Chinese Mathematics
中国数学
Presented by :
Rucel Y. Nocete
James Elvin Ipulan
大家好
Dà jiā hǎo
Hello, everyone
Even as mathematical developments in the ancient Greek world were beginning to
falter during the final centuries BCE, the burgeoning trade empire of China was
leading Chinese mathematics to ever greater heights.
Chinese mathematics was, like their language, very concise. It was very much
problem based, motivated by problems of the calendar, trade, land measurement,
architecture, government records and taxes.
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The Chinese Number System
The simple but efficient ancient Chinese
numbering system, which dates back to at least
the 2nd millennium BCE, used small bamboo rods
arranged to represent the numbers 1 to 9, which
were then places in columns representing units,
tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.
It was, therefore, a decimal place value system,
very similar to the one we use today – indeed it
was the first such number system, adopted by
the Chinese over a thousand years before it was
adopted in the West.
The Chinese Number System
The use of the abacus is often thought of as a
Chinese idea, although some type of abacus
was in use in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece,
probably much earlier than in China (the first
Chinese abacus, or “suanpan”, we know of
dates to about the 2nd Century BCE).
Lo Shu magic square
There was a pervasive fascination with numbers and mathematical
patterns in ancient China, and different numbers were believed to
have cosmic significance.
Magic squares – squares of numbers where each row, column and
diagonal added up to the same total – were regarded as having
great spiritual and religious significance.
The Lo Shu Square, an order three square where each row, column and
diagonal adds up to 15, is perhaps the earliest of these, dating back to
around 650 BCE (the legend of Emperor Yu’s discovery of the square on
the back of a turtle is set as taking place in about 2800 BCE).
Yang Hui
Chinese Mathematician
But soon, bigger magic squares were being
constructed, with even greater magical and
mathematical powers, culminating in the
elaborate magic squares, circles and
triangles of Yang Hui in the 13th Century
(Yang Hui also produced a triangular
representation of binomial coefficients
identical to the later Pascals’ Triangle, and
was perhaps the first to use decimal
fractions in the modern form).
Early Chinese Method of Solving Equation
But the main thrust of Chinese mathematics
developed in response to the empire’s growing
need for mathematically competent
administrators.
A textbook called “Jiuzhang Suanshu” or “Nine
Chapters on the Mathematical Art” (written
over a period of time from about 200 BCE
onwards, probably by a variety of authors)
became an important tool in the education of
such a civil service, covering hundreds of
problems in practical areas such as trade,
taxation, engineering and the payment of
wages.
Early Chinese Method of Solving Equation
It was particularly important as a guide to how
to solve equations – the deduction of an
unknown number from other known
information – using a sophisticated matrix-
based method which did not appear in the
West until Carl Friedrich Gauss re-discovered it
at the beginning of the 19th Century (and which
is now known as Gaussian elimination).
Lui Hui - Chinese Mathematician
Among the greatest mathematicians of ancient
China was Liu Hui, who produced a detailed “I read the Nine
Chapters as a
commentary on the “Nine Chapters” in 263 CE. boy, and
He was one of the first mathematicians known studied it in full
detail when I
to leave roots unevaluated, giving more exact was older.”
results instead of approximations.
By an approximation using a regular polygon
with 192 sides, he also formulated an algorithm
which calculated the value of π as 3.14159
(correct to five decimal places), as well as
developing a very early form of both integral
and differential calculus.
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Lui Hui - Chinese Mathematician
As an example let us look at the contribution Liu Hui made to finding a good approximation to ππ. This appears in the first
chapter of the Nine Chapters. He found a recurrence relation to express the length of the side of a regular polygon with
3×2n3×2n sides in terms of the length of the side of a regular polygon with 3×2n−13×2n−1 sides. This is achieved with an
application of Pythagoras's theorem, which Liu Hui knew as the Gougu theorem.
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Lui Hui - Chinese Mathematician
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The Chinese Remainder Theorem
Chinese also started to pursue more abstract
mathematical problems (although usually
couched in rather artificial practical terms),
including what has become known as the
Chinese Remainder Theorem.
This uses the remainders after dividing an
unknown number by a succession of smaller
numbers, such as 3, 5 and 7, in order to calculate
the smallest value of the unknown number.
Sun Tzu - Chinese Mathematician
A technique for solving such problems, initially
posed by Sun Tzu in the 3rd Century CE and
considered one of the jewels of mathematics, was
being used to measure planetary movements by
Chinese astronomers in the 6th Century AD, and
even today it has practical uses, such as in Internet
cryptography.
