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Rods laid out in place columns.
Also known as: Suanchou, Rod calculus
The East Asian notation representing numbers by rods laid in vertical and horizontal arrangements within place columns.
Represents numbers by rods arranged in decimal place columns on a counting board.
Contexts: Mathematics, Technical drawing
Alternates vertical and horizontal orientation between adjacent places precisely so that a row of rods cannot be misread across a column boundary — an error-prevention device built into the representation.
Contexts: Mathematics, Technical drawing
Represented negative numbers by rod colour centuries before negative quantities were accepted in European mathematics.
Contexts: Mathematics, Technical drawing
Short rods laid in a row of columns, arranged as vertical strokes in one place and horizontal strokes in the next, alternating so that adjacent places cannot be confused.