【摘要】
To consider the nature of mathematical reasoning, historians of mathematics in non-Western cultures often examine practices in the local tradition to decipher how mathematics was constructed, argued, and transmitted from one generation to the next, abstaining from treating the deductive reasoning in the Greek tradition as the universal standard. This presentation examines 《方程论》, a seminal work on solving systems of linear equations by 梅文鼎 (1633-1721). Adapting certain procedures, un-explicated and handed down from tradition, Mei first validated them through examples in concrete settings. He then complemented them with rules of his own invention, demonstrated their universal applicability to solve “all” 方程problems, and therefore systematized his treatment of this genre. Moreover, Mei repudiated many traditional practices by analyzing their mistakes and absurdity. In short, Mei strived to persuade his contemporaries that his approach be the standard in treating 方程 problems and restore the refined procedures of antiquity.
The court-published compendium 《御制数理精蕴》(the Essence of Numbers and Their Principles, Imperially Composed, first published in 1722) adapted Mei’s approach in treating 方程 genre; such inclusion marked the official acknowledgement of his innovative procedures as the state sanctioned orthodoxy and helped cement the recognition that 梅文鼎 was “the number-one mathematician of the Qing Dynasty.”
【报告人简介】
Jiang-Ping (Jeff) Chen (陈建平) 博士是美国明尼苏达圣克劳德州立大学数学物理系教授。他1989年在台湾清华大学数学系获得学士学位,1991年到美国耶鲁大学数学系留学,并在1993年获得硕士学位,1996年获得博士学位。他曾在美国耶鲁大学数学系,美国爱荷华州沃尔多夫学院数学系任教。 他从1999年8月开始,美国明尼苏达圣克劳德州立大学数学系任教至今。他长期从事中国数学史研究工作,是总部位于法国巴黎的国际科学史研究院的通讯院士,曾担任国际东亚科学技术与医学史学会秘书长。他从2016年6月开始是内蒙古师范大学科学技术史研究院的客座教授,2018年4月开始获得内蒙古自治区“草原英才”工程支持。他的数学史研究工作还曾受到美国富布赖特基金会,美国梅隆基金会的支持。