Despite the Pythagorean Theorem's universal importance in secondary mathematics, little is known about how cultural differences shape its pedagogical presentation in textbooks. This study compares problem-solving approaches through a mixed-methods analysis of 127 exercises from Beijing (PEP, People’s Education Press), Shanghai (SEP, Shanghai’s Education Press), and Malaysian textbooks, coded by Gu Lingyuan's cognitive taxonomy (memory?exploratory understanding) and Bao Jiansheng's five-dimensional difficulty model (Inquiry/Context/Calculation/Reasoning/Knowledge Load). Three key findings emerged: First, China's PEP edition allocated over twice as many tasks to inquiry-based learning (28.1%) as Malaysia (14%, Cohen's d=1.02), reflecting its s?wéi p?iy?ng (????) pedagogy. Second, PEP's emphasis on scientific contexts (28.1% vs Malaysia's 9.3%) aligned with China's STEM integration policy. Finally, Malaysian tasks focused on computational fluency (60% basic operations), suggesting exam-driven priorities. These findings provide empirical evidence for (a) balancing procedural fluency and conceptual understanding in Global South curricula, and (b) designing culturally adaptive STEM tasks through contextualization strategies.
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