David Eugene Smith

“ No mention has been made of a work known as the Wu tsao, [13] written in the fifth century; of the Suan-ching, one of the great treatises on Chinese arithmetic; nor of Chin Lwan who wrote the Wu-kingsuan-shu in the seventh century; nor of his probable contemporary, Chang Kew-kien, who also wrote a Suan-ching, nor of several other well-known writers, because these men contributed nothing to the science of mathematics. They were makers of text-books with a genius for exposition, but without a genius for mathematical discovery. ”

“ NO one who is interested in China and in things Chinese, and no one to whom the evolution of thought appeals, can fail to appreciate the recent articles by Dr. Edmunds, the learned president of the Canton Christian College, upon science among the Chinese. [1] His extensive travels in all portions of the country, his own scientific attainments, his wide acquaintance with Chinese scholars, his connection with numerous scientific expeditions, and his official position at the head of one of the most progressive colleges in the country, all qualify him to speak as one having authority. ”

“ It is, however, quite natural that one whose tastes are not primarily in the line of mathematics should fail to do justice to the work of Chinese scholars in this field. It is true that this work was not of a high order, and yet it must be said that it ranked with that which was being done in other branches of science, and had not the relatively low standing that would be inferred from Dr. ”