What diagrams argue in late imperial Chinese combinatorial texts

Attitudes towards diagrammatic reasoning and visualization in mathematics were seldom spelled out in texts from pre-modern China, although illustrations figure prominently in mathematical literature since the eleventh century. Taking the sums of finite series and their combinatorial interpretation a...

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1. Verfasser: Bréard, Andrea (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 20 July 2015
In: Early science and medicine
Year: 2015, Jahrgang: 20, Heft: 3, Pages: 241-264
ISSN:1573-3823
DOI:10.1163/15733823-00203p02
Online-Zugang:Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1163/15733823-00203p02
Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://brill.com/view/journals/esm/20/3/article-p241_2.xml
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Verfasserangaben:Andrea Bréard
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Zusammenfassung:Attitudes towards diagrammatic reasoning and visualization in mathematics were seldom spelled out in texts from pre-modern China, although illustrations figure prominently in mathematical literature since the eleventh century. Taking the sums of finite series and their combinatorial interpretation as a case study, this article investigates the epistemological function of illustrations from the eleventh to the nineteenth century that encode either the mathematical objects themselves or represent their related algorithms. It particularly focuses on the two illustrations given in Wang Lai’s (1768-1813) <em>Mathematical Principles of Sequential Combinations, arguing that they reflect a specific mode of nineteenth-century mathematical argumentative practice and served as a heuristic model for later authors.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 28.05.2020
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1573-3823
DOI:10.1163/15733823-00203p02