In short, the Chinese did not reduce observations of nature to mathematical laws until much later, since for a short period after the Song dynasty the focus was mainly on literature, arts, and public administration. [Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven], a classic of Chinese mathematics dating to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 256 B.C.). Calculations performed using small bamboo counting rods.Traditional decimal notation -- one symbol for each of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 100, 1000, and 10000. Many subsequent commentaries.Sun Zi wrote his mathematical manual which included the "Chinese Remainder Problem" Liu Hui commentary on Ch 9 of the Nine Chapters. A Chinese astronomical and mathematical treatise called Chou Pei Suan Ching (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven, ca. ), possibly predating Pythagoras, gives a statement of and geometrical demonstration of the Pythagorean theorem. That document does contain a FIGURE 1: Gestalt-like proof of the Pythagorean theorem. Image: Chinese Pythagorean theorem, from page 22 of Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, published in 1986 by Cave Books Ltd., based in Taipei, via Wikimedia CommonsThe lunisolar calendar was used to mark the passing of the seasons and special occasions. Calculations performed using small bamboo counting rods.Traditional decimal notation -- one symbol for each of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 100, 1000, and 10000. These two pages are from the Zhoubi suanjing (Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven), a Chinese book on astronomy and mathematics dated to approximately 100 BCE.These images are from a Ming dynasty copy printed in 1603. This book dates from the period of the Zhou dynasty, yet its compilation and addition of materials continued into the At this early point in Chinese history the model of the ancient Chinese equivalent of Heaven, 天 Eventually the populace began to turn away from the "Canopy Heaven" concept in favor of the concept termed "Spherical Heaven", 渾天 (Huntian). These diagrams were added to the original text at some point in an attempt to illustrate a dissection proof of the "Pythagorean Theorem," … The Zhou Bi Suan Jing (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven), one of the oldest and most famous Chinese mathematical texts dating back to the Zhou dynasty (1046 BCE – 256 BCE), used the Pythagorean Theorem on astronomical calculations as well as for multiple equatorial based problems. The book is dedicated to astronomical observation and calculation. This diagram illustrates a square of side 4 fitting into a square of side 5. During the Han Dynasty (202 BC { 220 AD), Pythagorean triples appear in The Nine Chapters or earlier. Su Sung had worked off of the achievements of Zhang Heng, an astronomer, inventor, and guru of mechanical gears who lived from 78 CE – 139 CE.
Written sometime between 500 BC and 200 AD, the Chinese text Chou Pei Suan Ching (周髀算经), (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven) gives a visual proof of the Pythagorean theorem — in China it is called the "Gougu Theorem" (勾股定理) — for the (3, 4, 5) triangle. A Chinese Mathematical Classic of the Third Century: The Sea Island Mathematical Manual of Liu Hui ANG TIAN SE Department of ... [The arithmetic classic of the gnomon and the circular paths ofheaven] to measure the distance to the sun.
The Chinese used advanced algebra for this purpose.
Along with that, Su Sung was among the first during the dynasty to work on empirical science and technology.Caption: A Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) mariner’s compass diagram developed from Shen Kuo’s studies.. This book dates from the period of the Zhou dynasty, yet its compilation and addition of materials continued into the At this early point in Chinese history the model of the ancient Chinese equivalent of Heaven, 天 Eventually the populace began to turn away from the "Canopy Heaven" concept in favor of the concept termed "Spherical Heaven", 渾天 (Huntian). They moved away from the study of celestial objects and focused more on the application of past astronomical studies on mechanical technology and modern science. For example, astronomical observations used known mathematics to become more pertinent to modern-day science.