Gautama Siddha, (fl. 8th century)astronomer,astrologer and compiler ofIndian descent, known for leading the compilation of theTreatise on Astrology of the Kaiyuan Era during theTang dynasty. He was born inChang'an, and his family was originally fromIndia, according to a tomb stele uncovered in 1977 inXi'an. 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 ofNavagraha calendar intoChinese.[1]
The '〇' is used to write zero inSuzhou numerals, which is the only surviving variation of therod numeral system. TheMathematical Treatise in Nine Sections, written byQin Jiushao in 1247, is the oldest surviving Chinese mathematical text to use the character ‘〇’ for zero.[2] The origin of using the character '〇' to represent zero is unknown. Gautama Siddha introduced Hindu numerals with zero in 718 CE, butChinese mathematicians did not find them useful, as they already had the decimal positionalcounting rods.[3][4] Some historians suggest that the use of '〇' for zero was influenced by Indian numerals imported by Gautama,[4] but Gautama’s numeral system represented zero with a dot rather than a hollow circle, similar to theBakhshali manuscript.[5] 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 aConfucian philosophical symbol for "nothing".[3]
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