It is difficult to determine who originally compiled Nine Chapters Arithmetic and when. According to the research of mathematical historians, this book is the crystallization of the wisdom of mathematicians in Qin and Han Dynasties in China, which lasted for one hundred and twenty years and brought together the main achievements of mathematical research at that time. At the latest in the first century A.D., it formed the final version that has been passed down to this day. More than a thousand years later, Nine Chapters of Arithmetic became China's mathematics textbook. It also affects foreign countries, and North Korea and Japan use it as a textbook. Many themes in the book later appeared in Indian mathematical works and spread to medieval Europe. According to textual research, Zhang Cang and Geng Shouchang in the Western Han Dynasty have made supplements. The final edition was written at the latest in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but its basic content was basically finalized in the late years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are only two mathematical works recorded in Han Shu Literature and Art Annals (written by Ban Gu according to Liu Xin's Seven Outlooks): Xu Shang Arithmetic and Du Zhong Arithmetic, but there is no Nine Chapters Arithmetic. It can be seen that "Nine Chapters Arithmetic" appeared later than "Seven Chapters Arithmetic", which divided all the mathematical problems in the book into nine categories, namely "Nine Chapters". In the fourth year of Wei Jingyuan (263), Liu Hui made comments on Nine Chapters Arithmetic, which greatly made up for this defect.

Liu Hui is one of the mathematicians in China. Little is known about his life now. According to textual research, he is from Zouping, Shandong. Liu Hui defined some mathematical concepts, comprehensively demonstrated the formula solution of Nine Chapters Arithmetic, and put forward many important ideas, methods and propositions. He has made great achievements in mathematical theory.