【Technique Practice】
Do you know how humans were counted in ancient times? The human counting method has gone through a long period from intuition to abstraction
process. People were the first to count stones, shells, knotted ropes, etc. With the generation of numbers, there was the calculation of numbers, and in order to facilitate calculations, people invented various calculation tools.
As early as two thousand years ago, that is, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a calculation tool in China - counting chips, and the ancients not only used calculation chips to count, but also used it to calculate, so they had to carry it with them. You know how much the ancients had to carry with them
Does the root count? About two hundred and seventy pieces were a bunch, placed in a cloth bag, tied around the waist to carry around, very inconvenient, so there was an abacus. So what is the significance of abacus in digital development? It simplifies the way numbers are represented, speeds up calculations, and increases productivity.
【Abacus Development】
In the long course of history, abacus was a convenient way for people to count in ancient times. Abacus is a Chinese unique knowledge and practice of numbers. In Chinese, "bead" refers to a small, nearly circular counting tool used to represent an abacus. "Arithmetic" refers to a special mathematical theory in ancient China.
According to the recipe, by tapping the beads with their fingers, people can complete mathematical calculations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, multiplication, opening square, and numerical solutions to higher-order equations. It combines the abacus with the abacus containing excess mathematical information to reach the difficulty level of modern mathematics. It is known as the "world's oldest computer" for its simple calculation tools and unique mathematical connotations.
Abacus evolved from calculation, and people improved and invented a more advanced abacus on the basis of calculation. Ancient bead algorithms, which are calculated by hand dialing beads. In order to quickly grasp various algorithms, people have compiled finger movements into tips, and constantly explored how to optimize algorithms and actions to make calculations faster. In 190 AD, in the "Notes on Mathematics" written by the Eastern Han Dynasty scholar Xu Yue, there is a written record of abacus, which includes yun: "Abacus, holding four hours, longitude and latitude three talents." ”
In the 12th century, China's abacus system was already quite perfect. The Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan's "Map of the Upper River of the Qingming Dynasty" shows the prosperity of the Qingming Dynasty in Kaifeng City at that time, where the people lived and worked in peace and contentment and commerce prospered. In the picture, a large abacus is placed on the counter of the medicine shop of Zhao Taicheng's family, which is the best proof that the abacus has been widely used in the business world. At that time, the popularity and development of abacus in China reached its peak, and in the history of world mathematics in the same period, it also had an absolute leading position. During the Ming Dynasty, the mathematician and abacusian Cheng Dawei's "Algorithm Tongzong" was transmitted to Japan, which had a major impact on the development of Japanese abacus. According to historical records, Since the 16th century, Chinese abacus has been introduced to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, and in modern times to some countries in the Americas, Africa and Oceania. Today, abacus has spread all over the world.
1. Introduction to Abacus
Abacus is a method of numerical calculation using the abacus as a tool, and the four abacus operations are completed with a set of tricks to guide the beads. Liu Hong (c. 129-210), ziyuan Zhuo, a native of Mengyin County, Taishan County, Eastern Han Dynasty (present-day Mengyin County, Linyi City, Shandong Province), a descendant of Liu Xing, king of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was an outstanding astronomer and mathematician in ancient China, the inventor of abacus and the discoverer of the theory of the unevenness of lunar motion, and was revered by later generations as "arithmetic saint".
