| On the myth of an ancient Chinese theorem about primality | |
| Han, Qi1; Siu, Man-Keung2 | |
| 2008-07-01 | |
| Source Publication | TAIWANESE JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS
 |
| Volume | 12Issue:4Pages:941-949 |
| Subtype | Article |
| Abstract | In the western world there is this myth that the ancient Chinese knew a special case of Fermat's Little Theorem and erroneously took it as a criterion for primality, namely, that n is a prime if and only if 2(n-1) - 1 is divisible by n. This article discusses how this myth might have come about, in particular tells the story of an investigation on number theory by Li Shanlan in the mid 19(th) century. The discussion touches upon the social history of the incident in connection with the polarized attitude different foreigners took towards Chinese mathematics at the time. |
| Keyword | Carmichael Number Fermat's Little Theorem Li Shanlan |
| WOS Headings | Science & Technology ; Physical Sciences |
| Indexed By | SCI |
| Language | 英语 |
| WOS Research Area | Mathematics |
| WOS Subject | Mathematics |
| WOS ID | WOS:000257574700008 |
| Citation statistics | |
| Document Type | 期刊论文 |
| Identifier | http://ir.ihns.ac.cn/handle/311051/6559 |
| Collection | 世界科技史 |
| Affiliation | 1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Hist Nat Sci, Beijing, Peoples R China 2.Univ Hong Kong, Dept Math, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China |
| Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Han, Qi,Siu, Man-Keung. On the myth of an ancient Chinese theorem about primality[J]. TAIWANESE JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS,2008,12(4):941-949. |
| APA | Han, Qi,&Siu, Man-Keung.(2008).On the myth of an ancient Chinese theorem about primality.TAIWANESE JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS,12(4),941-949. |
| MLA | Han, Qi,et al."On the myth of an ancient Chinese theorem about primality".TAIWANESE JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS 12.4(2008):941-949. |
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