To the Editor of the Sim,—In a letter, addressed to you by Mr. O'Brien, Professor of English in the T'ung-'Wen Kuan at Peking, and which appeared in your journal on the 35th ultimo, there occur two or three statements ig the astronomical and mathematical sciences of the Chinese, calculated to convey to your readers and which I, therefore, request you will kindly ery erroneous impressions on these subjects permit me to correct.
Professor O'Brien writes—''In the month of July last a Chinese mathematician, named Li, was appointed by the Yamen to the chair of mathematics...... Professor Li speaks no Janguage of his own, and......knows nothing fmatice are the introduction. When the stu-of the applied sciences to which pure mathe-dents have learned all he can teach them, they will come toa dead stand. They will be unable to study mechanics or astronomy, or any of the other mathematical sciences, for will be unable to use English works on these subjects. To do so would require a knowledge of our notation and arithmetical system, which ber fois not possess, as Professor Li knows nothing of any other but the Chinese cumbersome notation involving the use of the abacus or of some modification of it. As for learning the sciences through the medium of Chinese, no scientific books, beyond a few of the most elementary kind, exist in the language." It would have been difficult to compress into narrower space greater amount of error and want of information upon any subject, than Professor O'Brien has here contrived to do upon the subjects of his animadversion.
The Chinese Government having determined, four years ago, to establish at Peking, in addition to its three schools of Foreign Langu: knownes the T'ung-Wen Kuan, a similar school for instruction in Astronomy and Mathematics, styled the T'ien-Wen Kuan, the first practical
has adopted for the realisation of this proj step miny judgment, which theTsane-fiYamén was, without having recourse to '"confident: advice, to appoint to the school a native mathematician. Professor Li," as Professor 0" Brien calls him, is essentially a sell-taught man; although he has been long in contact with'several of our most distinguished missionaries in China, and profited by the opportunity, thus afforded him, of acquiring suc Knowledge of modern European mathematics as they were able to impart. Owing to this circumstances, and like the majority of autodidacts, the may entertain a somewhat higher opinion of himself than others do? asa Chinaman he may take amore exalted view of Chinese science than it deserves; and upon special subjects, such f. i. as the theory of prime numbers, his ideas may not be much clearer than are those of some European doctors of superior pretensions; Zeh, withal, Mr. Lo is @ man of note, and fully competent to discharge the duties of the post for which he has been selected. When is pupils "shall have learned all he can teach them," the Chinese Government will have reason to congratulate itself on possessing a staff of young mathematicians, prepared to enter upon the successful study of any such -workson special branches oftheapplied sciences, as it may see fit to cause to be translated for their use from European languages, and finally to carry out the plans and practical objects of the Tsung-li Yamen to their full extent, If there be those, to whom this opinion appears tinged with partiality, let them refer to, and examine for themselves, the numerous mathematical works, including the first portion of a translation of Newton's Principia which Mr. Lo, under the enlightened Tsung-kuo-fan, has published during the Inst patronage of twenty-five years. They comprise treatises extending over a considerable of pure, and a part of applied, mathematics; betray thorough knowledge of Western algebra, geo-merry and trigonometry; a fair acquain withthe differential and integral calculus; and, abore all, they exhibit, throughout, the stamy of original thought, independent reasoning, an general capacity of no mean order. Without doubt, there is many a European Professor, who has learned far more than Mr. Lo has, and may be able toimpart again to others what he has learned; yet, for all that, he may not be what the native teacher in the Tien-Wen Kuan at Peking is,—a mathematician; and one capable—moreover, of making mathematicians of his pupils To turn, however, from Mr. Lo to the astronomical and mathematical know! and literature of the Chinese generally. If Professor O'Brien had simply taken the trouble tereter to Mr. Wylie's "Notes on Chinese it iai and London, 1867, 4o.), astronomy and Mathematics" though far from being com-0 ly have committed himself by ventilating the strangely ignorant. notions, which ho entertains on the subject. For century anda half past, the Chinese have had special treatises on the comparative merits of "the pencil (or writen) method of arithmetical calculation" and their or-Ainary ball-method. For the last three thousand years, and probably much longer, they have Geometry, and trigonometry, anticipating many original systems of arithmetic, meet famous, proportions of ubequent times, and from which, may-be, even now there' remain not a few things for us to learn. Since the thirteenth century they have prac. they tised, what they designate by the name of Kr, an original system of algebra of Sxtraordinary ilities, soon afterwards system; and if any fault had to be found with Mr. Lo, it would be for neglecting the study and further deve-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.