Gautama Siddha, (fl. 8th century)

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and compiler of Indian descent, known for leading the compilation of the '' Treatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era'' during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. He was born in

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

, and his family was originally from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, according to a tomb stele uncovered in 1977 in

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

. The Gautama family had lived in China for multiple generations, ever since his great-grandfather immigrated to China from India. He was most notable for his translation of Navagraha calendar into Chinese. He introduced

Indian numerals Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peopl ...

from zero to nine in 718 CE, but Chinese mathematicians did not find them useful, as they already had the decimal positional

counting rods Counting rods (筭) are small bars, typically 3–14 cm (1" to 6") long, that were used by mathematicians for calculation in ancient East Asia. They are placed either horizontally or vertically to represent any integer or rational number. ...

. The '〇' is used to write zero in Suzhou numerals, which is the only surviving variation of the rod numeral system. The '' Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections'', written by

Qin Jiushao Qin Jiushao (, ca. 1202–1261), courtesy name Daogu (道古), was a Chinese mathematician, meteorologist, inventor, politician, and writer. He is credited for discovering Horner's method as well as inventing Tianchi basins, a type of rain gau ...

in 1247, is the oldest surviving Chinese mathematical text to use the character ‘〇’ for zero. The origin of using the character '〇' to represent zero is unknown. Gautama Siddha introduced Hindu numerals with zero in 718 CE, but Chinese mathematicians did not find them useful, as they already had the decimal positional

. Some historians suggest that the use of '〇' for zero was influenced by Indian numerals imported by Gautama, but Gautama’s numeral system represented zero with a dot rather than a hollow circle, similar to the Bakhshali manuscript. An alternative hypothesis proposes that the use of '〇' to represent zero arose from a modification of the Chinese text space filler "□", making its resemblance to Indian numeral systems purely coincidental. Others think that the Indians acquired the symbol '〇' from China, because it resembles a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

philosophical symbol for "nothing".

References

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Footnotes

8th-century births 8th-century deaths Chinese astrologers Chinese people of Indian descent 8th-century Chinese astronomers Indian astrologers Writers from Xi'an Tang dynasty writers Scientists from Shaanxi 8th-century astrologers Medieval Indian astrologers 8th-century Indian astronomers 8th-century Indian writers 8th-century Chinese writers 8th-century translators Chinese translators {{astronomer-stub