“常识”中的“新知”——以“术”的定义、“天元术”的由来为例

“New Knowledge” in “Common Sense”:Taking the Definition of “Procedure” and the Origin of “Celestial Element Method” as An Example

通过对已经得到普遍认同的“常识”概念(“术”、“天元术”)作进一步的反思与辨析,为它们提供了新的解释。首先,从思维、文本两个层面,重新辨析了“术”的概念,即思维层面解决一类问题的算法、公式或定理,它不同于文本层面的“某某术曰”、“术曰”、“法曰”、“草曰”。其次,指出《测圆海镜》“草曰”中关于“立天元一”的数学知识起初是辅助“如积之术”的细草,而今日“天元术”概念的形成则是经历了“草”、“法”、“术”的转变过程,期间李冶、梅瑴成、西方代数学的传入都对其产生了影响。

Through further analysis of “common sense”,“Procedure”(术) and “Celestial Element Method”(天元术),this paper provides a new explanation for them.First of all,it points out the characteristics of “Procedure” from two perspective of thinking and text,and its different from “Procedure says”(术曰),“Method”(法) and “Procedure of calculation”(草) in the text.Secondly,it points out that the emergence of the concept of “Celestial Element Method” has gone through the transformation process of “Procedure of calculation”,“Method” and “Procedure”,during the period,Li Ye,Mei Juecheng and the introduction of western algebra all had an impact on it.