Abacus and Calculation with an Abacus

Abacus and Calculation with an Abacus

The abacus was a great invention of the laboring people of ancient China. With its simple structure and quick computing method, it is praised as 'the most ancient calculator in the world'.

The abacus was invented on the basis that Chinese used that the counting-rod for a long period. In ancient times, people used small rods to count. Later, with development of productivity and commodity economy, the amount requiring calculation was greater and calculation with counting-rods was limited. Thus, people invented a more advanced counter - the abacus

The abacus is rectangular with a wooden frame on the four sides and small rods fixed inside stringing wooden beads; a beam across the middle separates the abacus into two parts: each rod has two beads on its upper deck, each representing one. The extant abacuses vary in shape; the most commonly seen have two beads in the upper part and five in the lower parts. Moreover, some have one bead in the upper part and five beads in the lower part or one bead in the upper part and four beads in the lower part. Particularly, the Museum of Chinese History houses an abacus from the Qing Dynasty which was excavated in Guangdong and has two beads in the upper part and six beads in the lower part. Such a style of abacus is seldom seen.

Calculation done by way of the abacus is called 'abacus calculation'. Abacus calculation has its own rules of 'addition, subtraction, multiplication and division' which are called the rules of abacus calculation in general. For ordinary counting, skillful abacus calculation is not inferior to computer, especially in additive and subtractive calculation. After abacuses replaced counting chips and became the major counting devices of the Chinese society in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), their use had played an immeasurable role in accelerating economic development and pushing forward scientific and technological progress. Furthermore, the abacus gradually spread into Korea, Japan, America, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries and regions becoming an important component of world culture.

With the rapid development of electronic calculators, abacuses gradually lose their calculating role in social life and production, but the abacus-based mental arithmetic which is based on traditional abacuses have been given much importance because of its unique function in intelligence development.