ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Comparing the Mathematical texts of the Qin-Han periods in China: the Suanshu-shu, the Shu, and the Suan-shu

• In Event: Recent Archaeological Excavations: New Light on Ancient Chinese Mathematics 1

English Abstract

The following Chinese mathematical books of the Qin-Han period have been discovered: the Zhangjiashan Han bamboo slips Suanshu-shu 算数書, the Yuelu Academy’s Qin bamboo slips Shu 数, the Peking University’s Qin bamboo slips named Suan-shu 算書, and the Shuihudi Han bamboo slips Suanshu 算術. Comparative studies of these texts have begun to reveal the nature of each and solve mysteries that individual studies could not resolve. In this presentation, we will compare the former three books, examine their characteristics, and summarize what we have learned through careful comparisons.

Author

• Makoto TAMURA, Osaka Sangyo University, Osaka, Japan