The Chinese man of wisdom's 1,700-year-old method has been regarded as the most concise way to prove the longstanding theory.

China is now attracting mathematicians worldwide by hosting the highest-ranking academic meeting of scientists in the field.

According to statistics released by the organizing committee yesterday, more than 4,000 mathematicians throughout the world are expected to participate in the nine-day congress, which will begin on August 20, to discuss the latest advancements in mathematics.

William Gowers, Hean-Christophe Yoccoz, Mori Shigefumi, Edward Witten, Simon Donaldson, and David Mumford, all winners of the Fields Award which is the top honor for mathematicians, are among the participants.

Yang Le, a well-known Chinese mathematician who is also an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the latest developments in the re-search of world mathematics will be presented at the congress.

At a news conference held yesterday morning in Beijing, Ma Zhiming, chairman of the Chinese Mathematics Society, said that China is the first developing country to host the congress.

Plenary lectures will be given by 20 world-famous mathematicians. Professor Tian Gang of both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Beijing University will be the first Chinese to give a lecture.

Another 174 outstanding mathematicians, including 19 Chinese, have been invited to give lectures.

The 1994 Nobel laureate in economics, John F. Nash from Princeton University, Mary Poovey from New York University and Professor Wu Wenjun, one of the first two winners of China's state premier science and technology award, have been invited to give public lectures in Beijing.

Steven Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes, will also give a public lecture.

The organizing committee has also arranged a juvenile mathematics forum, an ICM 2002 summer camp and an exhibition of ancient Chinese arith toys.

The International Mathematics Union will have its plenary meeting from August 17 to 18 in Shanghai to elect its new leaders.

( eastday.com August 10, 2002)