JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
A Comprehensive, Academic Journal of the Philosophy, History, Sociology and Cultural Studies of Science and Technology
Author Information
ZHU Yiwen
Information
<p>Department of Philosophy and Institute of Logic and Cognition</p><p>Sun Yat-sen University</p><p>zhuyiwen@ymail.com</p>
Research Articles
-
The Historical Evolution of Confucian Procedure for Square Root Extraction: The Case of Scholars' Commentaries on Abstract: Chinese mathematics has a long history. One of the important achievements of Chinese mathematics is the procedure for square root extraction carried out with counting rods. However, previous studies have paid less attention to the Confucian method tradition. Confucian scholars in the Han dynasty disputed on “To rule a county of a thousand chariots” of the Analects, in which a mathematical problem was hidden and the procedure was not written down. Huang Kang of the Liang dynasty commented on this excerpt, and used diagrams to extract square root, which was different from the procedure carried out with counting rods, and was the origin of Confucian method for square root extraction. After that, Kong Yingda and Jia Gongyan of the Tang dynasty, Xing Bing and Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty, Xu Qian of the Yuan dynasty, Liu Baonan of the Qing dynasty continued discussing Confucian methods in their study of Confucianism. On the other side, in the Mathematical Procedures of the Five Canons, Zhen Luan of the West Zhou dynasty used the square root extraction procedure carried out with counting rods to comment on the same excerpt of the Analects. Li Chunfeng of Tang dynasty commented on the Mathematical Procedures of the Five Canons. Zhen and Li tried to unify the mathematical procedures, but they failed. Dai Zhen of Qing dynasty edited ancient mathematical books, and highly evaluated the Mathematical Procedures of the Five Canons. After the later Qing period, the specialty and independence of mathematics was highly confirmed. So the mathematicians' explanations were gradually accepted, and the Confucians' methods were gradually forgotten.Issue:Volume 41, lssue 2, February 2019Page: 49-55
-
The Diversity of Mathematics and Its Relationship to School of the Mind in the Middle Ming Dynasty Abstract: For a long time, the academic community has generally regarded the emptiness of xinxue (i.e. school of the mind in the middle Ming dynasty) as a key factor in the decline of mathematics and even science during the Ming dynasty. Since Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, abolished School of Mathematics at the Imperial University, scholars’ understanding of the relationship between mathematics and Confucianism was largely shaped by Zhu Xi’s influence. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, xinxue gained prominence, with Wang Yangming considering mathematics an insignificant branch of his xinxue. However, some of his followers, such as Gu Yingxiang and Tang Shunzhi, engaged deeply traditional mathematics. As a result, there was no theoretical consensus on the relationship between mathematics and xinxue. This divergence was linked to the coexistence of multiple mathematical practices in the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, Gu Yingxiang, Tang Shunzhi, and Zhou Shuxue devoted considerable efforts to study problems relating to right-angle triangle as well as arc-sagitta of circles. However, since the mathematical manuscripts available at that time may not have included detailed procedural explanations using rod numerals, these scholars struggled to fully understand the operations of the Celestial Source method. On the other hand, mathematics continues to thrive in various practical domains, including commerce, military strategy and music. From the perspective of mathematical practice, mathematics and xinxue were relatively independent. The rise of xinxue did not, in itself, present a substantial obstacle to the development of mathematics and science. Key Words: Mathematical practice; School of the Mind; Gu Yingxiang; Tang Shunzhi; Zhou ShuxueIssue:Volume 47, lssue 7, July 2025Page: 76-83
JOURNAL OF DIALECTICS OF NATURE
- Contact Us
- Address: No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China
- Phone: +86-10-88256007
- Email:jdn@ucas.ac.cn
Follow Us
© 2014 Copyright of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
© 2014 Copyright of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
