The history of Chinese mathematics has been studied since the middle of the Qing dynasty, and in the West serious academic study began during the late 19th century.

While going through algorithms and texts describing automata in the history of Chinese mathematics, I encountered a new translation based on a rather surprising source.

In 1983 a collection of algorithms written on bamboo strips was discovered in the tomb of a minor Han dynasty official in Hubei province in China. Dr. Christopher Cullen from the Needham Research Institute at the University Cambridge translated it and made the text and a commentary available a short while ago. It was probably written during the early 2nd century BC. Known as the Suan Shu Shu, it pays to compare it to the other great Chinese mathematical classic from the Han dynasty, the Zhou Bi Suan Jing.

Follow the link on this page 筭數書.

Frank Pohlmann