Zhoubi suanjing

Diagram for the Pythagorean theorem ( 勾股定理 , Gōugǔ dìnglǐ - " Gougu -theorem ")

The Zhōubì suànjīng ( Chinese 周髀算經 / 周髀算经 , W.-G. Chou-pi suan-ching - "Arithmetic classic of the Zhou gnomon", short: 周髀 , Zhōubì - "Zhou gnomon") is one of the oldest and most famous ancient Chinese mathematical texts, the roots of which are said to go back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC to 771 BC). It is one of the oldest books in the series of "Ten Mathematical Classics" ( Suanjing shi shu ) .

content

The book was published around 100 BC. First written in the time of the early Han dynasty (206 BC to 9 AD) and contains everything important from historical Chinese astronomy. It treats cosmological speculations about the size of the universe, based on observation and mathematics, and shows how a gnomon can be used to determine the positions of celestial bodies. In a depicted conversation between the Duke of Zhou (周公旦) and his minister Shang Gao, it is explained how a gnomon can be used. The "Zhou-Gnomon" also contains calculations for the movement of celestial bodies and the so-called "hypotenuse figure" (Xian-tu) , which is based on the example of the right triangle (Gougu) on pages 3, 4 and 5, a proof of the theorem of Pythagoras ( Gougu theorem) illustrated.

Perhaps the 3rd century AD, Zhao Shuang's commentary also includes a list of 15 formulas for right triangles. Zhen Luan (6th century AD) and Li Chunfeng (602–670 AD ) wrote further comments .

Chinese editions and text review

photographic reproduction of a wooden plate print from the Ming period in the Sibu congkan collection (四部丛刊)
(Qing) Feng Jing 冯经: Zhoubi suanjing shu (周髀算经述) (Lingnan yishu disiji 岭南遗书第四集)
(Qing) Gu Guanguang (顾观光): Zhoubi suanjing jiaokan ji (周髀算经校勘记) (Wuling shanren yishu 武陵山人遗书)
Qian Baozong:

literature

Carl Benjamin Boyer : A History of Mathematics. Revised by Uta C. Merzbach . 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York NY et al. 1991, ISBN 0-471-54397-7 .
Christopher Cullen : Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China. The Zhou bi Suan jing. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1996, ISBN 0-521-55089-0 ( Needham Research Institute Studies 1).
Christopher Cullen: Chou pi suan ching. In: Michael Loewe (Ed.): Early Chinese Texts. A bibliographical guide. Michael Loewe 1993, ISBN 1-55729-043-1 , pp. 33-38 ( Early China special monograph series 2).
Jean-Claude Martzloff : A History of Chinese Mathematics. Springer, Berlin et al. 1997, ISBN 3-540-54749-5

Individual evidence

↑ Helmuth Gericke ( Mathematik in Antike und Orient. Springer, Berlin et al. 1984, p. 178 f.), On the other hand, sees no proof in this

Web links

[1] Helmuth Gericke ( Mathematik in Antike und Orient. Springer, Berlin et al. 1984, p. 178 f.), On the other hand, sees no proof in this