Mathematics in Ancient and Medieval India c5.s7.53

c5.s7.53

The Chinese (8th century A. D.) left a gap or some vacant space similar to the Babylonians where a zero was required. This is found on some Thang Mss. of the Tunhuang cave-temples. One of the Ms. rolls, namely *Li-Chhêng Suan Ching*¹ contains the number 405 both in written form and in rod numerals like 𝄀𝄀𝄀𝄀 𝄀𝄀𝄀𝄀𝄀. A symbol for zero in the usual circular form appeared only in 1247 A. D. in a work *Su Shu Chiu Chang* of Chhin Chiu-Shao.² Thus it gives : | ≡ ╥ 000 as 147000. Needham, from the consideration of amalgamation of Indian, Chinese and of the local residence of Java, Champa, Malay etc. due to colonisation, concluded that the origin of the symbol for zero should be attributed to the mixed culture of the Indians and the Chinese. But such an argument is quite untenable in view of the fact that the use of the symbol for zero fitted in a decimal place-value scale appears in China only in Ms. of the 13th century A. D. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the use of word-numerals including that of zero in a decimal place-value scale was ever made by the Chinese or even by any other nations except by the Indian prior to their symbolic use. This has also been clearly recognised by the French scholar Coedès.¹