Colloquium / Seminars

Topic：Genealogy of Diagrams and Equations in pre-modern China
Speaker：Prof. Charlotte Pollet
　　　　(Center for Human Sciences, NYCU)
Date time：Nov. 5, 2024 14:00 - 15:00
Venue：SA213
Abstract：
--The speaker today has temporarily canceled his speech due to slight illness. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.--

Abstract. The study of mathematics in China has often focused on the ‘procedure of the Celestial Source’ (天元術tian yuan shu), which is used to set up polynomial equations. The geometrical ancestors of this procedure are less known. The 益古演段Yigu yanduan, authored by the 13 th century mathematician, 李冶Li Ye (1192-1279), however, presents the procedure alongside its two geometrical counterparts, the ‘Section of Pieces [of Areas]’ (條段tiao duan) and the ‘Old Procedure’ (舊術jiu shu). The three procedures are known to represent three generations of algorithms to set up quadratic equations. This presentation aims to make the geometrical procedure ‘speak’ about its genealogy. That is to say, to attempt the reconstruction of the evolution of the geometrical roots of the famous procedure of the Celestial Source. The construction of negative coefficients plays a pivotal role in this evolution. It also is possible to distinguish several layers of composition that reflect several episodes in the development of the quadratic equation with negative coefficients. In other words, this analysis raises a philological problem pertaining to the question of textual transmission and the nature of authorship. This is the opportunity to show a landscape of history of mathematics in China, from its sources to its connection to Taoism.
Download：Talk_1131105.pdf

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