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| Abacus is called “soroban” in Japanese.
“swanpan” in China. Long ago before abacus was introduced
in Japan the word “sanban” (“san-“ and “-ban”
literally mean “calculation” and “board” respectively)
already existed. So a new term for abacus, “soroban” need
to be created in order to distinguish it from “sanban.”
The Chinese character for “san” can be used in different
ways “sor” or “soun,” so “soro ban”
was derived from “san ban.” Surprisingly, 58 different
phonetic equivalents for “soroban “have been found.
Abacus or abaci (plural of abacus) is a kind
of calculator called “soroban” in Japan and “swanpan”
in China. Abacus originally meant a “flat board” made
of slate or wood. Many years ago people used the board for calculation
by putting pebbles on it. It was not so easy for people to understand
the concept of numbers so they started using tangible things such
as pebbles, coins and beads for calculation. This led to the invention
of abaci or soroban. Abacus beads in China are round, but those in Japan
are diamond shaped. A Japanese abacus has only one bead for 5 and
four beads for 1. The Chinese abacus has two for 5 and five for
1. In his book “Basic Arithmetic”(1781), Mitsugu Chichii
suggested that four beads should be used for 1 number of beads for
1 be four. During Meiji and Taisho eras(early 1900) the ideal bead
numbers, one for 5 counter and four for 1 counter were proposed;
however, they were not endorsed. In 1935 when elementary school
textbooks were revised, the bead numbers finally changed to those
that an ordinary abacus has today, and digit markers every four
digits on abacus. After the Second World War, digit markers, changed
to every three digits as practiced in the West. It must be hard for people visually challenged to understand the concept of numbers and calculate. As a math tool, abacus has been continuously used by the blind in Japan since the first school for the blind was established late in the nineteenth century. They were unable to use ordinary abacus whose beads easily moved. So a special kind of abacus for the blind was developed. In the US it is widely used at schools for the blind. In 1965, certified examinations for the visually challenged started. There are examinations for 6 levels from Level A (the highest, to Lever F, the lowest.) |
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