《孫子算經卷下》 "Sun Tzŭ's Computational Classic: Volume III"
§8. Division determining a rate (2)

This section gives a word problem where division is used to determine a rate.

Translation

Chinese source text: Version A, Version B, Version C, Version D.
Unless noted otherwise, I follow the text from Version D, 《知不足齋叢書》本.

Source text Target text Notes
今有絹七萬八千七百三十二匹、令一百六十二人分之。問人得幾何。 Suppose there be strong-silk seven myriad eight thousand seven hundred [and] thirty-two lengths, [and we] make one hundred [and] sixty-two people share it. [We] ask, how much getteth [each] person?
答曰、四百八十六匹。 Answer saith: four hundred [and] eighty-six lengths.
術曰、置絹七萬八千七百三十二匹為實、以一百六十二人為法。實如法、即得。 Method saith: put [down the] strong-silk seven myriad eight thousand seven hundred [and] thirty-two lengths as [the] dividend, [and] use [the] one hundred [and] sixty-two people as [the] divisor. [Taking the] dividend as [per the] divisor, [we] are done.
  • In modern notation,
    \frac{ 78732 \unit{lengths} }{ 162 \unit{people} } = \frac{486 \unit{lengths}}{\unit{person}}.

Cite this page

Conway (2023). "Sun Tzŭ's Computational Classic: Volume III §8". <https://yawnoc.github.io/sun-tzu/iii/8> Accessed yyyy-mm-dd.