Journal of Hebei University(Philosophy and Social Science) ›› 2024, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (1): 98-107.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1005-6378.2024.01.007

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LV Bianting

LV Bianting   

  1. Center for Studies of Song History, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei 071002, China
  • Received:2023-04-17 Published:2024-03-11

Abstract: Mencius was a good debater,and in order to make things clear,he often posed some arithmetic questions during the debate.Therefore, the book of Mencius contains rich contents of classical management mathematics,such as the concept of “Taking one thousand from ten thousand, and taking one hundred from a thousand”,the idea of the well-field system, as“Implementing a 1/9 tax law in the suburbs and a 1/10 tax law in the capital to allow people to pay on their own”,as well as the geometric cutting and mending methods of “The current Teng Kingdow,cutting off from the long to make up the deficiency of the short,still has nearly 50 miles of land in an arrea”.Mencius,in particular,unified“Rules”,“Six laws” and“Benevolent government”,stressing the fundamental position of mathematics in the kingdom of kingcraft,attaching importance to the application of mathematics in the field of social politics,and proposing the mathematical thinking(including mathematical principle and mathematical method)advocating“Seeking after the past”which is very outstanding.This not only reflects the characteristics of the development of classical mathematics in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period,but also summarizes and improves the art of“Nine numbers” in Zhou Li.

Key words: Mencius, management mathematics, light tax collection, the well-field system

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