Illustrated Commentary on the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, Volume 1

Commentary by Liu Hui of the Wei Dynasty

Commentary commissioned by imperial decree and authored by Li Chunfeng, Aide to the Court of Imperial Astronomers and Commandant of the Light Cavalry, and others, of the Tang Dynasty

Authored by Li Huang of Zhongxiang, styled Yunmen

Field Measurement to govern the boundaries of fields

Suppose there is a field 15 steps in width and 16 steps in length. The question is: what is the area of the field?

There is another field 12 steps in width and 14 steps in length. The question is: what is the area of the field?

The answer is: 168 square steps. Diagram: length 14, width 12

Huang notes: According to the commentary by Ting, there was originally a diagram, but it is now lost. I have restored it.