A study on mathematicians' calculations with pen and paper in the Qing Dynasty (Q2719577)

While pre-Qing mathematics was mainly dependant on calculating instruments, mathematics from the Qing period was largely influenced by ``brush calculation'' \textit{bisuan}, i.e. written calculation mostly introduced into China by Jesuit missionaries at the beginning of the seventeenth century, through translation of European arithmetical works, mainly Clavius's. In this respect, the authors almost wholly omit the Western aspect of the transmission as such and concentrate their reflection on some mathematical works from the Qing period, such as Kangxi's famous mathematical encyclopaedia -- the \textit{Shuli jingyun} -- (1723) and later nineteenth century autochtonous Chinese mathematical treatises. They make an interesting point: written calculations were not only used to perform computations but also paved the way in the direction of algebraic symbolism. But here too, they fail to mention what is known about the transmission of Western mathematical symbolism into China, especially at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and consequently, they give the erroneous impression that Chinese developments were only the result of the existence of written calculation in itself and not of other factors.