"Mathematics is not only a method, an art or a language, but also a rich knowledge system, which is very useful for natural scientists, social scientists, philosophers, logicians and artists and affects the theories of politicians and theologians; Satisfied human curiosity to explore the universe and meditation on beautiful music; Sometimes it may even subtly affect the process of modern history. " "In fact, in modern empirical science, the acceptance of mathematical methods has increasingly become the main criterion for the success of this discipline."

The definition of mathematics in the Encyclopedia of China Mathematics Volume is: "Mathematics is the study of quantitative relations and spatial forms in the real world, in short, it is the science of studying numbers and shapes." (Wu Wenjun) This authoritative assertion was born out of Marx and Engels' generalization of mathematics. Engels pointed out that "mathematics is a quantitative science" and "the object of pure mathematics is the spatial form and quantitative relationship in the real world".

Mathematics is the product of diversification and integration. It is not easy to give an appropriate answer to "what is mathematics" in a few sentences. The key is to look at the problem. To understand "mathematics", we should move from monism to pluralism. Courand, an American mathematician, said in his book What is Mathematics: "... For scholars, for ordinary people, it is more about relying on themselves.