The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan

The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan PDF

Author: Yoshio Mikami

Publisher: Martino Pub

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 9781578984619

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Chinese mathematics was defined by Chinese in ancient times as the "art of calculation" (suan chu). This art was both a practical and spiritual one, and covered a wide range of subjects from religion and astronomy to water control and administration. The oldest existing Chinese texts containing formal mathematical theories were produced during the Han period. The Arithmetic Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven (Chou Pei Suan Ching) is dated before the 3rd century B.C and contains various modern mathematical principles such as working with fractions using a common denominator, and proofs of many geometrical theories. The text contains an accurate process of division for finding out the square root of numbers. When Buddhism entered Japan, from China, around the eighth century, historians infer that Chinese texts on arithmetic, algebra and geometry were taken as the basis for the further development of Japanese mathematics. The earliest of these texts is thought to be the Chou-pei Suan-ching, which contains an example and proof of the Pythagorean theorem. Instead of taking root however, this learning was largely ignored in Japan as the country entered a dark age. It is not until the start of the seventeenth century that definite historical records exist of Japanese mathematicians. The first of these is Kambei Mori who was instrumental in developing arithmetical calculations on the soroban (Japanese abacus). However the most influential of all Japanese mathematicians emerged some years later during the genroku period. Kowa Seki (1642 - 1718) was, by popular accounts, Japan's Newton or Leibnitz

A History of Chinese Mathematics

A History of Chinese Mathematics PDF

Author: Jean-Claude Martzloff

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2007-08-17

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 3540337830

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This book is made up of two parts, the first devoted to general, historical and cultural background, and the second to the development of each subdiscipline that together comprise Chinese mathematics. The book is uniquely accessible, both as a topical reference work, and also as an overview that can be read and reread at many levels of sophistication by both sinologists and mathematicians alike.

Seki, Founder of Modern Mathematics in Japan

Seki, Founder of Modern Mathematics in Japan PDF

Author: Eberhard Knobloch

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-13

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 4431542736

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Seki was a Japanese mathematician in the seventeenth century known for his outstanding achievements, including the elimination theory of systems of algebraic equations, which preceded the works of Étienne Bézout and Leonhard Euler by 80 years. Seki was a contemporary of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, although there was apparently no direct interaction between them. The Mathematical Society of Japan and the History of Mathematics Society of Japan hosted the International Conference on History of Mathematics in Commemoration of the 300th Posthumous Anniversary of Seki in 2008. This book is the official record of the conference and includes supplements of collated texts of Seki's original writings with notes in English on these texts. Hikosaburo Komatsu (Professor emeritus, The University of Tokyo), one of the editors, is known for partial differential equations and hyperfunction theory, and for his study on the history of Japanese mathematics. He served as the President of the International Congress of Mathematicians Kyoto 1990.

Sacred Mathematics

Sacred Mathematics PDF

Author: Fukagawa Hidetoshi

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1400829712

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Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries Japan was totally isolated from the West by imperial decree. During that time, a unique brand of homegrown mathematics flourished, one that was completely uninfluenced by developments in Western mathematics. People from all walks of life--samurai, farmers, and merchants--inscribed a wide variety of geometry problems on wooden tablets called sangaku and hung them in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. Sacred Mathematics is the first book published in the West to fully examine this tantalizing--and incredibly beautiful--mathematical tradition. Fukagawa Hidetoshi and Tony Rothman present for the first time in English excerpts from the travel diary of a nineteenth-century Japanese mathematician, Yamaguchi Kanzan, who journeyed on foot throughout Japan to collect temple geometry problems. The authors set this fascinating travel narrative--and almost everything else that is known about temple geometry--within the broader cultural and historical context of the period. They explain the sacred and devotional aspects of sangaku, and reveal how Japanese folk mathematicians discovered many well-known theorems independently of mathematicians in the West--and in some cases much earlier. The book is generously illustrated with photographs of the tablets and stunning artwork of the period. Then there are the geometry problems themselves, nearly two hundred of them, fully illustrated and ranging from the utterly simple to the virtually impossible. Solutions for most are provided. A unique book in every respect, Sacred Mathematics demonstrates how mathematical thinking can vary by culture yet transcend cultural and geographic boundaries.

