Abacus: Saun-Paun: The History and Use of the Chinese Abacus

The word Abacus is derived from the Greek "Abax" meaning counting board and the original types of Abacus were stone slates with dust covering them and a stylus used for marking numbers. Later this evolved into a slate with groves where rocks or other counters would be placed to mark numbers. Later it finally evolved into a framed device with beads sliding along bamboo rods. The abacus is thought to have appeared during circa 1200 A.D. in China; in Chinese, it is called the suan-pan. The classic Chinese abacus has two types of beads on the abacus, those in the lower deck, below the separator beam, and those in the upper deck above it. …