Imperial Preface to the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art

Although this book contains the commentary by Liu Hui of the Jin Dynasty, its title first appears in the Tang Dynasty records. It became widely known after Li Chunfeng provided annotations and definitions. During the Northern Song Dynasty, few people studied it, and it gradually faded from view. In the Qingyuan era of the Southern Song Dynasty, Bao Huan obtained a copy and deposited it in the Imperial Archives, yet the world could not see it. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was included in the Yongle Dadian Great Canon of the Yongle Era, but because it was sorted by rhyme, readers could rarely examine its full structure; thus, it existed in name only. Now, the editors of the Siku Quanshu have compiled the nine chapters from scattered fragments, all consistent with the old edition of Bao Huan. Although the Bao edition lacked diagrams, the current officials have added them based on the commentary. While one cannot be certain they are entirely original, they can be deduced from the commentary, and thus it has not been lost.