"Mathematics is the end of the four seasons and the ancestor of all things" says that mathematics is the beginning and end of the four seasons and the source of all things, and emphasizes the importance of mathematics and calculation.

This sentence exaggerates the role of mathematics in life, deifies mathematics too much, and compares mathematics to the beginning and end of the four seasons. Everything is inseparable from mathematics, which is the origin of everything and also shows the importance of mathematics.

Sunzi Suanjing is an important mathematical work in ancient China. It was written in the fourth and fifth centuries, that is, about 1500 years ago. The author's life and writing year are unknown. Sun Tzu's Art of War was handed down in three volumes. The volume describes the system of vertical and horizontal alternation and multiplication and division, and illustrates the algorithm of calculating scores and the method of calculating Kaiping with examples.

The main content of Sun Tzu's classic calculation

This book comprehensively discusses the role of mathematics in human life, production, personnel and everything in the universe, but it tends to be omnipotent. The volume contains some necessary preparatory knowledge, including measurement system, decimal method, specific gravity table of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead and jade, counting method of calculation, calculation law, multiplication and division method, millet method, Jiujiu table, square table, and some simple examples of multiplication and division.

There are 28 application problems in the volume, including four fractions, skills in the present, square field, round field, millet, quantity, quotient power, decay, square root, surplus and deficiency, and nine problems are exactly the same as those in Nine Chapters of Arithmetic.

There are 36 practical problems in the second volume, and there are no abstract skills. Most of them can be solved by simple multiplication and division. There are still some complicated arithmetic problems such as losing, equations, surplus and deficiency, putting cups on the river, and keeping chickens and rabbits in the same cage. Things are unknown. The equation is solved by direct division. Later, the activities of shaking cups and keeping chickens and rabbits in cages on the river were widely spread among the people in China.

In fact, it is a congruence problem in number theory today, which initiated a new subject of ancient mathematics in China. In the west, the solution of this kind of problem is called Sun Tzu's theorem or China's remainder theorem. The arrangement of the middle and lower volumes is staggered and chaotic.