In the famous Guota Palace Library in Turingen, Germany, there is a precious manuscript with the title: "1 and 0, the magical source of all numbers." This is the secret and wonderful example of creation, for everything comes from God. This is the handwriting of the German mathematician philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 - 1716).
Binary was invented by Leibniz around 1672-1676 during his stay in Paris. Leibniz is known in the history of science for his attention to symbols, and the calculus symbols he created were superior to Newton and recognized by the world.
The famous British scholar Joseph Needham believes that Leibniz's creation was completed under the inspiration of the Chinese "Zhou Yi". It is said that a missionary who had been to China once gave Leibniz a "Fuxi Sixty-Four Gua Diagram", which Leibniz was very interested in and studied in depth, and finally one day the inspiration suddenly appeared and created binary. It is said that Leibniz was so impressed by the achievements of ancient Chinese science and culture that he once presented the Kangxi Emperor with a calculator model and applied for Chinese citizenship. He later founded a Chinese academy in Frankfurt, which was destroyed during World War II.
There is an opinion that Leibniz invented binary and had nothing to do with Zhou Yi. According to this view, the Zhou Yi Gua Sequence has nothing to do with binary mathematics, and even the sixty-four gua square diagrams and circle diagrams created by Shao Yong in the Song Dynasty, some scholars have pointed out that it "cannot be regarded as binary mathematics", they "can only be translated into binary numbers, but do not contain binary algorithms". Guo Shuchun pointed out in the book "Liu Hui, the mathematical hero of the ancient world": "There is a saying in China that the so-called "Zhou Yi" created the binary, and the myth that Leibniz created the binary and used it for computers under the influence of the "Zhou Yi" bagua is widely circulated. The fact is that Leibniz first invented the binary, and only later saw the Zhou Yi Bagua rearranged by song dynasty scholars brought back by the missionaries, and found that the Bagua could be explained by his binary. ”
What is the relationship between Leibniz's binary and Zhou Yi?
On February 15, 1701, Leibniz sent his binary table to the French missionary Bai Jin in Beijing, China. Bai Jin wrote back to Leibniz saying that he believed that binary numbers might have some connection with the Bagua diagrams in the Chinese I Ching, and sent the Bagua diagrams made by Shao Yong (1011-1077) in the Song Dynasty to Leibniz. However, the letter took two years to get to Leibniz on 2 April 1703.
Leibniz did not expect that his invention, which embodies the wisdom of God, had already appeared in ancient China. He was extremely excited and immediately wrote a letter to Bai Jin. In his letter, he praised the Bagua chart as "the oldest scientific souvenir circulating in the universe" and said happily: "It is a miraculous coincidence that the Bagua diagram, which has not been well understood for thousands of years, is completely consistent with my binary arithmetic... If I hadn't invented binary arithmetic, maybe I wouldn't have understood the system of gossip and the purpose of arithmetic drawing. Now that this mystery has been unveiled by me, I should be able to apply for Chinese citizenship!"
The Japanese scholar Wu Lai Xinzhao believes that Leibniz uses the symbols 0 and 1 to represent all the numbers, and the I Ching uses the yin and yang instruments to represent all things in heaven and earth, which embodies the genius of human beings. The two great genius ideas of the East and the West, with the help of universal, intuitive mathematical methods, came into contact with each other and gradually came to know each other until they worked together. Leibniz was instrumental in this process, as he brought the two civilizations of the East and the West closer together using simple and revelatory abstract mathematical notation.
One of europe's greatest scholars of the time, Leibniz was "an encyclopedic figure" who was well versed in mathematics, political science, history, and philosophy. He admired Chinese culture and was keenly interested in the exchanges between the two great civilizations of Europe and China at that time, and some people called him a person who cared for China with the greatest tenacity in the European intellectual circles at that time.
In Leibniz's mind, China has insurmountable intelligence and experience in science and technology, national governance, ethics and political practice. He praised China this way:
"The greatest civilization and the most elegant culture of mankind have finally converged today on both ends of our continent, namely Europe and China on the other side of the globe, like the 'Europe of the East'... Perhaps Providence was destined to do so so so so that when these two most civilized and farthest peoples joined hands, they would also bring all the peoples in between them into a more rational life. ”
"It is extremely important not only for the development of our science and art, but also for all this that Chinese ourselves. Because it is an exchange of knowledge and learning, it can provide us with the fruits of their years in one fell swoop, and can be said to be able to multiply the true wealth of both of us. ”
"But who in the past would have thought that there is such a people on earth that is more morally advanced than we, a people who think they are well-educated in all respects? Ever since we met Chinese, we've found this in them. If we can compare ourselves to the art of craftsmanship and slightly better in the science of speculation, we are dwarfed in practical philosophy, that is, in the ethics of life and the practical humanity and in the doctrine of governance. ”
"Chinese is undoubtedly a well-regulated nation compared to other nationals. They have achieved much more effectiveness in their vast social groups than the founders of religious groups have achieved on their small scale. ”
"In view of the fact that we are morally corrupt, I think it is necessary for the Chinese to send priests to teach us the use and practice of natural theology, just as we sent priests to teach them the theology of enlightenment."
Leibniz retorted to those who regarded Christian Europe as the center of humanity and opposed It: "China's territory is very large, no smaller than civilized Europe, and far more populous and governing than Europe. China has (in some respects admirable) public morality, which is linked to philosophical theories, especially natural theology, and is enviable for its long history. It was founded very early, about three thousand years ago, before both Greco-Roman philosophies. Although Greek philosophy is the earliest writing we have other than the Bible, we are only latecomers to emerge from barbarism compared to them. If, because the first impression of such an ancient doctrine is at odds with the ideas of ordinary scholastic philosophy, we condemn it, it would be foolish and arrogant! ”
Leibniz wanted to create a global unified religious organization, and then wanted to create a universal language, so he highly praised the origin and function of the Chinese block characters, and envisioned Chinese characters as the universal script. Leibniz's vision was indeed bold and strange, unexpected.
Leibniz, who worshipped Chinese culture, had a great influence on Europe, and some people commented that "when Leibniz slowly entered the spiritual world of that time, China has become a daily topic in Europe", and Leibniz did play a role in promoting the "China fever" in Europe at that time.