Ancient Chinese Mathematics

The chapter studies nine long-known extant Chinese mathematical texts, and three recently excavated texts, all composed prior to the beginning of the Sui 隋 dynasty (581–618 ce). Most of these were compiled for use as school texts. They include problems on fractions, on proportions and extraction of square and cube roots, on simultaneous linear equations and computations of areas and volumes. Among the more advanced techniques deployed in these texts are computing the area of a circle, that is, obtaining certain approximate values of π; computing the volume of a pyramid; and computing the volume of a sphere.

A short remark on the solution of Rachford-Rice equation

A fast flash calculation of the Rachford-Rice equation is very much needed in many engineering applications, especially in multi-component mixtures. This paper suggests a direct and hands-on calculation by a pocket calculator or a Chinese abacus. The calculation is based on an ancient Chinese mathematics called as He Chengtian average. An example is given to show the simplicity and effectiveness of the ancient Chinese algorithm.