• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.75-101
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• 2020

We considered the context of the publications and transmissions of mathematics books using the Korean traditional book lists and the catalogues of woodblocks in the Joseon Dynasty and DaeHan大韓 Empire period. Among the results, this paper first describes the context of the publication and transmission of mathematics textbooks of national math exams算學取才 in the first half of Joseon, adding a step more specific to the facts known so far. In 1430, 『YangHui SanFa楊輝算法』, 『XiangMing SuanFa詳明算法』, 『SuanXue QiMeng算學啓蒙』, 『DiSuan地算』, 『WuCao SuanJing五曹算經』 were selected as the textbooks of national math exams算學取才. 『YangHui SanFa』, 『XiangMing SuanFa』, 『DiSuan』 were included in the catalogues of woodblocks in the Joseon Dynasty before the Japanese invasion in 1592, and we could see that Gyeongju慶州, Chuncheon春川, and Wonju原州 were the printing centers of these books. Through other lists, literature records and real text books, it came out into the open that 『XiangMing SuanFa』 was published as movable print books three times at least, 『SuanXue QiMeng』 four times at least in the first half of Joseon Dynasty. And 『XiangMing SuanFa』 was published at about 100 years later than 『YangHui SanFa楊輝算法』 as xylographic books, 『SuanXue QiMeng』 was published twice as xylographic books in the second half of Joseon Dynasty. Whether or not the list of royal books included the Korean or Chinese versions of these books, and additional notation in that shows how the royal estimation of these books changed.