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Two beads above and five below a bar.
Also known as: Suanpan, Chinese abacus
The Chinese abacus arrangement, with two heaven beads and five earth beads on each rod.
Represents a number by the position of beads against a dividing bar.
Contexts: Mathematics, History
Carries more beads than it needs for decimal arithmetic — two fives and five ones give fifteen on a rod where nine would do — because the extra capacity allows hexadecimal working, which Chinese weights required: the traditional catty was sixteen taels.
Contexts: Mathematics, History
Differs from the Japanese soroban, which was reduced to one bead above and four below in the twentieth century precisely by removing the redundancy this one keeps.
Contexts: Mathematics, History
A frame of vertical rods crossed by a horizontal bar, with two beads on each rod above the bar and five below it.