The name of the decimal system was put forward by Zhu Shijie, an algebraic scientist of the13rd generation. In the 13th century, lowercase symbols representing decimals appeared in China. In the west, decimals appear very late. It was not until the16th century that the French mathematician kravis first used the decimal point as a symbol to distinguish the integer part from the decimal part.

Decimal is a special expression of real numbers. All fractions can be expressed as decimals, and the points in decimals are called decimal points, which are the dividing lines between the integer part and the decimal part of a decimal. Decimals with zero integer parts are called pure decimals, and decimals with non-zero integer parts are called decimals.

China symbol

Before China introduced the western decimal point, China had a set of decimal units: minute, centimeter, milli, silk, dash, micrometer, fiber and so on. Each unit is one tenth of the previous one. For example, 3. 14 16 is pronounced as "three and one minute, four centimeters and one milli-six filaments" or "three and one minute, four centimeters and one milli-six filaments". After the decimal point was introduced to China from the west, except for the translation of decimal prefixes, the decimal unit has been gradually out of use, and the interest rate is still in cents and cents.