How do the earliest known mathematical writings highlight the state's management of grains in early imperial China? (Q2254168)

This article tries to make sense of the differences and similarities in vocabulary and the conversions between different kinds of measures found in passages on grains in mathematical and statutory texts from the Qin and Han dynasties in China. The mathematical corpus underlying this article is composed of material from recently excavated manuscripts on bamboo strips, and the canonical \textit{Nine chapters on mathematical procedures} (translated into French by the first author and \textit{S. Guo} [Les neuf chapitres. Le classique mathématique de la Chine ancienne et ses commentaires. Paris: Dunod (2004; Zbl 1055.01004)]). Whereas the former category of manuscript sources are dated as early as 186 BCE (e.g., for the \textit{Book on mathematical procedures}, translated by \textit{J. Dauben} [``Suan Shu Shu. A book on numbers and computations'', Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. 62, No. 2, 91--178 (2007; Zbl 1153.01004)] and by \textit{C. Cullen} [``The Suàn shù shū, ``writings on reckoning'': rewriting the history of early Chinese mathematics in the light of an excavated manuscript'', Hist. Math. 34, No. 1, 10-44 (2007; Zbl 1148.01001)]), the latter, probably completed in the first century AD, is preserved only in printed form from the 11th century on. Yet, such historical discrepancies that raise questions about editorial issues are not taken into account in this article, instead, the authors base their comparative arguments on reading all sources as ``perfectly clear and coherent'' (p. 22 n. 47). Little conclusive but rich in ``hypotheses about the management of grain in the Qin and Han dynasties'' (p. 2), the article is rather of interest to a specialized sinological audience than to historians of mathematics.