Popularizing Mathematical Methods in the People’s Republic of China

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxii

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2. Introduction

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 1-23

3. On the Calculation of Mineral Reserves and Hillside Areas on Contour Maps

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang

   Pages 25-40

4. The Meshing Gear-Pair Problem

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 41-55

5. Optimum Seeking Methods (single variable)

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 57-78

6. Optimum Seeking Methods (several variables)

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 79-109

7. The Golden Number and Numerical Integration

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 111-124

8. Overall Planning Methods

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 125-136

9. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

   • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

   Pages 137-149

10. Machine Scheduling

    • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

    Pages 151-158

11. The Transportation Problem (Graphical Method)

    • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

    Pages 159-172

12. The Transportation Problem (Simplex Method)

    • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

    Pages 173-199

13. The Postman Problem

    • Loo-Keng Hua, Yuan Wang, J. G. C. Heijmans

    Pages 201-209

Professor Hua Loo-Keng is the first person to have undertaken the task of popularizing mathematical methods in China. As early as 1958, he proposed that the application of operations research methods be initiated in industrial production. With his students, Yu Ming-I, Wan Zhe Xian and Wang Yuan, Professor Hua visited various transportation departments to promote mathematical methods for dealing with transportation problems, and a mass campaign was organized by them and other mathematicians to advance and apply linear programming methods to industrial production in Beijing and in Shandong province. However, due to the fact that these methods have limited applications and their computation is rather complex, their popularization and utilization in China have so far been restricted to a small number of sectors such as the above mentioned transportation departments. In 1958 Hua Loo--Keng proposed the use of Input-Output methods in the formulation of national economic plans. Apart from publicizing this method, he carried out in-depth research on the subject. He also gave lectures on related non-negative matrix theory, pointing out the economic significance of various theoretical results.

• Mathematica
• linear optimization
• operations research

• Department of Mathematics, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, USA

  J. G. C. Heijmans

• Academia Sinica, Institute of Mathematics, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

  Yuan Wang

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