![]() The upper deck had one bead and the bottom had five beads. In the early Ming Dynasty, the abacus began to appear in the form of 1:5 abacus. The Song Dynasty and earlier used the 1:4 type or four-beads abacus similar to the modern abacus including the shape of the beads commonly known as Japanese-style abacus. The prototype of the Chinese abacus appeared during the Han Dynasty, and the beads are oval. Each rod has a number under it, showing the place value.The suanpan can be reset to the starting position instantly by a quick movement along the horizontal axis to spin all the beads away from the horizontal beam at the center. One of the top beads is 5, while one of the bottom beads is 1. The beads are counted by moving them up or down towards the beam beads moved toward the beam are counted, while those moved away from it are not. The beads are usually rounded and made of a hardwood. ![]() There are two beads on each rod in the upper deck and five beads each in the bottom. “calculating tray”), is typically 20 cm (8 in) tall and comes in various widths depending on the operator. The Chinese abacus, known as the suanpan (算盤/算盘, lit. An Aztec version of an abacus, circa 900-1000 A.D., is made from maize (corn) threaded through strings mounted in a wooden frame. It is possible that it derives from the earlier counting board s used around the Mediterranean as early as 300 B. The modern Chinese abacus, which is still widely used in China and other countries, dates from about 1200 A.D. THE CHINESE ABACUS Chinese Abacus : Suanpan The abacus has come a long way since being used in ancient times by the Greeks and Romans. This is when the Romans were using Roman numerals. It was used in 300 CE in business, engineering and architecture. The Roman hand abacus was the next abacus to be discovered. ![]() It was found in 1846 and can be dated back to 300 BCE. The oldest abacus known to man is the Salamis Tablet, named for the island of which it was found–Salamis Island in Greece–the nearest island to the capital of Athens. ![]() That is when the wooden beads became helpful. Using rocks, seashells and fingers on the abacus could only be helpful to a certain extent. Other abacuses had a film of sand or dust on the top of the surface and one would use their finger to make calculations. Rocks would be placed on the board and moved about for calculation purposes. It has been said that the first abacuses were just flat boards. But individuals still needed a way to count, especially merchants selling fruits, vegetables and other goods. The written numbers (1,2,3,4, etc.) did not exist many, many years ago. ![]()
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