The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam

The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam PDF

Author: Victor J. Katz

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-08-10

Total Pages: 701

ISBN-13: 0691235392

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In recent decades it has become obvious that mathematics has always been a worldwide activity. But this is the first book to provide a substantial collection of English translations of key mathematical texts from the five most important ancient and medieval non-Western mathematical cultures, and to put them into full historical and mathematical context. The Mathematics of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, and Islam gives English readers a firsthand understanding and appreciation of these cultures' important contributions to world mathematics. The five section authors—Annette Imhausen (Egypt), Eleanor Robson (Mesopotamia), Joseph Dauben (China), Kim Plofker (India), and J. Lennart Berggren (Islam)—are experts in their fields. Each author has selected key texts and in many cases provided new translations. The authors have also written substantial section introductions that give an overview of each mathematical culture and explanatory notes that put each selection into context. This authoritative commentary allows readers to understand the sometimes unfamiliar mathematics of these civilizations and the purpose and significance of each text. Addressing a critical gap in the mathematics literature in English, this book is an essential resource for anyone with at least an undergraduate degree in mathematics who wants to learn about non-Western mathematical developments and how they helped shape and enrich world mathematics. The book is also an indispensable guide for mathematics teachers who want to use non-Western mathematical ideas in the classroom.

The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan

The Development of Mathematics in China and Japan PDF

Author: Yoshio Mikami

Publisher:

Published: 1961

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13:

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Surrounded by the warmth of new-found relatives and friends in a small Kentucky town, fourteen-year-old Sarah is eased of the sadness of her father's suicide in Detroit during the Depression and finds a way to celebrate his life.

A History of Japanese Mathematics

A History of Japanese Mathematics PDF

Author: David E. Smith

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2013-03-21

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0486154467

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Classic survey chronicles the development of the Japanese mathematics: use of the abacus; application of counting rods to algebra; Seki Kowa; the circle principle; Ajima Chokuyen; Wada Nei; more. 1914 edition. Includes 74 figures.

Jacques Hadamard

Jacques Hadamard PDF

Author: Vladimir Gilelevič Mazʹâ

Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 9780821819234

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This book presents a fascinating story of the long life and great accomplishments of Jacques Hadamard (1865-1963), who was once called 'the living legend of mathematics'. As one of the last universal mathematicians, Hadamard's contributions to mathematics are landmarks in various fields. His life is linked with world history of the 20th century in a dramatic way. This work provides an inspiring view of the development of various branches of mathematics during the 19th and 20th centuries.Part I of the book portrays Hadamard's family, childhood and student years, scientific triumphs, and his personal life and trials during the first two world wars. The story is told of his involvement in the Dreyfus affair and his subsequent fight for justice and human rights. Also recounted are Hadamard's worldwide travels, his famous seminar, his passion for botany, his home orchestra, where he played the violin with Einstein, and his interest in the psychology of mathematical creativity. Hadamard's life is described in a readable and inviting way.The authors humorously weave throughout the text his jokes and the myths about him. They also movingly recount the tragic side of his life. Stories about his relatives and friends, and old letters and documents create an authentic and colorful picture. The book contains over 300 photographs and illustrations. Part II of the book includes a lucid overview of Hadamard's enormous work, spanning over six decades. The authors do an excellent job of connecting his results to current concerns.While the book is accessible to beginners, it also provides rich information of interest to experts. Vladimir Mazya and Tatyana Shaposhnikova were the 2003 laureates of the Insitut de France's Prix Alfred Verdaguer. One or more prizes are awarded each year, based on suggestions from the Academie francaise, the Academie de sciences, and the Academie de beaux-arts, for the most remarkable work in the arts, literature, and the sciences. In 2003, the award for excellence was granted in recognition of Mazya and Shaposhnikova's book, ""Jacques Hadamard, A Universal Mathematician"", which is both an historical book about a great citizen and a scientific book about a great mathematician.

Classics of Mathematics

Classics of Mathematics PDF

Author: Ronald Calinger

Publisher: Pearson

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 824

ISBN-13:

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Appropriate for undergraduate and select graduate courses in the history of mathematics, and in the history of science. This edited volume of readings contains more than 130 selections from eminent mathematicians from A `h-mose' to Hilbert and Noether. The chapter introductions comprise a concise history of mathematics based on critical textual analysis and the latest scholarship. Each reading is preceded by a substantial biography of its author.