Astrology is a semisymbolic algebra. "Using different words to express different unknowns means the transformation to symbolic algebra, which includes the abstraction of logarithm, the abstraction of words and the abstract thinking process of operation, showing the high abstract thinking ability of China mathematicians." Wang Hongjun and Sun Hongan: Thoughts and Methods of Ancient Mathematics in China, Jiangsu Education Press, 1988, p. 43. It is the embryonic form of modern symbolic algebra. The emergence and perfection of monty is an important link in the development of China's ancient mathematical thought, and the source of this important mathematical thought is Taoist thought.
Astrology is a method of expressing equations with mathematical symbols. "Establishing Tianyuan One" is his main mathematical thinking method, which is equivalent to "setting ⅹ as so-and-so" in modern mathematics. China's mathematical thought of ancient mathematical equations can be traced back to Nine Chapters of Arithmetic in the Han Dynasty, in which quadratic equations were established in the form of text narration, but there is still a lack of clear concept of unknowns. In the Tang Dynasty, Wang Xiaotong successfully listed cubic equations with a high degree of mathematical skills, but he still could not master the general method of listing equations and still needed to express them with the help of language. Mr. Guo Jinbin studied the evolution of China's traditional calculation thought, and thought: "In the Song Dynasty, the development of higher-order equations made the equations more and more difficult to do. However, it is impossible to find a general method of column equation. Because we all know that to solve practical problems with equations, we must first list the equations according to the conditions provided by the problems, and then solve the equations to find the roots and get the answers. Tianshu' is a general equation-setting method with China's unique style. " Guo Jinbin: The History of Traditional Scientific Thoughts in China, Knowledge Publishing House, 1993, p. 43. The author believes that the "unique style of China" mentioned by Mr. Guo Jinbin is mainly reflected in the concept of "Tianyuan" and the thinking method of "establishing Tianyuan" advocated by Daomen Dongyuan.
The alchemy taught by Taoist mathematicians in the Jin Dynasty may also have a positive impact on the development of mathematical thought in the Southern Song Dynasty. Mr. Qian Baoyu pointed out when talking about the problem of "mathematics teaching in Jinyuan":
Qin's Shu Shu in Nine Chapters (A.D. 1247) was the most valuable mathematical work in the Southern Song Dynasty. Jiu Shao, a Sichuanese, moved to the southeast and settled in Huzhou. The preface to Shu Shu Jiu Zhang says, "I served my relatives in Zhongdu in my early years because I wanted to visit a surname. I also tasted mathematics from hermits. " His great pursuit of "building a Tianyuan" is suspected to have come from the hands of Jin people, and it is not another Tianshi skill in the Southern Song Dynasty. Selected works of Qian Baoyu's scientific history, Science Press, 1983, p. 32 1.