从明治维新到二战前后中日数学人才

 在18世纪到19世纪的200年间，欧洲人才辈出，诞生的大数学家数不胜数。这期间，东方的数学却反常地沉寂。在明治维新以前，日本的数学成就远不如中国；但到了19世纪末，中国的数学反而不如日本。通过比较从明治维新到二战前后中日数学人才的培养，分析了中国这期间数学落后于日本和世界的原因。日本政府明治维新要求老百姓全面向西方学习乃原因之一，而中国人由于坚持“中学为体，西学为用”的信念，因而在追求真理的态度上始终不能全面以赴，也不失数学及其他科学落伍的重要原因。此外，中国早期学习西方以应用科技为主，缺乏对数学的热情，一直到20世纪20年代还没有认识到当代最先进的数学，始终未接触到学问的前沿。另外，日本数学的迅速兴起与其学习方法有密切的关系。没有做学问的热情，没有崇高的志愿，不可能产生杰出的数学家。今日中国数学的前途，端赖于年轻一代数学家的培养，研究生的培养则溯源于中学生的教育。期望重新燃烧起中国人对数学的热情。

A Comparative Study on the Training of Talents of Mathematics in China and in Japan from 1868(the Meiji Restoration in Japan)to the Second World War

During the 200 years of the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe produced numerous great mathematicians, while the oriental world remained relatively quiet in mathematics. Before 1868 (the Meiji Restoration in Japan), China fared better than Japan with respect to the achievements in that field, but China was overtook by Japan at the end of the 19th century. This paper presents a comparative study on the training of talents of mathematics in China and in Japan during the period from 1868 to the Second World War, to show the causes why China followed a downward road to become lagged behind Japan and the rest of the world in mathematics. In Japan, the Meiji Restoration required its citizens to learn from Western countries in all fields in an all round way; in China, on the other hand, it was advocated to learn Western science and technology on the basis of the Chinese traditional system. With the latter altitude, one could not seek truth whole-heartedly, which constitutes the most important cause for China to be lagged behind in mathematics and other sciences. Another reason is that in the early stage of learning from the West, Chinese tended to focus on technology and lacked the enthusiasm for mathematics. The importance of the most advanced mathematics was not recognized until the twenties of the 19th century and the frontlines in this field were not touched upon. The rapid development of mathematics in Japan had also something to do with their methods of learning. No great mathematician would be produced without the enthusiasm of researching and taking it as a loft goal. The prospect of mathematics in today's China depends on the training of young mathematicians. The training of graduate students should be traced to the training of middle school students. It is expected that the enthusiasm for mathematics will again be prevailed in Chinese.