Mathematics is an important subject in ancient science in China, with a long history and brilliant achievements. According to the characteristics of its own development, it can be divided into five periods: the germination of ancient mathematics in China; The formation of China's ancient mathematical system; Development of Ancient Mathematics in China —— Prosperity of Ancient Mathematics in China: Integration of Chinese and Western Mathematics.
initial stage
At the end of primitive commune, after the germination of ancient mathematics in China, private ownership and commodity exchange appeared, the concepts of number and shape were further developed. The pottery unearthed during Yangshao culture period has been engraved with the symbol representing 1234. By the end of the primitive commune, written symbols had begun to replace knotted notes.
Pottery unearthed in Xi 'an Banpo has an equilateral triangle composed of 1 ~ 8 dots, and a pattern of 100 small squares divided into squares. The houses in Banpo site are all round and square. In order to draw circles and determine straightness, people have also created drawing and measuring tools such as rulers, moments, rulers and ropes. According to Records of Historical Records Xia Benji, Yu Xia used these tools in water conservancy.
origin
The Book of Changes records that "in ancient times, the rule of law was based on knotting ropes, and later sages used books easily." There are many words for counting in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. From one to ten, as well as hundred, thousand and ten thousand, are special symbolic characters. * * * There are 13 independent symbols, and the notation is written in a combined document, including decimal notation, with a maximum of 30,000.
Calculation is a calculation tool in ancient China, and this calculation method is called calculation. The age of calculation cannot be verified, but it is certain that calculation has been very common in the Spring and Autumn Period.
There are two ways to calculate numbers by counting chips, vertical and horizontal:
When representing multi-digits, the decimal numerical system is adopted, and the digits of each digit are arranged from left to right, criss-crossing (the rule is: one is vertical and ten is horizontal, one hundred stands upright, one thousand is relative to ten, and ten thousand is equal to one hundred), and zero is represented by spaces. Calculation and financing establish good conditions for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
In geometry, it is recorded in Historical Records Xia Benji that Dayu used ruler, moment, mark, rope and other drawing and measuring tools. And a special case of Pythagorean Theorem (called Pythagorean Theorem in the West) has been discovered. During the Warring States Period, the Work Inspection Book written by Qi people summed up the technical specifications of handicrafts at that time, including some measurement contents and some geometric knowledge, such as the concept of angle.