Euclid

"Elements of Geometry" is an immortal work of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, which integrates the achievements and spirit of the entire ancient Greek mathematics. It was written around 300 BC and is divided into 13 volumes. The book preserves many early ancient Greek geometric theories, and Euclid made a groundbreaking systematization and complete elaboration.

"Elements of Geometry" has been published in more than 1,000 editions in different languages ​​over the past 2,000 years, and its publication volume is second only to the "Bible". In 1607, Ming Dynasty mathematicians Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci translated the first six volumes of "Elements of Geometry" in China for the first time, which greatly influenced the original habit of Chinese mathematics learning and research, and changed the direction of Chinese mathematics development. In the early years of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan sponsored and recommended by the preface, mathematician Li Shanlan completed the unfinished work of Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci, and the complete Chinese version of "Elements of Geometry" was published for the first time.

The importance of "Elements of Geometry" lies not only in the series of significant formulas and theorems it puts forward, but also in its establishment of rigorous logic, which has evolved into a system of thought that uses mathematics to understand the world. Ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, modern science, the pattern of the modern world, etc., all emerged within the framework of this ideological system.

Xu Guangqi once commented on this book: Those who can master this book can master everything; those who are eager to learn this book can learn nothing.