Marion Tzui Yang

The World of Numbers: Where Did Middle Land Come From? Marion Tzui Yang

Once upon a time there was a country called Middle Land. It was a peculiar country because it was built on nine numbers....

The World of Numbers: Where Did Middle Land Come From? is a picture book on how an innovation of nine numbers has led to many important inventions in Middle Land, now called China, including

• Abacus that aims to count eternity,

• Law of Numbers that has been mistaken for Shang Gao Theorem, namely, Pythagorean Theorem

• Game of Life [Go] that no computer can completely simulate,

• Circle of Life [Taichi Symbol] that gives birth to many ancient fuzzy applications,

• Wonder of Seven [Tangram] that makes part of the game design game play,

• Lastly, Taichi Cube that breaks the codes for a classic spacial puzzle game.

This illustration book overturns the view that Shang Gao square is but Pythagorean triple by establishing a logical sequence of known inventions basing on Shang's original and descriptive discovery in "Zhou Bi Suan Jing". By doing so, it sheds light on the importance of Shang Gao theorem over Pythagorean theorem for the making of Middle Land civilization, hence, the World of Numbers.