Suanjing shishu 算經十書

Suanjing shishu 算經十書 is a series of classics of early Chinese mathematics written between the Han 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) and the Tang 唐 (618-907) periods. It was compiled during the early Tang period, in 656, by the Mathematics School (suanxueguan 算學館) under the Directorate of Education (guozijian 國子監), making it part of the curriculum for the major of arithmetics in the state examinations. The most important member of the editing committee was Li Chunfeng 李淳風 (602-670), who commented on many of the texts.

In later years, the Zhuishu 綴術 was lost. The first complete print of the series (with nine books - the Zhuishu missing) was published in 1084 by the Palace Library (bishusheng 祕書省). This edition was reprinted in 1212 and 1213 by Bao Hanzhi 鮑澣之. He inserted Xu Yue's 徐岳 (d. 220) Shushu jiyi 數術記遺 as a replacement for the Zhuishu and supplemented the series with the text Suanxue yuanliu 算學源流, a very brief history of Chinese mathematics.

The transmitted text Xiahou Yang suanjing 夏侯陽算經 is not the original book, but a revised version by Han Ting 韓延 (Tang period). The Haidao suanjing 海島算經 text was lost during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644), and the received Jiuzhang suanshu 九章算術 is not complete. During the compilation process of the imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, the two books were reconstructed from quotations in the early Ming-period encyclopaedia Yongle dadian 永樂大典. The most widespread premodern edition is Kong Jihan's 孔繼涵 (1739-1784) print in the series Weiboxie congshu 微波榭叢書, which also includes a work by Dai Zhen 戴震 (1723-1777) on trigonometry, Gougu gehuan ji 勾股割圜記.

The oldest text, Zhoubi suanjing 周髀算經, focuses on astronomical arithmetics with the help of a gnomon, which provides data for calculations by the Pythagorean theorem (gougu 勾股). The Jiuzhang suanshu is the most important text of the collection, as it lays the fundament of early Chinese mathematics.

The modern standard edition from 1963, published by the Zhonghua Shuju 中華書局, is annotated by Qian Baocong 錢寶琮 (1892-1974). A facsimile of the Song-period 宋 (960-1279) print of six books was published in 1980 by the Wenwu Chubanshe 文物出版社. The surviving texts are included in the imperial series Siku quanshu and the Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書.