Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi was the most famous person in ancient China known for his accuracy in calculations, knowledge of mathematics, and astronomy. He comes from an astronomical family, and this is probably where his interest started when his grandfather taught him all of his astronomy and math skills. His family served the king for many years, and astronomers played an essential role in the court because the king was said to have received orders from heaven. It is true that he lived to witness two governments, the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. His grandfather used to be the Minister for the palace works. That's not all, his father, Zu Shuozhi worked in the imperial court and was highly respected.

Zu Chongzhi is intelligent and is appreciated for his intelligence. He concluded that the rational number 22/7 was greater than π and he used his mathematical skills to calculate astronomical possibilities. He was the first to introduce the Daming calendar, which laid out the activities the king had to achieve in that year. The calendar is very accurate and runs over a long period of time. He calculated the exact number of days in a year and could also tell the exact time of day. As can be seen, his inventions and knowledge have been passed down for thousands of generations, and are still applied today, bringing much praise and pride.

• Born and died: 429 – 500 AD
• Known as: Astronomer, mathematician, politician, inventor, and writer