《永乐大典》算书编纂逻辑

Compilation Logic of Yong-lo ta-tien Suanshu

《永乐大典》算书指现藏剑桥大学的《永乐大典》副本一册之卷一六三四三与卷一六三四四的两卷算书。算书是归于“算”字韵下的“算法”汇编,按算法分类收集抄入算题。对明代算学的辑佚研究多利用《永乐大典》算书的内容,但对其编撰方式多有批评。在对两卷算书原书分析的基础上,结合成书及重录的时代背景,总结出这两卷算书的编纂逻辑有以下三点:(1)算书按算法编排,同一类算法下又分子算法,依照算法收入算题,算题按照题干内容分类;(2)算题出处书目以红字标注,书目大体按时间先后排序,且经部“算经”在其他子部算书之前出现;(3)总体上看,每卷算书中的算法算题按由易到难编排。明初数学几乎全面继承吸收了前代算学著作成果,其算学价值仍可深入研究。

Yong-lo ta-tien Suanshu refers to the books on mathmetics of Volume 16343 and 16344, which is a transcript of the Yong-lo ta-tien currently in the collection of Cambridge University. Yong-lo ta-tien Suanshu is a compilation of algorithms under the rhyme of the word "Suan" and collects mathematics problems according to the algorithm classification. The research on the collection of scattered works on mathematics in the Ming Dynasty mostly searched the content of Yong-lo ta-tien Suanshu, but there were many criticisms about its compilation method. Based on the precise reading and analysis of the original two-volume mathematics book and combined with the background of the time the book formed and re-recorded, three compilation logic points of the two-volume arithmetic book were summarized as that(1) Suanshu was arranged according to the algorithm in hierarchy and there were son-algorithms under the mother-algorithm, the mathematical problems were recorded according to the algorithm and were classified according to the key content of the problems;that(2) the bibliography of the mathematical problems was marked with red characters, and the bibliography was generally sorted in chronological order, and the Jing Radical preceded the other bibliography of Zi Radical;that(3) generally, the mathematics problems in each volume of arithmetic books were arranged from easy to difficult. In the early Ming Dynasty, mathematics almost fully inherited and absorbed the achievements of previous mathematics works, and its mathematics value is still of great importance and deserves to be explored in depth.