The mathematical documents on the bamboo and wooden slips of Qin Dynasty preserved at Peking University came from the tomb of a local official in Nanjun (南郡) of the Qin Dynasty in the late Qin Shihuang period. They include 2 Tianshu (Field Books) that only have data but no algorithms, 3 mathematical books that have algorithms and problems, as well as a jiujiu multiplication table wooden slip. Their contents include discussions on mathematical views, multiplication tables, area algorithms, volume algorithms, tax algorithms, conversions of different types of grains, measurement systems, algorithms for military problems, excess and deficit algorithms, long-distance surveying methods, and other miscellaneous problems. We can find algorithms similar to those in the chapters Fangtian, Sumi, Cuifen, Shaoguang, Shanggong, Junshu, Yingbuzu, and Gougu of the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures (Jiuzhang suanshu九章算术). The three mathematical books have different forms. Among them, the Mathematical Treatise: First Manuscript contains three chapters with titles, indicating that the chapter form of the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures, which is divided into 9 chapters, was probably inherited from its ancestral version in pre-Qin period, as recorded by Liu Hui. These mathematical documents provide a support for Liu Hui’s description of the process of the compilation of the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures, and also provide sources for our understanding of the society, economy and measurement system of the Qin State during the Warring States Period and the Qin Dynasty.

The study of Qin-Han (221 BCE–220 CE) mathematics was once mostly limited to The Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures (Jiuzhang suanshu九章算術), but all that has changed in the last three decades with the successive discovery of mathematical manuscripts in Zhangjiashan 張家山tomb 247, Shuihudi 睡虎地tomb 77 and in the Yuelu Academy 岳麓書院and Peking University 北京大學collections. In addition to furnishing us with new, never-before-seen materials and shedding light on the origins of those incorporated into later classics like The Nine Chapters, these manuscripts document a variety in the language and formulation of common procedures that stands in stark contrast with the later mathematical canon. For example, the case of ‘Litian’ 里田 land measurement problems in the aforementioned sources and a peculiar variation thereupon in the Peking University Suanshu 算書 might be a mnemonic (kuketsu 口訣). It suggests what we see in these manuscripts might be linked to oral practices and basic training. Another example is that π in Qin and Han mathematics is usually 3, but 16/5 appears in the mathematical manuscript of Shuihudi 睡虎地. And the expression is different, which indicates that there may have been π algorithms in early arithmetic that we do not know.

The Shushu Jiuzhang is an important mathematical work written by Qin Jiushao, a mathematician of the Southern Song Dynasty. It covers multiple fields such as astronomy, calendar, engineering, and commerce, and is one of the representative works of classical Chinese mathematics during the peak of the Song and Yuan dynasties. During the Qing Dynasty, scholars from the Qianjia School systematically organized and studied the Shushu Jiuzhang. This work was not only an important part of organizing traditional mathematical classics, but also an inseparable component of Qing Dynasty academia. Scholars of the Qianjia School's research on the Shushu Jiuzhang is not limited to text organization, but also delves deeper into the interpretation and verification of mathematical content. The organization and study of the Shushu Jiuzhang by scholars of the Qianjia School have provided valuable research materials and references for future scholars, and are of great significance for understanding the development and achievements of ancient Chinese mathematics. At the same time, this study helps to reveal the unique style of research on the Shushu Jiuzhang in the academic environment of the Qing Dynasty, and provides useful academic references and inspirations for the subsequent study of the Shushu Jiuzhang and even broader research on the history of ancient Chinese mathematics, promoting the deepening and development of research in related fields.