Circle measurements in ancient China (Q1095126): Difference between revisions
From MaRDI portal
Set profile property. |
Set OpenAlex properties. |
||
Property / full work available at URL | |||
Property / full work available at URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/0315-0860(86)90055-8 / rank | |||
Normal rank | |||
Property / OpenAlex ID | |||
Property / OpenAlex ID: W4205271670 / rank | |||
Normal rank |
Revision as of 03:12, 20 March 2024
scientific article
Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
---|---|---|---|
English | Circle measurements in ancient China |
scientific article |
Statements
Circle measurements in ancient China (English)
0 references
1986
0 references
The present paper gives a thorough presentation of the early history of \(\pi\) in China but, now and again, the authors have a tendency to modernize ancient texts. For example: a translation such as ``divide it by 4 to obtain 17037087366'' (p. 377) is certainly not faithful, given that in the Jiuzhang suanshu, numbers are always written out ``in full'', with absolutely nothing corresponding to our modern symbol ``0''; a statement such as ``since the Warring States period, counting rods, manifesting the place value of a decimal system, were used for computation'' would, at least, deserve elements of proof, documentation concerning arithmetical procedures in China many centuries before our era being quasi-inexistant. Lastly, the rendering of the title Zhuishu by ``Method of mathematical composition'' (i.e. The Almagest ?) (p. 329) seems misleading; the authors should have relied there on Shen Gua's explanation of such a difficult term (cf. the jottings nos. 221 and 166 of the Mengqi bitan).
0 references
Mengqi bitan
0 references