His interests were in astronomy. He tried to
develop a calendar and for this he investigated
Diophantine equations. He is best known for
authoring Sun Tzu Suan Ching (pinyin: Sun Zi Suan
Jing; literally, "Sun Tzu's Calculation Classic"),
which contains the Chinese remainder theorem.
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Qin Jiushao - Chinese Mathematician
By the 13th Century, the Golden Age of Chinese
mathematics, there were over 30 prestigious
mathematics schools scattered across China.
Perhaps the most brilliant Chinese mathematician
of this time was Qin Jiushao, a rather violent and
corrupt imperial administrator and warrior, who
explored solutions to quadratic and even cubic
equations using a method of repeated
approximations very similar to that later devised in
the West by Sir Isaac Newton in the 17th Century.
Qin Jiushao - Chinese Mathematician
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End of China
Mathematics History
INDIAN
MATHEMATICS
Table of Contents
1 Introduction to Indian Mathematics 6 The Groundbreaking Invention of
Zero (7th Century CE)
2 Early Vedic Mathematics (Before 7 Brahmagupta's Groundbreaking
1000 BCE) Insights
Sulba Sutras: A Testament to The Golden Age of Indian Mathematics
3 8 (5th to 12th Century CE)
Geometry (8th Century BCE)
Aryabhata's Achievements (6th Century
4 Infinite Concepts in Jain and 9
Buddhist Mathematics CE)
The Birth of the Decimal System Bhaskara II's Innovations (12th Century
5 10
(Before 3rd Century CE) CE)
Table of Contents
11 Kerala School of Mathematics (14th
Century CE)
Table of Contents
Kerala School of Mathematics (14th
11 Century CE)
10
Introduction to Indian Mathematics
Despite developing quite independently of Chinese (and probably also of Babylonian mathematics),
some very advanced mathematical discoveries were made at a very early time in India.
1.India's mathematical journey is rich and profound, emerging independently and distinctly, paving the
way for monumental discoveries.
2.Its development flourished alongside ancient Chinese and Babylonian mathematics, creating unique
methods.
3.Indian mathematicians pushed boundaries in arithmetic and geometry, laying a solid foundation for
future explorations.
4.Innovations such as the decimal system and the concept of zero not only transformed Indian
mathematics but also influenced global arithmetic.
5.This presentation will explore the fascinating milestones of Indian mathematics from its inception to its
golden age.
10
Early Vedic Mathematics (Before 1000 BCE)
Mantras from the early Vedic period invoke powers of ten
and arithmetic operations. Buddha enumerated numbers up
to 10^53 and described six more numbering systems,
leading to a number equivalent to 10^421. This is as close to
infinity as any in ancient times, and the size of an atom is
remarkably close to a carbon atom.
Sulba Sutras: A Testament to Geometry (8th Century BCE)
The "Sulba Sutras" , a text that likely inspired Pythagoras (long
before Pythagoras), listed simple Pythagorean triples,
simplified Pythagorean theorems, and geometric solutions of
linear and quadratic equations. It also provided an accurate
figure for the square root of 2, with a value of 1.4142156.
Infinite Concepts in Jain and Buddhist Mathematics
Jain mathematicians identified five different infinities: infinite in
one direction (1), in two directions (2), in area (3), infinite
everywhere (4) and perpetually infinite (5).
In the 3rd or 2nd Century BCE, and ancient Buddhist literature
acknowledged indeterminate and infinite numbers, with
countable, uncountable, and infinite types.
The Birth of the Decimal System (Before 3rd Century CE)
The Indians early discovered the benefits of a decimal place value
number system, and were certainly using it before about the 3rd
Century CE. They refined and perfected the system, particularly the
written representation of the numerals, creating the ancestors of the
nine numerals. Disseminated by medieval Arabic mathematicians,
it's considered one of greatest intellectual innovations.
The Groundbreaking Invention of Zero (7th Century CE)
The Indians played a significant role in the
development of mathematics, with the
earliest recorded usage of a circle
character for zero attributed to a 9th-
century engraving. The conceptual leap
to include zero as a number in its own
right, credited to 7th-century Indian
mathematicians Brahmagupta or
Bhaskara I, revolutionized mathematics.
The Groundbreaking Invention of Zero (7th Century CE)
But the brilliant conceptual leap to include zero as a number in its
own right (rather than merely as a placeholder, a blank or empty
space within a number, as it had been treated until that time).
The use of zero as a number which could be used in calculations
and mathematical investigations, would revolutionize mathematics.
