Lesson 5.

Chinese Mathematics

Introduction

China's history is rich with many eras characterized by

its prosperous society and civilization. During these
prosperous times, however, there were notable competitions
between dynasties and invaders. Regardless, the development
of science and technological inventions in China's ancient
period did not falter. The ancient Chinese were able to
develop gunpowder, paper money, and fireworks. China even had
ships big enough to sail around the world, but this was not
done because their emperors forbade it.

While mathematical development was beginning to weaken

in western countries such as Greece, China lead eastern
ancient mathematics to greater heights. During the Ch'in
dynasty, most of the history of Chinese math and
mathematicians was lost over the centuries because Emperor
Shih Huang-ti ordered the burning of books in 213 B.C.

During the Han period, scholars were able to transcribe

China's scientific, mathematics traditions as well as their
literature from remaining scroll fragments. In the
transcriptions, it was notable that ancient Chinese
mathematics has its own style of presentation. Its unique
method of thinking is presented in this lesson.

Learning Outcomes
After this lesson, you are expected to:
 discuss and write Ancient Chinese Numerals;
 illustrate understanding on the use of abacus;
 explain Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art;
 apply real-life situations related to Lo Shu Magic
Square;
 solve a problem using the Chinese Remainder Theorem.
 state the principles of Lo Shu Magic Square and its
application to real life situations.
Guide Questions
The answers to the following questions are provided in
each lesson:
1. What is the Chinese Number System?
2. How to write Chinese Numerals?
3. Who is Sun-Tsu?
4. What is Suanpan?
5. Where did Lo Shu Magic Square originate?
6. Where can you apply Lo Shu Magic Square’s principles?
7. What are the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art?
8. How to solve the Chinese remainder theorem?

Discussion

Chinese Number System

A famous Chinese Mathematician name Sun-Tsu (1AD) said,

"We must first know numerical positions when making
calculations. Unity is vertical, and ten is horizontal; a
hundred rises, and a thousand lies; and a thousand and ten
looks alike, and so do a thousand and a hundred."
To represent what was said by Sun Tsu, they used small
bamboo or wood for computing rods, then later, the colors red
and black in representing positive and negative integers,
respectively. Units are represented in the description of
Sun-Tsu by vertical rods, tens by horizontal rods, hundreds
by vertical rods, and so on; a single rod is enough for 5.
Consequently:

Image from hsm.stackexchange.com

For example, to write 954 in Chinese numeral, start

writing from right to left, for 4, which is in one's digit,
we use vertical rods, for 5, which is on tens digit, we use
horizontal rods, while for 9, which is on the hundreds digit
we use vertical rods. Thus 954 is:

Now, 9,532.
 Efficient but straightforward: that is the description
for this Ancient Chinese numbering system. The system,
considered simple, was mainly because it did not have a zero
definition, therefore, limiting the written number's
functionality in Chinese. Consequently, it was a decimal
value system that is very similar to what we are using today.
It was indeed the first number system adopted by the Chinese
over the thousand years before it was adopted in the West,
and it made even quite complex calculations very quick and
easy.
When speaking of a calculating tool used in the ancient,
the abacus, also called suanpan, is probably the most
prominent. Although the use of abacus is often thought of
like a Chinese idea, some type of abacus was also used in
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece, probably much earlier than in
China. The parts of the abacus are shown in the image
below:

Image from http://magicminds.in/abacus/

In learning to use the abacus, one should know the value

and the position of the bead(s). These beads are divided by
a horizontal fixed bar where one bead is positioned above the
horizontal fixed bar over the vertical bar, and the other
four beads are placed below the horizontal fixed bar. Number
5 is represented by the beads above the fixed horizontal bar,
while each of the four beads below is number 1. When a bead
moves towards the fixed horizontal bar, it gains value, and
when it moves away from the fixed horizontal bar, it loses
value. For example, moving one bead below the fixed horizontal
bar toward the fixed horizontal bar means one on the abacus,
and four beads below the fixed horizontal bar moving toward
the fixed horizontal bar mean 4. With one bead above the
horizontal fixed bar, heading toward the horizontal fixed bar
implies 5. Depending on the number of beads, moving away from
the set horizontal bar is -1, -4, or -5. On the abacus,
vertical rods are used to represent the number's position
value. If the center rod of the abacus is the place of One
or Unit, the place of Ten's is the immediate next rod to the
left, and Hundred's is the immediate next rod to the left of
Ten's, and so on and so on for Thousand, 100 Thousand,
Million's, etc. In the following example, the first rod on
the right is the unit.
 For example, for 35: In using the abacus, remember one's
or unit's place. Start from right to left. To do this, put
down five on the beam to move the upper bead towards the
horizontal bar. Next, move three beads in the Tens rod because
each bead has a value of 10; therefore, 10(3) + 5 = 35.

Image from Abacus IphoneApp

Image from Abacus iPhone app

Another example is 15,563:

Image from Abacus iPhone app

And 76, 980:

.
Image from Abacus iPhone app

Among the many discoveries in China, Lo Shu Magic Square

was considered divine. It is used for prediction by ancient
Chinese feng shui masters. It was thought that Emperor Yu, a
Chinese master, derived the wisdom of the magic square from
the patterns on the back of the turtle he saw while walking
along the Lo River, so Lo Shu Square is translated as the Lo
River Scroll. This legend dates back to 650 BC when in China,
there were great floods. On its body, the turtle that emerged
from the river had an odd 3x3 pattern that later became the
Lo Shu Square foundation. Magic because when all the numbers
in each row, column, and diagonal are added, it has the same
sum.
 Image from Thoth_Adan / Getty Images

