Different cultures of computation in seventh century China from the viewpoint of square root extraction (Q5962963)

Around the year 650, both Jia Gongyan and Li Chunfeng wrote mathematical commentaries. This article compares the two authors' respective presentations of the calculation of square roots. The author supplies the relevant texts in the original Chinese and in English translation, concluding that Li Chunfeng described a procedure carried out via counting rods, while Jia Gongyan's computational steps were of a geometric nature. The author infers the existence of distinct traditions of mathematical practice at play here.