196 Yosino MiKAMi 



received considerably more influence from WeiStern science than did the 

 Japanese. Nevertheless, tlie achievements of the Chinese fell behind 

 those of the Japanese, who pursued their own course in this field more 

 brilliantly. This does not force us, however, to conclude that the Japanese 

 were superior to the Chinese in ability. The Japanese mathematician'^ 

 were most of them experts only in the field of mathematics, little 

 accom])lished in other departments of learning, and thus were able to 

 concentrate their effcTrts on their subject matter. There was, however, 

 among the Chinese practically no one who made a specialty of mathe- 

 matics to the same extent. The Chinese scholars were all leai'ned in 

 the study of calendars, which they studied, in turn, not for the sake 

 of the subject itself, but for the necessity of being intimate with the 

 classics. They were therefore classical philosophers of a sort, who were 

 also versed in calendars and mathematics. As a matter of course, their 

 entiie attention could not be directed towards the single subject of 

 mathematics. But now in China there are appearing specialists in 

 mathematics, who pursue their studies after the Western mode and 

 thus the state of Chinese mathematics will soon be improved. 



20. The old Japanese system of mathematics was not without 

 some European influence, of course. Contemporary with Peki, there 

 was a Japanese who had learned mathematics in Holland. There were 

 imported into Jajian some of the Chinese translations of European 

 mathematical and asti-onomical works. But they were soon listed as 

 forbidden books. The Japanese in Holland, it appears, did not come 

 back to Japan. The importation of the Li-suan CKuan-shu M^^^ 

 and other works constituted the main source of European mathematics 

 for Japanese students. Trigonometry was introduced into Japan in this 

 manner, and was highly prized. The logarithmic tables were brought 

 to Japan both through Chinese translations and also directly from 

 Holland, and were also greatly admired. 



The ellipse was studied from early times in Japan, but it was 

 Aida Ammei -^09^5^ who studied it thoroughly for the first time, 

 it having been of some interest also to his immediate predecessors. 

 These studies were jn'obably the result of the influence of the European 

 theory of elliptic orbits which had newly been learned from foreign 

 sources in coimection with calendrical matters. Problems on the centre 

 of gravity also began to appear based o\\ European knowledge. The 

 same is true in the case of roulettes, too. 



The study of Chinese translations of European astronomical works 



