Key facts
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed the binary numeral system, fundamental to modern computing.
- Leibniz's binary system, using 0 and 1, was recognized by Father Joachim Bouvet as matching the 64 hexagrams of China's I Ching.
- The I Ching's binary principles, using broken and unbroken lines, are approximately 3,000 years old.
- Leibniz published a paper in 1703 linking his binary arithmetic to the ancient Chinese figure Fu Xi, credited with the hexagram system.
The development of artificial intelligence, while appearing sudden, has deep historical roots in an intellectual exchange between China and the West. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a German polymath, developed the binary numeral system, the foundation of modern computing. Struggling to gain acceptance for his two-digit system in Europe, Leibniz corresponded with Father Joachim Bouvet, a Jesuit missionary in Beijing.
Upon receiving Leibniz's description of binary in 1701, Bouvet immediately recognized its conceptual similarity to the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, China's ancient classical text. Bouvet sent Leibniz a woodcut print of the hexagrams, explaining that an identical binary system had existed in China for approximately 3,000 years, using broken and unbroken lines instead of 0 and 1.
Leibniz was reportedly elated by this discovery, publishing a paper in 1703 titled "Explanation of the binary arithmetic... with remarks on its usefulness, and on the light it throws on the ancient Chinese figure of Fu Xi." This historical connection highlights how ancient Chinese thought contributed to the bedrock of modern scientific and technological advancements, including AI.