Brahmagupta's Groundbreaking Insights
He established the basic mathematical rules for dealing with zero:
1 + 0 = 1; 1 – 0 = 1; and 1 x 0 = 0 (the breakthrough which would
make sense of the apparently non-sensical operation 1 ÷ 0 would
also fall to an Indian, the 12th Century mathematician Bhaskara II).
Brahmagupta introduced rules for negative numbers and quadratic
equations with two possible solutions. He used color initials to
represent unknowns, marking the beginning of algebraic concepts.
Indian astronomers used trigonometry tables(Golden Age of Indian Mathematics)
Golden Age Indian mathematicians made
fundamental advances in the theory of
trigonometry, a method of linking geometry and
numbers first developed by the Greeks. Indian
astronomers used trigonometry to calculate
distances between Earth, Moon, and Sun,
forming a right-angled triangle. They also
discovered the sine function of any given angle,
with the "Surya Siddhanta" text containing the
roots of modern trigonometry, including the first
real use of sines, cosines, inverse sines, tangents,
and secants.
Indian astronomers used trigonometry tables(Golden Age of Indian Mathematics)
They used ideas like the sine, cosine and tangent functions (which relate the angles of a
triangle to the relative lengths of its sides) to survey the land around them, navigate the
seas and even chart the heavens.
They realized that, when the Moon is half full and directly opposite the Sun, then the Sun,
Moon and Earth form a right angled triangle, and were able to accurately measure the
angle as 1⁄7°. Their sine tables gave a ratio for the sides of such a triangle as 400:1,
indicating that the Sun is 400 times further away from the Earth than the Moon.
Aryabhata's Achievements (6th Century CE)
The great Indian mathematician and
astronomer Aryabhata produced
categorical definitions of sine, cosine,
versine and inverse sine, and specified
complete sine and versine tables, in
3.75° intervals from 0° to 90°, to an
accuracy of 4 decimal places.
Aryabhata's Achievements (6th Century CE)
Aryabhata also demonstrated solutions to simultaneous quadratic
equations, and produced an approximation for the value of π equivalent
to 3.1416, correct to four decimal places.
He used this to estimate the circumference of the Earth, arriving at a
figure of 24,835 miles, only 70 miles off its true value.
He seems to have been aware that π is an irrational number, and
that any calculation can only ever be an approximation, something not
proved in Europe until 1761.
Bhaskara II's Innovations (12th Century CE)
Bhaskara II, a 12th-century Indian
mathematician, introduced
division by zero, symbolizing
infinity. He made significant
contributions to mathematical fields,
including solutions to equations,
Diophantine equations, and
trigonometry.
Bhaskara II's Innovations (12th Century CE)
He noticed that dividing one into two pieces yields a
half, so
1 ÷ 1⁄2 = 2. Similarly, 1 ÷ 1⁄3 = 3.
So, dividing 1 by smaller and smaller factions yields
a larger and larger number of pieces. Ultimately,
therefore, dividing one into pieces of zero size would
yield infinitely many pieces, indicating that 1 ÷ 0 = ∞
(the symbol for infinity).
Kerala School of Mathematics (14th Century CE)
Madhava of Sangamagrama, a medieval Indian mathematician-astronomer, founded the
Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics in the late 14th century. He developed
infinite series approximations for trigonometric functions, contributed to geometry,
algebra, and calculus.
BRAHMAGUPTA :
MATHEMATICIAN
AND
ASTRONOMER
BRAHMAGUPTA :
MATHEMATICIAN
AND
ASTRONOMER
Biography
The great 7th Century Indian
mathematician and astronomer
Brahmagupta wrote some important works
on both mathematics and astronomy
He was from the state of Rajasthan of
northwest India (he is often referred to as
Bhillamalacarya, the teacher from
Bhillamala), and later became the head of
the astronomical observatory at Ujjain in
central India.
Most of his works are composed in elliptic
verse, a common practice in Indian
mathematics at the time, and consequently
have something of a poetic ring to them.
Brahmasphutasiddhanta
It seems likely that Brahmagupta’s works,
especially his most famous text, the
“Brahmasphutasiddhanta”, were brought
by the 8th Century Abbasid caliph Al-
Mansur to his newly founded centre of
learning at Baghdad on the banks of the
Tigris, providing an important link between
Indian mathematics and astronomy and the
nascent upsurge in science and
mathematics in the Islamic world.
Brahmasphutasiddhanta
In his work on arithmetic, Brahmagupta
explained how to find the cube and cube-
root of an integer and gave rules
facilitating the computation of squares
and square roots.
He also gave rules for dealing with five
types of combinations of fractions. He
gave the sum of the squares of the first n
natural numbers as n(n + 1)(2n + 1)⁄ 6 and
the sum of the cubes of the first n natural
numbers as (n(n + 1)⁄2)².
