The abacus is called suanpan in Chinese. It is an important part of (tradition) Chinese culture and it is known as China's (five) great invention. People in the past (use) the abacus to count at a higher speed so it could be called"the (old) computer in the world".
It is necessary for you (know) how to use the abacus correctly. It usually has more than seven rods(杆子). There (be) two beads(算珠) on each ro d in the upper deck(层) and five beads each in the bottom. The beads are usually round and made wood. We count the beads by moving them up or down towards the beam(横梁). You can count value íf you move them toward the beam. , if you move them away the beam, you can't count their value. The abacus can be reset(重置) to the starting position quickly. That is, you can start to count again (easy). Today, the use of abacus (teach) in some schools as part of math. And some people, especially the old, still prefer an abacus to a computer when they count.
