The Mathematical Book in Nine Chapters, written by Qin Jiushao in 1247, is a masterpiece that is representative of Chinese mathematics at that time. Most of the previous studies have focused on its mathematical achievements, while few works have addressed the counting diagrams that Qin used as a writing system. Based on a seventeenth-century copy of Qin’s treatise, this paper systematically analyzes the writing system, which includes both a numeral system and a linear system. It argues that Qin provided a (...) new representation of mathematics in addition to textual procedures, detailed solutions, and operations carried out with counting rods. Moreover, this new representation was used to connect mathematical practices within and outside the text and should be understood in its textual context. Therefore, Qin’s writing system represents an intermediate phase in the textualization and symbolization of Chinese mathematics in thirteenth-century China. (shrink)

The instability inherent in the historical inventory of mathematical objects challenges philosophers. Naturalism suggests we can construct enduring answers to ontological questions through an investigation of the processes whereby mathematical objects come into existence. Patterns of historical development suggest that mathematical objects undergo an intelligible process of reification in tandem with notational innovation. Investigating changes in mathematical languages is a necessary first step towards a viable ontology. For this reason, scholars should not modernize historical texts without caution, as the use (...) of anachronistic notation tends to impede, rather than enhance, our ability to recognize the emergent nature of mathematical objects. (shrink)