In number theory, the Chinese hypothesis is a disproven conjecture stating that an integer n is prime if and only if it satisfies the condition that 2n−2 is divisible by n—in other words, that integer n is prime if and only if
History
Once, and sometimes still, mistakenly thought to be of ancient Chinese origin, the Chinese hypothesis actually originates in the mid-19th century from the work of Qing dynasty mathematician Li Shan-Lan (1811–1882). Li Shan-Lan was later made aware his statement was incorrect and removed it from his subsequent work but it was not enough to prevent the false proposition from appearing elsewhere under his name; a later mistranslation in the 1898 work of Jeans dated the conjecture to Confucian times and gave birth the ancient origin myth.