Zhuāngshì suànxué 莊氏算學
Mr. Zhuāng’s Mathematical Studies by 莊亨陽 (Zhuāng Hēngyáng, 1686–1746, 清, zhuàn 撰); posthumously assembled by Zhuāng’s descendants from his working notebooks
About the work
Zhuāng Hēngyáng’s 8-juan mathematical compendium, posthumously assembled by his descendants from his working notebooks (cángǎo 殘藁) prepared during his official service as a hydraulic-engineering Circuit Intendant. The work is methodologically synthetic-and-pedagogical, drawing principally on:
- The KR3f0048 Shùlǐ jīngyùn’s line-surface-solid (xiànmiàntǐ) categorical apparatus
- The KR3f0047 Jǐhé yuánběn (Euclid 6 books) for plane-geometric foundations
- 梅文鼎 Méi Wéndǐng’s KR3f0026 Lìsuàn quánshū for the broader synthetic methodology
- The KR3f0013 Xīnfǎ suànshū for the Qīzhèng bùfǎ (Seven-Regulator step-methods) section at the end
The Sìkù 提要 explicitly frames the work’s value as condensation-and-abridgment: the KR3f0048 Shùlǐ jīngyùn’s line-surface-solid sections alone exceed 30 juàn; the KR3f0047 Jǐhé yuánběn is 5 juàn; the KR3f0026 Lìsuàn quánshū is 60 juàn. The combined volume of these foundational works is too substantial for non-specialist learners to engage with. Zhuāng Hēngyáng’s Zhuāngshì suànxué abridges this material into 8 juàn, “selecting-and-raising the refined-essentials, separately gathering-and-collecting, condensed-but-not-leaking, summarized-but-not-branching” — providing an accessible entry-point.
The 提要’s verdict: “although [the work] cannot greatly have something to discover, as a beginner-enlightenment resource for learners — [it has] particular benefit”.
For the foundational works the Zhuāngshì suànxué draws on, see KR3f0026, KR3f0047, KR3f0048, KR3f0013. For Zhuāng Hēngyáng’s biography, see 莊亨陽.
Tiyao
[Full text in source file. Dated Qiánlóng 46 (1781), tenth month.]
Translations and research
- Limited substantial secondary literature.
- Han Qi 韓琦, Tōng-tiān zhī xué 通天之學, Beijing: Sānlián, 2018.