Zhusuan
01 · Historical Records
Abacus calculation (zhusuan) is a method of numerical calculation using the abacus; the term zhusuan first appears in the Shushu Jiyi (Notes on Traditions of Calculation), written by Xu Yue in the Han dynasty. With the highly prosperous economy of the Ming dynasty and the needs of commercial development, abacus calculation was widely promoted and gradually replaced the previously common rod calculation (chousuan). After the Ming dynasty, Chinese abacus calculation spread successively to Japan, Korea, and the countries of Southeast Asia, and in recent years it has gradually become popular in the Americas. In the late Ming period, Cheng Dawei's method of abacus calculation was transmitted to Japan, opening the way for the Japanese wasan tradition; in the early Qing it spread further to Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, where it was applied.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In this context, the Zhizhi Suanfa Zongzong (General Compendium of Computational Methods), compiled by Cheng Dawei of the Ming dynasty, played an extremely important role in the popularization and development of abacus calculation. With the advent of the information age, abacus calculation began to decline, its computational function having been taken over by electronic computers. Abacus calculation is a major invention of the Chinese nation and occupies an important place in the history of human science and technology. Cheng Dawei (1533–1606) was a famous mathematician of ancient China, a native of Shuaikou, Xiuning, Huizhou (now in Tunxi District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province). The Zhizhi Suanfa Zongzong he compiled, together with its concise popular edition, the Suanfa Zuanyao (Essentials of Computational Methods), is unrivaled in the history of ancient Chinese mathematics for the length, breadth, and depth of its circulation. The Zhizhi Suanfa Zongzong is one of the ancient mathematical books that earliest record abacus methods for extracting square and cube roots; it completed the transition of calculation from rod calculation to abacus calculation, making the abacus the principal calculating tool. It is internationally recognized that China is the homeland of abacus calculation and that Cheng Dawei is a great master of abacus calculation for his age.
The three-division method for square roots
The Zhizhi algorithm fixed square and cube root extraction on place-value division, letting the abacus fully succeed the counting rods.
Finger technique on the beads
Each finger works a different range of places on the beam; without the technique, correct reckoning is not fast.
Mental abacus in the classroom
The mental abacus withdraws the physical frame and works from imagined beads to build speed and accuracy.
Correspondence contests in abacus and mind abacus
Cross-strait correspondence contests pit students on the same timed sets, testing classroom drill against rivals.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The transmission of Cheng Dawei's abacus method is most representative in Tunxi District, in the Huangshan area of Anhui; the Tunxi Dawei Primary School has incorporated abacus calculation and mental abacus calculation (zhuxinsuan) into its primary-level curriculum, making it the most stable source of apprentices for this line of calculation today. A feature of this line of transmission is the joint use of school and family: the school is responsible for training in the computational method and mental calculation, while the family and business houses provide the practice of real calculation; neither can be dispensed with. In earlier years the old shopkeepers taught the finger techniques of moving beads; today teachers lead students through progressive practice on the rods. Although the methods have changed, the principles of calculation remain the same.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Zhusuan.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
As a traditional body of folk knowledge and a unique practice, abacus calculation still has historical and cultural value and urgently needs vigorous rescue and protection. With the rapid development of computer technology, the abacus and abacus calculation have been neglected and show a tendency to be phased out; effective protective measures are urgently needed. Wang Suqiu (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in October 1979, from Shexian County, Anhui Province. She is a senior teacher. She has combined Cheng Dawei's abacus method with teaching, organically integrating mental abacus calculation into primary-level instruction, fully exercising its function of developing intelligence and improving students' speed and accuracy in calculation. She has published numerous papers. She is a representative inheritor of abacus calculation (Cheng Dawei's abacus method), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item in the fourth national-level batch. She has organized students to take part in cross-strait abacus and mental abacus correspondence competitions, achieving excellent results; she has taught more than a thousand students and trained numerous abacus experts.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Suqiu 04-1985
- Liu Qinying
- Wang Weida
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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