Chinese abacus

Made:
before 1863 in China
Chinese abacus Chinese abacus Chinese abacus Chinese abacus Chinese abacus

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Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Chinese abacus, Suan Pan form

Chinese abacus. The Suan Pan is the oldest form of abacus still in use; numbers are set by moving beads up and down to touch the horizontal cross-bar. There are nine thin rods carried by a rectangular frame, which is divided into two unequal parts by a cross-bar separating the beads into two groups. On each rod there are five beads in the lower and larger department, and two beads in the smaller compartment. Taking any particular rod as the unit rod, the rods to the left represent tens, hundreds, and so on; those to the right being tenths, hundredths, and so on.

Details

Category:
Mathematics
Object Number:
1863-20
Materials:
bamboo, paper (fibre product) and wood (unidentified)
Measurements:
overall: 25 mm x 160 mm x 120 mm, .14 kg
type:
abacus
credit:
International Decimal Association