2. History of abacus
The history of Chinese abacus has a long history, and its origins in the Shang Zhou Dynasty began in the Qin and Han Dynasties, became the Tang and Song Dynasties, and flourished in the Yuan Ming. Abacus is the outstanding cultural and scientific heritage of our country, and it is a great creation of our working people, which has a history of at least nearly two thousand years. For a long time, abacus has played a major role in the social, economic, cultural and scientific development of China, and has also had a certain impact on the economic and cultural development of some countries in the world. According to historical records, Chinese abacus has been introduced to Korea, Japan, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia since the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century, and has been introduced to the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, India, Tonga, Tanzania and other countries and regions in modern times, which has played a positive role in local scientific and technological development and social progress. In November 2007, the "50 Inventions That Changed the World" and "101 Inventions That Changed the World" selected by the Times of India and the British Newspaper Independent respectively rated Chinese abacus as the first invention. According to UNESCO, "Abacus is a major invention of ancient China, which has accompanied Chinese for more than 1,800 years. ”
3. Status quo of abacus
In recent years, the miraculous performance of Chinese abacus has entered people's vision again and again. CCTV's "Challenge the Impossible", Jiangsu Satellite TV's "The Strongest Brain", the young players' wonderful performances again and again made the audience breathtaking. In the second half of the 20th century, Chinese took the traditional abacus one step further, abacus-based abacus mental arithmetic, and internalized the abacus into a human brain image, and people could complete super complex calculations in the brain. As the most mass-based national essence, as China's "fifth world invention", the Chinese abacus has always been loved by people, as Mr. Wang Bingqian said: "Tens of millions of people in the country deal with abacus every day." "As a result, there have been many interesting stories about abacus, which have become an important part of the history of abacus and abacus culture, worth recording and intriguing."
4. Pass on the story
With Chinese more than 1800 years of experience, the abacus is a simple calculation tool with a unique mathematical connotation, known as "the world's oldest computer". "The beads flew up and down, and the sound of the beads was like a torrential rain." In ancient China, practicing a good hand and playing a good abacus was once Mr. Accountant's housekeeping skill. The little abacus is infinitely mysterious, which greatly improves the calculation speed and efficiency. It is also a carrier of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and abacus spread overseas during the Ming Dynasty. In modern times, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other countries also regard abacus as one of the ways to train children in numeracy skills and open the door to wisdom. "Abacus is another type of knowledge system." Dynasties who have experienced the abacus application for heritage are deeply impressed by this statement of UNESCO. In his view, abacus culture includes abacus and a series of calculation principles and calculation methods, as well as some cultural phenomena arising therefrom, such as ways of thinking, values and so on. "From planning to abacus to abacus, this is a higher level in the development of abacus. Understanding abacus can attract more people to join the ranks of promoting and protecting abacus culture. "The dynasty thinks. Wang Chaocai introduced that the China Abacus Association applied for the research topic of "Research on the Brain Mechanism of Abacus Mental Arithmetic Education to Develop Children's Intellectual Potential", and a joint research group composed of Zhejiang University and University of Science and Technology of China conducted research. Experimental data show that abacus mental arithmetic has a significant positive effect on children's attention, memory, reading ability and thinking ability. "As a calculation tool, abacus is incomparable with modern computers, but it still has its own unique significance in modern teaching, such as promoting traditional culture and improving cultural self-confidence." For example, for children, abacus requires hand-brain coordination. In a way, the abacus can also be a fun toy that piques children's interest. Cao Yiming, a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Beijing Normal University, thinks. It is not realistic for abacus to return to compulsory courses, but through school-based courses and interest groups, it is feasible and worth advocating among some students. Cao Yiming said. As an excellent traditional culture in China, abacus has been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations, and abacus is the best carrier of inheritance. Therefore, abacus mental arithmetic has once again entered the children's classroom and incorporated into the primary school textbook.
【Rational Guidance】
Abacus has played a crucial role in the development of China's economy. Looking back at history, the important development period of abacus is a period of high economic and social prosperity in China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, proficiency in abacus remained an essential skill for accounting practitioners. The wide range of application of the abacus and the length of its use have profoundly affected the daily life and folk habits of Chinese, which is particularly evident in folk proverbs. For example, some people are selfish and think only for themselves, so they say "they will fight a small nine-nine"; "nine-nine to one", which means that things always have an ending, and has the meaning of the end; "two one adds to five", which means that the two sides are divided equally; "one push six two five", which describes pushing all the responsibilities clean; "three under five divided by two", describing the work as agile and rapid, clean and neat.
In addition, "calculation", "opening", "closing", "liquidation" and "ruyi abacus" also come from abacus or abacus terminology. Chinese abacus focuses on oral tips and fingerings, one is one, two is two, the difference is a thousand miles, can not be sloppy, to be serious and rigorous, this is the spirit of abacus!