Look at the image above. In the Lo Shu Magic Square,

number 5 is in the center, with the off and even numbers
alternating on its edge. Look at the four corners of the
square where the four even numbers are, with the odd 5 forming
a cross in the middle. The odd numbers are known to be of
Yang quality, and the even numbers represent the Yin energy.
The Yin and Yang numbers alternate around its center number
5, thus the basis of how the feng shui Bagua evolved. Knowing
the patterns of the movement of stars to create a balanced
feng shui environment is the primary use of Lo Shu Magic
Square.
But the main thrust of Chinese mathematics was the
development of a very influential text in Asian mathematics:
The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art or Chiu-chang Suan-
shu, but it was commonly called as Chiu-chang. Chiu-chang was
considered the most celebrated Chinese Text on arithmetic;
however, its authorship and the exact time it was written are
unknown. However, some references thought Chang Tshang, who
probably first wrote it because he based his writing from
some old writing he found after all books were burnt during
the Ch'in dynasty. The Chiu-chang begins with mensuration; it
gives the area of a triangle 1/2 bh, of a trapezoid as ½
(b+b’)h, and of a circle variously as 𝑐, 𝑑, 𝑐𝑑, 𝑑 , and
𝑐 , where c is the circumference and d is the diameter.
Particularly, Chiu-chang was an important guide on applied
mathematics in engineering and administration and include
nine distinct chapters on impartial taxation (chun shu),
engineering works (shang kung), the surveying of land (fang
thien), etc. The Text presented 246 problem situations, from
those involving the payment for livestock, weights and
measures, currency, and tax collection to the construction of
canals and simultaneous linear equations (fang cheng), which
is now known as Gaussian elimination. Liu Hui, one of the
greatest mathematicians of Ancient China, produced a detailed
commentary on the Chiu-chang in 263CE. One of the first
mathematicians to leave unassessed roots was Liu Hui, giving
more reliable results than approximations. He devised an
algorithm using a regular polygon with 192 sides that
determined the value of π as 3.14159. He produced a very first
integral and differential calculus method.
 The other letter, the first of which was called Chou-
pei, was written prior to 2 A.D. Chou-pei was the oldest
extant Chinese work of mathematical interest yet its
publication is anonymous. It is assumed that Chou-pei
revealed the state of mathematics and astronomy as early as
1100 BC in China. It seems that the Pythagorean theorem was
already established at that early date.

Image from https://www.storyofmathematics.com/chinese.html

The above picture shows the first Chinese method of

equation solving. Practical and simple it was. However, more
abstract mathematical problems were solved by the Chinese,
including what is now known as the Chinese Remainder Theorem.
The Chinese Remainder Theorem is an ancient theorem that
provides the conditions required for a simultaneous integer
solution to multiple equations. The theorem originates in the
work of Chinese mathematician Sun Zi (Sun Tzu in other
sources) in 3A.D., while Qin Jiushao first gave the complete
theorem in 1247. This theorem uses the remainder to calculate
the smallest value of the unknown number after dividing an
unknown number by a series of smaller numbers, such as 3, 5,
and 7. Chinese astronomers used a tool to solve such problems
in 6 A.D. to calculate celestial motions. It has practical
applications even today, such as in Internet cryptography.
To fully understand the Chinese Remainder Theorem, one
must have a piece of knowledge with modulo operation because
the theorem works that way. For example, divide by three, the
remainder is 1; by five, the remainder is 2, and by seven,
the remainder is 3. What is the smallest number? To answer
this, go back to the operational definition of the Chinese
Remainder Theorem:

Let m1, m2, … mr be pairwise relatively prime positive

integers, then the system of congruency
𝑥 ≡ 𝑎 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑚 )
 𝑥 ≡ 𝑎 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑚 )
𝑥 ≡ 𝑎 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝑚 )

Modulo 𝑀 = 𝑚 × 𝑚 × … 𝑚 has a special solution, hence,

𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑀 𝑦 + 𝑎 𝑀 𝑦 + ⋯ 𝑎 𝑀 𝑦 . Using the Chinese Remainder
Theorem to answer the question above,
𝑥 ≡ 1(𝑚𝑜𝑑 3)
𝑥 ≡ 2(𝑚𝑜𝑑 5)
𝑥 ≡ 3(𝑚𝑜𝑑 7)

Let 𝑚 = 3 × 5 × 7 = 105
𝑚
𝑀 = = 35
3
𝑚
𝑀 = = 21
5
𝑚
𝑀 = = 15
7
We are seeing,

2 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀 = 35 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑜 3 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 35 ≡ 2 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 3)

1 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀 = 21 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑜 5 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 21 ≡ 1 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 5)
1 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑀 = 15 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑜 7 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 15 ≡ 1 (𝑚𝑜𝑑 7)

Hence,
𝑥 = 𝑎 𝑀 𝑦 +𝑎 𝑀 𝑦 +⋯ 𝑎 𝑀 𝑦
𝑥 = 1(35)2 + 2(21)1 + 3(15)(1)
𝑥 = 70 + 42 + 45
𝑥 = 157 ≡ 52 𝑚𝑜𝑑 105
We have shown that 52 is the smallest positive integer that
is simultaneous solution.

But the Ancient Chinese had another practical solution

to the problem.
 Image from https://www.storyofmathematics.com/chinese.html

Activity
Answer the following problems:

1. Using the Chinese remainder theorem, consider the

three congruences from Sun-Tsu's problem
x ≡2mod 3
x ≡3mod 5
x ≡2mod 7.
2. Write the following numbers in ancient Chinese
numerals
2.1 245
2.2 8,567
2.3 34,789
2.4 567,899
2.5 894,789

3. Explain how the abacus is manipulated.

4. Cite an example where magic Lo Shu square is used.

5. Explain Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.