Chinese Mathematics Education System and Mathematics Education Tradition

Abstract

Mathematics education in ancient China has a long history of over 3000 years, during which a lot of outstanding mathematicians have been cultivated; the first institute of higher education for mathematics in the world, named the Ming Suan Ke (Computation Department), was established in the Tang Dynasty, and splendid methods to promote mathematical thinking development. However, current mathematics education researchers and teachers in primary and secondary schools in China have not fully understood and applied the thoughts created in ancient China. Even though, in recent years, there has been some work linking mathematics education with mathematics culture and history, more emphasis has been placed on the history and culture of Western mathematics, which focuses on “concept games” instead of practical operability. The work which covers Chinese mathematics history and culture is limited to some typical cases—“Wu Bu Zhi Shu (Amount Calculation),” “Gou Gu Ding Li (the Pythagorean theorem),” and some stories about well-known Chinese mathematicians such as Li Yan, Qian Baocong and Li Di. Admittedly, some works, like Zhong Guo Gu Suan Jie Qu (Interesting Computation Cases in Ancient China) by Yu Zuquan and Shu Xue Liaozhai (Mathematical Stories) by Wang Shuhe are very impressive, but they cannot be used in classroom teaching because of their limited function in rigorous exams. In a word, few educators can search the rich historical materials of Chinese mathematics for inspiration and apply it to mathematics education.