Is it true that Chinese are pretty good at maths?

中国人真的很擅长数学吗？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Jian Heng

Chinese is superior at arithmetic, according to study.

Yes, according to certain research. "the Chinese numeral system is relatively straightforward, making at least mathematics very easy to master." Early childhood education researchers have shown that how a language explains numbers may impact how soon youngsters learn add and subtract. Sticks must be properly positioned and crossed in order to multiply using the Chinese Technique, often known as the stick method. Simply arrange the sticks according to the place values of the multiplicands. The sticks' intersections are then counted.

研究显示，中国人在算术方面更胜一筹。

是的，根据某些研究，“中国的数字系统相对简单，因此数学运算很容易掌握。”儿童早期教育研究人员已经表明，一门语言阐释数字的方式可能会影响儿童学习加减法的速度。正确放置和交叉摆放小棍，用中国的运算方式就可以进行乘法运算，这个方法通常被称为棍棒运算法。我们只需根据乘数的位置值来排列这些小棍，然后统计这些棍子的交叉点数目。

Frog Kelly

First of all, I’m a student to Beiing, bdfz(the Chinese abbreviation of my school)

Yes, it is partly true, in big cities like Beiing, Shanghai, students r really good at math, and hard maths problems are used by top mid schools to select top students.

For myself, in primary school time, I had like about 4 maths classes weekly besides school, parents pay lots of attention to it..

But in other places, children stop school at a very young age(like 14 or 15) for work, they are not good at maths.

首先，我是来自北京bdfz（学校的拼音首字母缩写）的学生。

是的，这个说法在一定程度上是对的，在北京、上海这样的大城市，学生的数学真的学得很不错，顶尖中学也会用数学难题来选拔优秀的学生。

对我自己而言，小学期间我每周会在校外学习大约4节数学课，父母很关注我的数学学习情况。

但在某些地区，孩子们很小的时候(比如14或15岁)就会辍学，开始打工，他们就不太擅长数学了。

Tom Kitta

No. They are far weaker at computer science as well based on small sample of around 30–50 people.

This should be all individual based through not based on particular race.

Main thing I see with Chinese students that is a problem is a brute force attack on a problem with simply trying to memorise stuff that is related. There should be less emphasis on pure memorisation and more emphasis on… why.

This is for college upper level and post grad studies. Everyone that wants to succeed memorises a lot but also balances it with a “why”.

并不是。而且从大约30-50人的小型样本来分析，他们在计算机科学方面也很弱。

这应该是个体差异，不是某个族群的特征。

我在中国学生身上看到的主要问题是，他们会死记硬背一些相关内容，然后暴力破解某个问题。但我们应该减少单纯的记忆，多想想为什么。

这是我想对大学高年级和研究生阶段的学习建议。每个想获得成功的人都会记住很多东西，但也会关注“为什么”。

Weijia Deng

No for the educated ones who conduct math-dependent jobs, yes for the rest, comparing to the corresponding class in the western world.

The education system of China has a defect that it does not appreciate proof highly enough as it should be, and proof is the key component of higher-level math.

与西方拥有相同学位的人相比，中国人的数学水平并没有比从事和数学相关工作的受过教育的人高，但确实会比剩下的人高。

中国的教育体系存在一个缺陷，即对证明的重视程度不够，但证明是高等数学的重要组成部分。

James Anabo

Yes. It’s in their genes. Chinese people are good in Mathematics in the same way as black people are good in sports.

是的。这是他们的优势基因。中国人擅长数学，就像黑人擅长体育一样。

Anya

No. In China, there are two people, one is called XUEBA, the other is called XUEZHA. The former always have excellent grades, but the latter only can pray tomorrow there will be a earthquake.

不。在中国有两种人，一种是学霸，一种是学渣。学霸总是成绩优异，而学渣只能祈祷明天会有地震。

入画

If you think the basic math knowledge like add, substrat,multiply,devide meaning good at maths, then I think yes, we are good at maths.

