Abacus (Cheng Da Wei Zhu algorithm)

The name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: abacus

Applicant: Tunxi District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province

Project No.: 1026

Project No.: Ⅹ - 119

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: folk customs

Region: Anhui Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Tunxi District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province

Protection unit: Dawei primary school, Tunxi, Huangshan

Introduction to abacus (Cheng Da Wei Zhu algorithm)

Applicant: Tunxi District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province

Abacus is a method of numerical calculation with abacus as a tool. The word "abacus" was first found in the book of numerology written by Xu Yue of Han Dynasty. In Ming Dynasty, the economy was highly prosperous. Due to the needs of commercial development, abacus was widely promoted and gradually replaced the previous general plan. In this situation, zhizhisuan Tongzong, compiled by Cheng Dawei of Ming Dynasty, played an extremely important role in the promotion and development of abacus.

After the Ming Dynasty, Chinese abacus spread to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asian countries, and gradually became popular in America in recent years. After entering the information age, abacus began to decline, its computing function has been undertaken by the computer.

Abacus is a great invention of the Chinese nation and occupies an important place in the history of human science and technology. As a traditional folk knowledge and unique way of practice, abacus still has its historical and cultural value, which is in urgent need of rescue and protection.

Cheng Dawei (1533-1606) was a famous mathematician in ancient China. He was born in Xiuning, Huizhou (now in Tunxi District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province). Zhizhi Shufa Tongzong and algorithmic zuanyao, the concise and popular edition of Zhizhi Shufa Tongzong compiled by him, have been handed down for a long time, widely and deeply, ranking second to none in the history of ancient Chinese mathematics. Zhizhisuan Tongzong is one of the earliest ancient books to record the method of abacus square and cubic. It completed the transformation of calculation from preparation to abacus, making abacus the main calculation tool.

At the end of Ming Dynasty, Cheng Da Wei Zhu algorithm was introduced to Japan, which was the first of Japanese "he Suan"; at the beginning of Qing Dynasty, it was introduced to Korea, Southeast Asia and Europe, and was applied in these areas. It is universally acknowledged that China is the hometown of abacus, and Cheng Dawei is a great master of abacus.

With the rapid development of computer technology, abacus and abacus have been ignored, and they have been eliminated. Therefore, it is urgent to take effective measures to protect them.