Talk:Chinese mathematics
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That early Chinese mathematics was linked to astronomy and the working of a calendar can now be proven correct, and found to originate from an extremely early period in human history, in fact a date for its origins could be placed back before the first farmers: As in myth, the maths contained in the I Ching and other texts originates from a simple binary code that fits together with natural integers 1 to 10, this formed 2 ancient maps of numerical direction called the Ho Tu and Lo Shu (Yellow and Lo River Maps) together with the 3 lined form of the Trigrams and the cubic structure of the Hexagrams. These numerical forms can be traced back through all the ages of Chinese written and pictoral history, but at this point a question as to whether these forms were just Chinese, or did they have a much wider forum throughout the world must be asked.
The binary code of light and dark (odd and even) numbers, when fitted together, form 5 squares of values related to a very long period of astromonical observations of at least 26,000 yrs: And, it was not until 200 yrs ago in our period of observation that we again came to know the exact length of Equinoxal Precession, so in our own historical terms we have only just gained the same level of knowledge as the Chinese and other ancient cultures had when the workings of the River Maps and the values of Heaven and Earth were first put in place. If we wish to understand the working of astronomical observations then we also must have the same depth, to know wisdom one must also be privy to the same knowledge, so until we had again come to know the exact period of years it takes for Precession (25,920 yrs) the essence of Chinese maths was beyond our comprehension.
To come to a full understanding of ancient texts they firstly had to be translated, and their symbolic usage of words then had to be penetrated, all before we could make any firm conclusions as to the true meanings behind them. This process is still ongoing and indeed open to much conjecture, but there is indeed progress in unravelling the myth and making them into a working reality. A good translation of many of the texts that we needed to compare has only existed since after the World War ll, especially with Wilhelm's work, and even in Wilhelm's first editions of the I Ching there was a bad error in the sequence of Trigrams in the Yellow River Map (Ho Tu), therefore the exact values of the cubes (Hexagrams) could not have been asertained from it. What had to be done was for the whole of the maths to be unravelled, and only then does the symbolic story of Chinese and other cultural myths open up to reveal their true underlying meanings - as the maths was used to form the historical events. All cultures world wide used the image of the sacred mountain and the image of Heaven (Sky) and Earth, and the rulers or sages were go-betweens conveying the laws of Heaven to the people of Earth.
In our own myths we had been told that the construction of the universe could be fitted into a set of 64 cubes, but as yet no one (as far as I can findout) has managed to do so (but hopefully the quest is now ended). Also, the fact that Chinese mathematics was dismissed as being wrong because it stated that 5 and not 4 squares was the correct means or measure for the earth, lead to the collapse of both western and Chinese interest in this tradition, and led to our present ignorance of this subject. With the unravelling of the working the River Maps and the putting together of the 5 squares they contain, the depth of the ancient understanding and putting in place of the workings of universal time (which our own divisions of time reflect) is now again being found. In the recent revelation of Chinese maths it can now be said that the Chinese were correct and the Church of Rome's belief in 4 squares was wrong. I have laid out general maths on the page for Magic Squares - Lo Shu (Square of Saturn ~Time) but the full workings of the maths and its symbolic story (the Laws of the Sacred Mountain) are soon to be published privately in full. Karen Solvig 19:06, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Was Pythagoras Chinese?
The title of the book previously cited is to suggest that Pythagoras was Chinese is not literal, as is explained here: [1]. Historically, such an occurrence would seem extremely unlikely. Pythagoras himself was born on Samos. --Xiao Li 04:07, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Versus Western Math
This article appears to be a compare and contrast versus western mathematics, with an eye towards noting areas where the Chinese accomplished something first. The first part of it means it isn't a survey of Chinese math, the other part that it is a cheerleading article for China that is not neutral in tone. Not one example of Western math predating Chinese math was given. What's more, it isn't clear that many of these techniques were anything more than practical rules of thumb. The Egyptians knew about the 3:4:5 right triangle for example. The unique contributions of the Greeks was proofs of general propositions. The Chinese were more concerned with practical application than theory, a major difference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.252.248.206 (talk) 20:22, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