如果你认为掌握基础的数学知识像加、底、乘、除就意味着擅长数学，那么我觉得可以这么说，我们确实擅长数学。

Fu Gui

That's for sure

I think it's probably a Chinese talent, not entirely about education.

You will find a common vegetables rural women, even if she is not high culture, but her mental arithmetic level may be more than American College students.

这是肯定的。

我觉得这可能是中国人的天分，并不完全跟教育水平有关。

比如一个在菜市场卖菜的普通农村妇女，就算她没有很高的文化水平，但她的心算水平有可能比美国大学生还要高。

Ariel Lin-Graybill

Not me.

I failed my college entrance math exam.

I like math but I am just very slow and lack of logic when it comes to solving math problem.

I would say Chinese people are a bit better in quick calculation. Practiced that a lot in elementary school.

我就不擅长。

我高考的时候数学还不及格呢。

我喜欢数学，但在解决数学问题时，我的反应很慢，逻辑也很混乱。

我想说中国人在计算速度方面确实很有优势。我们在小学阶段就进行了大量训练。

Gloryseeker Huang

I’m from China, born and study in China.

When I see this, I was shocked because I don't understand why someone would ask this question. No offence, but this is really easy even for a 7 grade student in China.

it's true that Chinese students are mostly good at math. but the ability is not inborn. We will spend much time on learning math since we are very young.

Of course, we learn math not just because it's useful, we need to learn it well for the College Entrance Examination. The consequence is that many students gave up learning math in college. But still we are capable of solving many math problems.

我来自中国，在中国出生，在中国接受教育。

当我看到这个题目时，我很震惊，因为我想不通为什么有人会把这个题目发出来。我无意冒犯，但这个题目对中国7年级的学生来说都是小意思了。

没错，很多中国学生都很擅长数学。但这种能力并非与生俱来的。我们从小就花了很多时间来学习数学。

当然，我们学习数学不仅仅是因为它有用，我们也是为了高考考出好成绩而学。结果，很多学生考入大学后就放弃了数学学习。但我们还是能够解出许多数学题。

Alex Chill

Yes.

In fact, the Chinese are religiously obsessed with math.

Back when I was in Secondary School in Australia, we learnt Math that was supposed to be superior compared local schools. The front cover of the book said ‘Advanced Math for Year 10’. A year later when I moved to China for an international IB school, I found that the local schools were studying an advanced version of the advanced version that I was learning back in Australia. Then when I sat in the IB math class, I found that myMath book was again the advanced version of the local advanced version which was the advanced version of the Australian advanced version of Australian local school.

是的。

事实上，中国人非常推崇数学。

我在澳大利亚上中学的时候，我们学校的数学水平应该比当地学校略好一些。数学书的封面上写着“10年级高等数学”。

一年后，我来到中国就读国际学校的IB课程，我发现当地的学校使用的课本是我在澳大利亚的教材的进阶版。

当我坐在IB课程的数学教室里时，我发现我们的数学课本又是比当地进阶版教材的更高级版本，是澳大利亚本地学校使用教材的进阶版的进阶版

What shocked me was, all my fellow Chinese classmates were always able to score more than 85 percent!

I never really liked math, and the reality literally said screw you in front of my face. That sucked!

This is just my personal opinion about learning math, if you like math, don’t take me serious.

更令我震惊的是，所有的中国同学都能拿到85%以上的成绩！

我从来都不喜欢数学，我被现实深深打击到了。太烦人了！

这只是我个人对数学学习的一点看法，如果你喜欢数学，就别把我的话当真哈。

Lu Yueti

i am Chinese and i was a senor high

and i think i was preety good at math and i was studying Olympic math.

but that doesn't mean that we all good at math

我是中国人，是个高中老师。

我觉得我自己数学是挺好的，我以前一直在学奥数。

但这并不意味着我们中国人都擅长数学

here is some exercise i did……..

