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Why was Cheng Dawei’s Systematic Treatise on Mathematics important in Japan?

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East Asian mathematics Counting boards and markers, or counting rods, were used in China to solve systems of linear equations. This is an example from the 1st century ce.

Cheng Dawei’s Systematic Treatise on Mathematics (Suanfa tongzong, 1592) was highly significant in Japan for several reasons:

Introduction of the Abacus: It introduced the abacus to Japan, which became a central tool in the Japanese mathematical tradition, even as it coexisted with traditional counting rods.12
Source of Mathematical Knowledge: As a comprehensive summa of mathematical knowledge compiled from extensive bibliographic research, it served as a vital reference for Japanese scholars, helping to disseminate traditional Chinese methods throughout East Asia.12
Inspiration for Japanese Works: It directly inspired Yoshida Mitsuyoshi’s Jingoki (1627), the first book to play a major role in the emerging Japanese mathematical tradition. Yoshida’s work, in turn, popularized mathematics by being written in Japanese rather than Chinese, and it introduced the practice of posing "difficult problems" to stimulate further study—a tradition that helped Japanese mathematicians eventually advance beyond the classics.3

By providing a broad foundation of Chinese mathematical knowledge, the Systematic Treatise helped define the context in which the Japanese tradition developed and eventually engaged with Western mathematics.1