Han Mathematics
Further information: Science and technology of the Han Dynasty#Mathematics and astronomyIn the Han Dynasty, numbers were developed into a place value decimal system and used on a counting board with a set of counting rods called chousuan,consisted of only nine symbols, a blank space on the counting board stood for zero. The mathematicians Liu Xin (d. 23) and Zhang Heng (78–139) gave more accurate approximations for pi than Chinese of previous centuries had used. Zhang also applied mathematics in his work in astronomy.
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