Researched
Nine Chapters (China)
The Chinese Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art solve systems of linear equations with a method equal to Gaussian elimination.
Open in the interactive tree →Compiled over several centuries and in its final form by about the 1st century AD, it treats areas, volumes, proportions, negative numbers and 'fangcheng' array methods for simultaneous equations. Gauss and others found the same method in Europe some 1,700 years later.
Prerequisites
- Number Systems & Place Value~3000-2000 BC
- State & Administration~3000 BC
Unlocks
- Linear Algebra & Matrices1858The 'fangcheng' method of the Nine Chapters is Gaussian elimination, the core of linear algebra
Not fully verified: The text grew over centuries; the date of its final form is approximate.
Sources
More in Mathematics · Antiquity
- Number Systems & Place Value~3000-2000 BC
- Deductive Proof (Greece)~600 BC
- Geometry (Euclid)~300 BC
- Trigonometry~150 BC