My understanding is that every dynasty in China is the reaction of the previous one. In other words, every dynasty will seriously study the reasons for the demise of the previous dynasty, and then overcorrect it.
Yuan dynasty, which can be roughly understood as the embryonic form of commercial society, is characterized by the fact that fiscal policies are formulated and mastered by semu people who are good at doing business, and the needs of the ruling class for pleasure, so the national economy has obvious characteristics of money first. Economic and cultural exchanges are active and handicrafts are developed. Because of this, abacus appeared and became popular in the Yuan Dynasty. On the other hand, there is no market for Confucian scholars, and a large number of clever minds turn to technology and other aspects.
Moreover, there is a tradition of attaching importance to mathematics in the Yuan Dynasty, such as the application of various new trebuchets; As early as the battle against Xiangyang, the * * * gun designed and manufactured by * * * mathematicians made great contributions. Because of military and other reasons, the Yuan Dynasty always attached great importance to new technologies.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was born in a peasant, and he had a thorough understanding of the sufferings of the peasants in the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty can be roughly understood as an agricultural society designed for farmers. The country implements the policy of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business, which is characterized by heavy taxes on goods and the establishment of countless checkpoints throughout the country; The system of sea ban and tribute restricts foreign economic and cultural exchanges. Confucianism was also able to turn over in the Ming Dynasty. If you study eight-part essay hard, you can become an official and make a fortune, so the wisdom of the whole society is devoted to Confucianism, and the number of people who study technology is greatly reduced, and even fewer people engage in mathematics.