这是我做的一些习题........

Piyush

You want to listen something good I think. But, unfortunately your neighbouring country is doing good in mathematics and even got a nobel prize in mathematics. Guess which neighbor?

我觉得你肯定是想听点好听的。但很遗憾，你们的邻国在数学方面非常出色，甚至获得了数学诺贝尔奖。猜猜看是哪个邻国呢？

Cornelius Goh

Yes and No.

Chinese are good in counting, like abacus, and all kinds of math tricks, but lack the real “math thinking” in abstractness which is the forté of the French Bourbaki Math. If you name the number of world-class mathematicians by counting the Fields Medals, Wolf, Abel Prizes, the French mathematicians dominate the Math World. However, the Chinese kids beat the French kids in tricky IMO Math by 3 decades of IMO Championships.

The best Math education should combine both the strength of Chinese and French, ie Chinese “Applied” and French “Abstract” pedagogies.

也对，也不对。

中国人擅长计算，比如算盘，各种数学游戏，但缺乏真正的抽象的“数学思维”，这就是法国布尔巴基数学学派的强项。如果只计算菲尔兹奖、沃尔夫奖、阿贝尔奖等世界级数学家的数量，你会发现法国数学家才是数学界的霸主。但中国孩子在复杂的国际数学奥林匹克竞赛中击败了法国孩子，在冠军宝座上领先了30年。

最好的数学教育应该结合中国和法国的优势，即中国的“应用”教学法和法国的“抽象”教学法。

Yanshi iong

Math teacher in China is a nightmare, almost for everyone, that's why my math is not bad. I think that fits most Chinese students.

You can ask a Chinese student to imagine his or her math teacher, horrible could be used to describe that image and moment.

Just kidding.

几乎对每个人而言，中国的数学老师都是上学时的噩梦，这就是我的数学还算不赖的原因。我认为大多数中国学生都是如此。

你可以让一个中国学生回忆一下他或她的数学老师，大概可以用“可怕”二字来描述老师的形象和场面。

开个玩笑哈。

Bak Chee

Chinese students are pretty good at Math, and in general perform better than Western students.

Because the education system in Asia train their students pretty intensive at Math since a young age. Therefore most of us will outperform the western students when we go study in western schools.

中国学生很擅长数学，总体上的表现好过西方学生。

因为亚洲的教育体系会从学生很小的时候就对他们进行密集的数学训练。所以当我们去西方学校学习时，我们中的大多数人在数学学科的表现都会优于西方学生的表现。

However, when it comes to high level Math, those really abstract things, those that need intense imagination or creativity, such as in later years of university, the western students start to catch up, and then surpass many Asian students.

I guess it’s the result of different education systems.

但涉及到高水平的数学学习，比如真正抽象的东西，比如需要强烈的想象力或创造力的东西，比如在大学高年级，西方学生就开始赶超许多亚洲学生了。

我想这是不同教育体系造成的结果。

John Richard Jones

Is it down to the way they are taught in school?

I have seen a variation in the UK and am convinced that some of the poorer performing students could be better if they were taught in a better way.

这取决于他们在学校接受的教育方式吗？

我在英国看到了这种变化，我相信，如果用更好的方式教育一些表现不佳的学生，他们也会变得更加优秀。

If the capacity of a jug is the full potential of the student and the contents of the jug is how much investment in time and support went into the student, then the more put into the student the more you could get from the student (up to a point).

Don't judge a student by its contents as there could be plenty of unused space for more use. See the student by their capacity and give the necessary contents to maxmise their use.

如果用一个罐子的容量来形容学生的全部潜力，罐子里装的是对学生投入的时间和支持的多少，那么对学生投入的越多，你从学生那里得到的就越多(在一定程度上)。

不要根据学生现有的能力来判断一个学生，因为他们可能拥有很多尚未开发的潜力。我们要关注学生的能力，给予必要的教导，最大限度地挖掘他们的潜力。