Zu Chongzhi

Statue of Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi (Chinese: 祖沖之; 429 – 500[1]), courtesy name Wenyuan (Chinese: 文遠), was a Chinese astronomer, inventor, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, a record in precision which would not be surpassed for nearly 900 years.

Zu Chongzhi
Traditional Chinese祖沖之
Simplified Chinese祖冲之
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZǔ Chōngzhī
Wade–GilesTsu Ch'ung-chih
Wenyuan (courtesy name)
Traditional Chinese文遠
Simplified Chinese文远
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWényuǎn
  1. ^ Zu's biography in Book of the Southern Qi indicate that he was 72 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died in the 2nd year of the Yong'yuan era of Xiao Baojuan's reign. (永元二年,冲之卒。年七十二。) Nan Qi Shu, vol.52