In a rather broad sense, mathematics deals with the solving of equations, different sorts of equations which help us to handle problems and to understand the world around us. It is therefore natural that the art of solving equations was developed in very early time, from the days of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, India and China. This paper tells (part of) the story of the art of solving equations in China as recorded in mathematical texts from ancient to medieval times, reaching a « golden age » in the thirteenth century, followed by a period of stagnation or even becoming a lost art until the study was revived during the eighteenth/nineteenth centuries when European mathematics was transmitted into China, first through the Jesuits since the beginning of the seventeenth century and later through the Protestant missionaries in the nineteenth century. It is hoped that this story may enrich the pedagogical aspect of learning the topic of equations in a modern day classroom.