The content of the history of mathematics often appears in the preface and postscript of China's ancient books.
For example, Liu Hui's Preface to Nine Chapters of Arithmetic (263) tells the history of the formation of Nine Chapters of Arithmetic; Wang Xiaotong once evaluated the mathematical work of Liu Hui, Zu Chongzhi and others in "Counting Tables in Upper Jicoo"; Zu Ti's preface to the meeting of Siyuan tells the development history from Tianyuan to Siyuan. There is the Origin of Arithmetic in the appendix after Arithmetic Note in Song Dynasty, which is the earliest printed and preserved mathematical historical materials in China and even in the world. At the end of Cheng Dawei's Algorithmic Tongzong (1592), there is a paragraph "The Origin of Calculating Classics", which records the mathematical bibliography between Song and Ming Dynasties.
The above materials are scattered fragments, and the systematic arrangement and research on the history of ancient mathematics in China was carried out in the middle and late Qing Dynasty under the influence of Ganjia School. It mainly includes: ① the collation and research of ancient arithmetic books, the revision, annotation and publication of classic ten calculations (calculations between Han and Tang Dynasties) and Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the discussion with Dai Zhen (1724 ~ 1777) and Li Huang (? ~ 18 1 1), Ruan Yuan (1764 ~ 1849), Shen (1829), Roslin (1789 ~) With a large number of income figures, rich information and appropriate comments, it can be comparable to Montukla's mathematical history.
Li Yan and Qian Baoyu were the founders who used modern mathematical concepts to study and sort out the subject of Chinese mathematical history, which made the study of Chinese mathematical history based on modern scientific methods. They all started to collect ancient arithmetic books around the May 4th Movement. After more than half a century of textual research, collation and research, Li Yan's papers were compiled into a series of Arithmetic History (1 ~ 5 episodes, 1954 ~ 1955), and Qian Baodi owned it. Since 1930s, both of them have published monographs on the history of Chinese mathematics. Li Yan has a history of Chinese mathematics (1937) and a mathematical outline of China (1958). Qian Baoyu has History of Chinese Mathematics (I, 1932) and edited History of Chinese Mathematics (1964). Qian Baoyu's Ten Books of Calculating Classics (1963) is an authoritative work, plus the above monographs.
From the end of 19, someone (,he,) and so on. ) has published articles on the history of Chinese mathematics in foreign languages. At the beginning of 20th century, Japanese Kazuo Sanshi wrote The Development of Mathematics between China and China. In 1950s, Needham made a comprehensive introduction to the history of Chinese mathematics in his magnum opus History of Science and Technology in (Volume III). Some classic mathematics books in China have been translated into Japanese, English, French, Russian and German. In Britain, the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Belgium and other countries, some people directly use China's classical literature to study the history of Chinese mathematics and compare it with other countries and regions.