Mathematics Atlas

How Proof Is Made
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Mathematician

Qin Jiushao

chin jee-oh-SHOW
Also Known As Ch'in Chiu-shao (Wade-Giles romanization); courtesy name Daogu
Medieval

Qin Jiushao was a Chinese mathematician who developed the Da yan shu, a complete general algorithm for solving the system of simultaneous congruences known today as the Chinese remainder theorem, publishing it in his 1247 treatise Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Death Year
1261 1
Birthplace
Sichuan province, China (exact locality disputed: Wikipedia gives Ziyang, MacTutor gives Puzhou/Anyue) 1
Two reputable sources disagree on the exact locality within Sichuan; both agree on the province and circa 1202.
Death Place
Meizhou (now Meixian), Guangdong, China 1
Nationality / Culture
Chinese 1
Defining Contribution
Qin Jiushao provided the general solution now called the Chinese remainder theorem in his 1247 treatise, extending a special case first recorded centuries earlier in the Sunzi Suanjing. 2
Notable Work
Wrote the Shushu Jiuzhang (Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections, 1247), containing the Chinese remainder theorem and a Horner-like method for solving polynomial equations. 1
Disputed
Birth Year
1202 1
Sources give the birth year only approximately, circa 1202.
Biography
Gender
Male 1
Connections

In Branch

Algebra, Branches of Mathematics
Number Theory, Branches of Mathematics

Proofs Credited

Chinese Remainder Theorem, Theorems
Source Chinese Remainder Theorem (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: China, nationality there.
Sources
1. Qin Jiushao (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead paragraph and history section
    He is credited for discovering Horner's method
  • infobox
    Chinese mathematician
  • biographical summary
    was a Chinese mathematician, meteorologist, inventor, politician, and writer of the Southern Song dynasty.
  • works description
    Qin wrote Shushu Jiuzhang (Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections) in 1247 CE. This treatise covered a variety of topics including indeterminate equations, and the numerical solution of certain polynomial equations up to the tenth degree.
  • infobox pinyin field
    Qin Jiushao
  • Lead section, gender reference
    He is credited for discovering Horner's method as well as inventing Tianchi basins, a type of rain gauge instrument used to gather meteorological data.
View the Source
2. Chinese Remainder Theorem (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
Quote, History section
Qin Jiushao provided a complete general solution in his 1247 work Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections
View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.