China Set to Lead World Maths Research

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 20, 2002

China Set to Lead World Maths Research

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China, the first developing country to host the International Congress of Mathematicians, is set to become an international leader in mathematical research, a Shanghai-based newspaper reported Tuesday.

The congress, opening on Tuesday, has drawn over 4,000 noted mathematicians from around the world to witness China's "world-shaking advances" in mathematical studies, a result of several generations of mathematicians, Wen Hui Bao reported.

When German scientist David Hilbert outlined 23 mathematical problems for research at the International Congress of Mathematicians 1900 in Paris, literary talent was virtually the only criterion for Chinese intellectuals to be elected officials in then-feudal China.

Shortly afterwards, modern mathematics began to take root in China, with the return of Hu Mingfu, Jiang Lifu and other scholarsafter their studies in the west.

After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, China reported rapid advancement in its mathematical research thanks to the unremitting efforts of noted Chinese mathematicians headed by Hua Luogeng.

Today, Chinese scholars are found at nearly all the world-leading mathematical research institutions and a younger generation of scientists have made their mark in international academic circles.

Names of Chinese scientists appear so frequently in major academic publications that noted mathematician Claude Hugo HermannWeyl once said "a mathematician in the 21st century has to learn Chinese".

In 2001, Chinese mathematicians published 1,493 essays in influential international magazines, with each one being quoted 1.36 times on average.

However, China still needs more maths masters like Hua Luogeng and Shiing-shen Chern, the paper quoted Prof. Yuan Yaxiang, secretary-general of the International Congress of Mathematicians 2002, as saying.

Yuan, also vice-president of the Maths and Systems Science institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed the hope that China would nurture more mathematicians and make more breakthroughs in international mathematical research.

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