Learning how to use a Chinese abacus has never been easier with this step-by-step guide book. Clearly written with graphics that show every stage of your calculation.

This handy guide will take abacus users from beginner to master level in a very short time. Though the Japanese abacus may appear mysterious or even primitive, this intriguing tool is capable of amazing speed and accuracy. it is still widely used throughout the shop and markets of Asia and its popularity shows no sign of decline. This volume is designed for the student desiring a greater understanding of the abacus and its calculative functions. The text provides thorough explanations of the advanced operations involving negative numbers, decimals, different units of measurement, and square roots. Diagrams illustrate bead manipulation, and numerous exercises provide ample practice. Concise and easy-to-follow, this book will improve your abacus skills and help you perform calculations with greater efficiency and precision.

The Chinese counting system has undergone a western surge in popularity recently because of its ability to calculate large sums very quickly mentally.

Until recently a lack of precision around China’s economic size was taken for granted but caused little lost sleep: room to expand and the pace of growth were self-evident, and everything beyond that was academic for most purposes. But today the pace and even direction of China’s growth is prone to volatility, and the nation is sizable enough to cause global disruption. This study reassesses China’s nominal economic size from the bottom up. It compares China’s practices with international standards and reviews the long-standing arguments about Chinese economic statistics to separate real concerns from distractions.

First published in 1202, Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci was one of the most important books on mathematics in the Middle Ages, introducing Arabic numerals and methods throughout Europe. This is the first translation into a modern European language, of interest not only to historians of science but also to all mathematicians and mathematics teachers interested in the origins of their methods.

The book presents thirty great Chinese inventions, both ancient and modern, which are original, distinct, have made outstanding contributions and had extensive influence in China and around the globe. It also clarifies the misunderstandings and provides a clear definition and classification of the evaluation criteria for great inventions. Each invention is presented with color pictures and comprehensive discussions. The book not only offers readers the fascinating stories behind the greatest inventions of all time from China, such as the compass, paper, and tea making & planting, but also allows them to be inspired by the great Chinese inventors’ inherent spirit of innovation and creativity.

The abacus is as useful and effecient a machine today as it was when it was first created centures ago. Whether you're an expert in the latest computer technology or you're mastering arithmetic and word problems for the first time, it won't take long to learn the basics (and even the not-so-basics) of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing on this ingenious and fun-to-use mathematical tool.