Abstract
In 1977, Wu Wenjun designed a method of automated proving of geometric theorems, now called 'mathematics mechanisation' or Wu's method. Wu famously announced that his method received inspiration from ancient Chinese mathematics - from its overall spirit, and more directly from specific algorithms for the reduction of polynomials.
This paper focuses on these algorithms and their relationship to Wu's work. I will first briefly review what Wu has written about his inspiration in Chinese mathematics; then compare the central algebraic technique of his method with one part of the method of "Four Unknowns" (si yuan shu), recorded by Zhu Shijie in 1303, and finally argue that Qian Baocong's History of Chinese Mathematics (1964) and his clear explanation of the ancient technique played a crucial role in the process of transmission.
I will conclude that inspiration has to be understood as a psychological driving force and trigger, rather than as supplying concepts and techniques lacking in Western mathematics.