Chinese abacus named UNESCO intangible cultural heritage

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-12-06

The clerk at a restaurant in Xiangtan, Henan province, does his bookkeeping
with a Chinese abacus, Mar. 26. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Chinese abacus, known as the "zhusuan" or "suanpan" in the Chinese-speaking world, has been named as an item of intangible cultural heritage at the 8th Annual UNESCO World Heritage Congress in Azerbaijan on Wednesday, reports China's state-run English-language newspaper China Daily and Xinhua News Agency.

The abacus has been used as a calculation tool in China since the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BCE) and continues to be used in rural marketplaces today.

Although its importance has gradually diminished with the advent of digital calculators, it remains a cultural symbol. It had been listed as an item of intangible cultural heritage by the Chinese government in 2008.

The listing may help get more people interested in the abacus and instill a sense of pride among the Chinese people, which could lead to the preservation of abacus culture in China, said Su Jinxiu, vice director of the Chinese Abacus Association.

The two decks of the abacus are called heaven and earth and the five beads on each rod are moved up and down during calculations.