Having studied mathematics and philosophy in Berlin and Shanghai, I aim to explore the significance of the history of these disciplines in China for contemporary philosophy of mathematics. My PhD-thesis, co-supervised by Prof. Bréard and by Prof. Beaney from the Department of Philosophy of Humboldt University at Berlin, investigates the question how different approaches to mathematical abstraction can be influenced by attitudes towards change and motion. For this purpose I analyse philosophical influences on Liu Hui’s Commentary to the Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures, and compare my findings to aspects of Euclid’s Elements and its reception. I argue that attitudes towards change are linked to epistemic goals and therefore influence the kind of abstraction valued by different authors. Modern discussions of different notions of mathematical abstraction can profit from taking Liu Hui’s mathematical and philosophical ideas into account.