Brahmasphutasiddhanta – Treat Zero as a Number
“Brahmasphutasiddhanta” is probably the
earliest known text to treat zero as a
number in its own right, rather than as
simply a placeholder digit as was done by
the Babylonians, or as a symbol for a lack
of quantity as was done by the Greeks
and Romans.
Brahmagupta established the basic
mathematical rules for dealing with zero
(1 + 0 = 1; 1 – 0 = 1; and 1 x 0 = 0), although
his understanding of division by zero was
incomplete (he thought that 1 ÷ 0 = 0).
The Concept of Negative Integer
Brahmagupta’s view of numbers as abstract entities, rather than
just for counting and measuring, allowed him to make yet another
huge conceptual leap which would have profound consequence for
future mathematics.
Previously, the sum 3 – 4, for example, was considered to be either
meaningless or, at best, just zero. Brahmagupta, however, realized
that there could be such a thing as a negative number, which he
referred to as “debt” as a opposed to “property”.
He expounded on the rules for dealing with negative numbers (e.g.
a negative times a negative is a positive, a negative times a
positive is a negative, etc).
Two values of X in Quadratic Equation
Furthermore, he pointed out, quadratic equations (of the type x2 +
2 = 11, for example) could in theory have two possible solutions, one
of which could be negative, because 32 = 9 and -32 = 9.
In addition to his work on solutions to general linear equations and
quadratic equations, Brahmagupta went yet further by considering
systems of simultaneous equations (set of equations containing
multiple variables), and solving quadratic equations with two
unknowns, something which was not even considered in the West
until a thousand years later, when Fermat was considering similar
problems in 1657.
Bhaskara II Almost 500 years later, in the 12th
Century, another Indian mathematician,
Bhaskara II, showed that the answer
should be infinity, not zero (on the
grounds that 1 can be divided into an
infinite number of pieces of size zero), an
answer that was considered correct for
centuries.
However, this logic does not explain why
2 ÷ 0, 7 ÷ 0, etc, should also be zero – the
modern view is that a number divided by
zero is actually “undefined” (i.e. it
doesn’t make sense).
Brahmagupta’s Theorem on cyclic
quadrilaterals
Brahmagupta even attempted to
write down these rather abstract
concepts, using the initials of the
names of colours to represent
unknowns in his equations, one of the
earliest intimations of what we now
know as algebra.
Brahmagupta dedicated a
substantial portion of his work to
geometry and trigonometry. He
established √10 (3.162277) as a good
practical approximation for π
(3.141593)
gave a formula, now known as Brahmagupta’s Formula, for the area of a
cyclic quadrilateral, as well as a celebrated theorem on the diagonals of
a cyclic quadrilateral, usually referred to as Brahmagupta’s Theorem.
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Introduction
Madhava, sometimes called the greatest
mathematician-astronomer of medieval India. a
renowned medieval Indian mathematician-
astronomer, founded the Kerala School of
Astronomy and Mathematics in the late 14th century.
He is a key figure in Kerala mathematicians, the
source for several infinite series expansions (including
the sine, cosine, tangent and arctangent functions
and the value of π), he is credited with introducing
infinite series expansions, marking the transition from
finite algebra to infinite considerations, impacting
calculus and mathematical analysis.
Madhava Series
Madhava connected infinite series
with geometry and trigonometry,
finding an exact formula for π by
adding and subtracting odd number
fractions to infinity, two centuries
before Leibniz's European
conclusion. Through his application
of this series, Madhava obtained a
value for π correct to an astonishing
13 decimal places.
Infinite Series for Trigonometric Functions
Madhava's use of infinite series for
trigonometric functions, later
developed by Kerala School
successors, laid the foundations for
later calculus and analysis, and
either he or his disciples developed
an early form of integration for
simple functions. Historians suggest
his work may have been transmitted
to Europe via Jesuit missionaries and
traders, influencing later European
calculus developments.
Infinite Series for Trigonometric Functions
Madhava's use of infinite series for
trigonometric functions, later
developed by Kerala School
successors, laid the foundations for
later calculus and analysis, and
either he or his disciples developed
an early form of integration for
simple functions. Historians suggest
his work may have been transmitted
to Europe via Jesuit missionaries and
traders, influencing later European
calculus developments.
Infinite Series for Trigonometric Functions
Madhava discovered
transcendental equation
solutions through iteration,
approximations for
transcendental numbers, and
methods for determining
Moon positions every 36
minutes and estimating planet
motions in astronomy.
Thank
You
