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Why study Chinese mathematics? | Tangente
The history of mathematics in Asia is marked by the central place occupied by China, as a producer of both knowledge and institutions for teaching the sciences. Both were, in the past, taken up by other countries in East Asia. Several of the mathematical classics developed in China were studied elsewhere and inspired the mathematical knowledge and practices implemented there.
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The names of four women associated with mathematics in antiquity are often cited: Theano, Aglaonice, Ban Zhao and Hypatia. But what do historical records tell us about them? And what can we learn about the social dynamics of the relationship between women and mathematics?
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History and Culture
Chinese science history: an awakening interest | Tangente
At the end of the sixteenth century, contact with knowledge and practices from Europe changed the way mathematics was perceived in China, both from a technical and a historical point of view, around two major questions: how should it be practiced, and who invented it first?
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History and Culture
The nonexistent proof in ancient China?
Mathematical proof, which comes from the Greek tradition, is often radically contrasted with Chinese mathematics, where it is absent. In reality, monstration was used there, and an enriching hybridization of mathematical reasoning methods emerges, particularly in the work of Xu Guangqi.
Serge AllegraudDec 2, 2025