Zu Chongzhi

Zu Chongzhi (Chinese: 祖沖之; 429 – 500), courtesy name Wenyuan (Chinese: 文遠), was a Chinese astronomer, inventor, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927, a record in precision which would not be surpassed for nearly 900 years.

Zu Chongzhi
Traditional Chinese祖沖之
Simplified Chinese祖冲之
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZǔ Chōngzhī
Wade–GilesTsu Ch'ung-chih
Wenyuan (courtesy name)
Traditional Chinese文遠
Simplified Chinese文远
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWényuǎn