Reflection on Was Pythagoras Chinese?

    In the previous situation where Eurocentric knowledge dominated, the difference that awareness of non-European mathematics made to students' learning was not significant. From my personal experience, when I talked about the term Gougu theorem during my undergraduate years, people from another cultural or study background barely understood it was the same as the Pythagorean theorem. Also, in the higher-level mathematical education of China, especially for teaching theories and publishing journal articles, applying a western system of math was the only way to communicate.

    Currently, since the new curriculum at BC includes a new course called History of Mathematics, I would say that this is a sign of moving away from the only Eurocentric teaching content. In this sense, the acknowledgement of non-European sources of mathematics in student learning can have a greater impact in the future. With the curriculum materials, students now have the opportunity to know how mathematics has developed and to learn about mathematical content from other places. These can broaden their horizons and develop their interest. Moreover, more perspectives are provided for the understanding of the statement of math is the universal language. Therefore, students gain more tools in mathematical communication and understanding. 

    In the western system of naming theorems, names of the inventors are normally used, yet sometimes they do not credit the right people. With a person's name in the theorem, it is more likely for students to explore the history and stories behind it. In contrast, ancient Chinese named theorems in a practical way: the name explains the topic or situation that it can solve. Thus, less attention is paid to people who contribute to the theorem, especially by people from different cultural backgrounds. In the assigned reading, Gustafson mistyped Liu Hui’s name many times and seemed to have difficulties distinguishing first name and last name for Zu Chongzhi. I am not criticizing the author — I totally understand that people from a non-Chinese background could be confused. However, I could not help thinking that if Zu Chongzhi named pi as Zu’s ratio instead of Milü, there could be less misunderstanding of his name.