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Features
- Varnished wood with a patina effect, perfect as decoration yet fully functional and crafted with quality construction.
- Ideal as a gift.
- Comes with an explanatory booklet (in English).
The Traditional Chinese Abacus
The Chinese abacus is a tool created thousands of years ago. It has been used by many people throughout history, including children, mathematicians, and businesspeople. It has had a significant impact on mathematics as we know it today. People have continued to use this tool, even though more modern devices exist for performing the same calculations.
The Chinese abacus is a very simple tool. Beads slide along vertical rods. The beads can only move up or down their columns and never leave them. This straightforward movement system allows for easy addition and subtraction. The lower beads represent one unit each, while the upper beads represent five units each.
Invention of the Chinese Abacus
The Chinese abacus is not the oldest known calculating device, but it has been remarkably in use until today.
The abacus, known as suanpan in Mandarin, has been used continuously for thousands of years. It remained common until the end of the Qing dynasty (1911 AD). With the introduction of Arabic numerals, performing large calculations on the abacus became more challenging since numbers could grow very large quickly. Instead, people turned to mathematical tables created by mathematicians like Zu Chongzhi. Yet today, it is still possible to pick up an abacus and learn how to use it—something often done by high school and even college students studying mathematics. Using the rightmost column of the middle row signifies addition or subtraction, while using the leftmost column of the middle row indicates multiplication or division. Using an abacus isn’t really complicated, and many find it an enjoyable activity!
Using the Abacus Today
In 2007, Wang Chen from Shanghai won one million yuan by placing first in the national Chinese abacus competition. He competed against other high school students, all using the suanpan, the traditional Chinese abacus. His victory was significant because it demonstrated that modern life doesn’t have to overshadow traditions when it comes to mathematical tools.
The Chinese abacus can still be used daily and is far from obsolete.
There are many things you can do today with an abacus rather than a calculator or computer. You can even start teaching your children how to use one at home, outside of school! Ultimately, if you want to learn more about how an abacus works, why not give it a try? It’s quite easy and fun. The Chinese abacus has helped shape modern mathematics because it allowed people to shift from complex calculations to much simpler ones. This enabled mathematicians like Zu Chongzhi and Wang Anshi to develop new theories and ideas still applied in mathematics today.
