLASSICS, EDITIONS AND STUDIES A: THE BOOK OF HISTORY 1. (NLK Catalog #: 1) 서전대전 | Sŏjŏn taejŏn | 書傳大全 Complete Commentaries on the Book of History 1820, 10 vols., Woodblock Part of Complete Collection of the Five Classics (五經大全) complied by Hu Guang at the order of Emperor Yongle (永樂, r. 1402-1424) of China’s Ming Dynasty. This is a collection of scholastic discourses based on Collected Commentaries on the Book of History compiled by Cai Shen. (蔡沈, 1167-1230) 2. (NLK Catalog #: 2) 서전언해 | Sŏjŏn ŏnhae | 書傳諺解 Commentary on the Book of History 1820, 5 vols., Woodblock A vernacular translation of the Book of History (書經) that provides pronunciations and syntax in Korean throughout the original Chinese text. This is part of Vernacular Translations of Four Books and Three Classics (書經諺解) published by the order of King Seonjo (宣祖) of Joseon. B. THE BOOK OF ODES 3. (NLK Catalog #: 3) 시전대전 | Sijŏn taejŏn | 詩傳大全 Complete Commentaries on the Book of odes 1820, 10 vols., Woodblock Part of Complete Collection of the Five Classics (五經大全) that complies commentaries based on Collected Commentaries on the Book of Odes (詩集傳) published by Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130-1200) of China’s Song Dynasty. 4. (NLK Catalog #: 4) 시경언해 | Sigyŏng ŏnhae | 詩經諺解 Commentary on the Book of Odes 1820, 7 vols., Woodblock A vernacular translation of the Book of Odes (詩經) that provides pronunciation and syntax in Korean throughout the original Chinese text.
    [Show full text]
  • THE GREAT WALL of CHINA: the World's Greatest Boundary
    THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: The World’s Greatest Boundary Monument! By John F. Brock Keywords: Ancient China, surveyors, Pei Xiu, Liu Hui, The Haidao Suanjing, Great Wall(s) of China, Greatest Boundary Monument. :”… in the endeavors of mathematical surveying, China’s accomplishments exceeded those realized in the West by about one thousand years.” Frank Swetz – last line in The Sea Island Mathematical Manual: Surveying and Mathematics in Ancient China. ABSTRACT It is said that the Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure on Earth which is visible from space (not from the Moon)! The only natural feature similarly identifiable from the outer reaches past our atmospheric zone has been named as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This Fig. 1 The moon from The Great Wall instead of natural wonder of the sea is vice versa which cannot actually occur !!! continuous while the Great Wall of China is actually made up of a series of castellated walls mainly erected along ridge lines causing major variations in the levels of its trafficable upper surface. Some of the barriers built are not formed from stone but from rammed earth mounds. The purpose for these walls was primarily to facilitate protection from hostile adjoining tribes and marauding hordes of enemy armies intent on looting and pillaging the coffers of its neighbouring wealthier Chinese Dynasty of the time. As the need for larger numbers of military troops became required to defeat the stronger opponents, which may sometimes have formed alliances, the more astute provincial rulers saw a similar advantage in the unification of the disparate Chinese Provinces particularly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
    [Show full text]