Cai Tianxin (Chinese: 蔡天新, born March 3, 1963, in Taizhou, Zhejiang) is a Chinese mathematician, poet and essayist noted for his books Mathematical Legends, A Brief History of Mathematics, Mathematics an Arts, A Modern Introduction to Classical Number Theory, Little memory: my Childhood in Mao’s Time, etc.
He gained bachelor (1982), master (1984) and doctorate (1987) degrees at Shandong University, and his doctoral advisor was Pan Chengdong (潘承洞), whose supervisor Ming Shihe [zh] got Ph.D. in University of Oxford under the direct of E. C. Titchmarch.
[2] Additive and multiplicative number theory, perfect numbers, congruence modulo integer power, Witten zeta values; history of mathematics, history of arts.
[3][4] Cai has published more than 30 books of poetry, essays, travels, photograph, autobiography, popular mathematics and number theory.
He was selected by Herinrich and Jane Ledig-Rowohlt Foundation as a resident writer at the Chateau de Lavigny, Switzerland in 2007, a guest of the Arabic Capital of Culture in Baghdad, Iraq in 2014, and participated the International Writing Program in Iowa, USA in 2018.