Jing Yushu, a native of Linyi, Shandong, is an expert in the abacus, and the honorary president of the Abacus Mental Arithmetic Cultural Heritage Committee of the China Children's Culture and Arts Promotion Association.
In 1942, Jing Yushu studied in the Moshigou Village of Linyi. In 1944, he started teaching at his own Zhuanghu School. In 1951, he worked as an accountant at the Linshu Liuzhuang Supply and Marketing Cooperative in Linyi City, where he began collecting ancient arithmetic books, amassing a collection of over 80,000 volumes in his lifetime. In 1982, he established the first Chinese Abacus Historical Data Museum.
He has published over 50 academic papers on abacus-related topics, authored textbooks and exercise books widely used in universities and colleges, and compiled the "Compendium of Ancient Chinese Mathematics" (Volumes I, II, III).
In 1995, he became a recipient of a special allowance from the State Council. He has served as a member of the Chinese Abacus History Research Association, the Chinese Association of Algorithmic Mathematics, and the Chinese Abacus Association. In 2007, he was designated as an expert for the nomination of Chinese abacus culture as a representative project in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2013, abacus was officially included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making Jing Yushu one of the inheritors of Chinese abacus culture.
Jing Yushu's life has been a journey of "starting from obscurity and rising to fame." In his early years, he quietly accumulated knowledge, and later gained international renown through his in-depth research in the field of abacus.
Jing Yushu (1933-2021)
Jing Yushu, styled Boying, was born in October 1933 in Linshu County, Linyi City, Shandong Province. He was the third child in his family, with two older brothers and two younger brothers. Jing Yushu came from a scholarly family background. His father, Jing Keshan, made a living as a teacher in his youth. He was enlightened and had a great passion for collecting classical works from ancient and modern times, being able to recite them by heart, earning him the reputation of a prodigy. Jing Yushu's childhood education was guided by his father, where he learned ancient poetry and laid a solid foundation for his later study of ancient mathematical texts.
Living in turbulent times, Jing Yushu did not receive a formal education, but he remained optimistic and proactive. He seized every opportunity to read and learn, sharing his knowledge with others.
In 1942, Jing Yushu attended a primary school established by the Eighth Route Army in Moshi Gou Village to resist the Japanese invasion. He later joined the Anti-Japanese Children's Corps and was selected as the leader of the Qingyun District Children's Corps. Jing Yushu only received two years of formal primary education. Despite the school's closure due to the war, teachers advised them before joining the military not to give up learning and to help those who were less literate or illiterate.
Upon returning home, Jing Yushu followed his teacher's advice and started a literacy class for other students. At the young age of 11, he took to the stage as a teacher. Today, many people in Liuzhuang, now in their 80s, learned literacy from the "young teacher" of that time.
In 1947, Jing Yushu moved to Zhenjiagou, Junan County with the "Linyi Administration Promotion Society" to spin yarn and knit socks to support the frontlines. Despite the chaos of war, Jing Yushu maintained his optimistic attitude and love for knowledge. He persisted in education because he believed that continuous learning was essential to serve the country and prevent foreign aggression.
In 1951, Jing Yushu became an accountant at the Liuzhuang Village Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Initially inexperienced in using the abacus, a fellow accountant questioned his suitability for the role upon seeing him calculate with a pen. This spurred Jing Yushu to prove himself.
He dedicated himself to practice day and night, surpassing others in abacus skills within just over two months. In 1952, Jing Yushu participated in an accounting training program organized by the county. The following year, after mastering the principles and methods, he established a free accounting training class at the cooperative, teaching every evening.
Jing Yushu had a passion for collecting books, especially ancient mathematical texts. Initially aiming to improve his abacus skills, he collected mathematical books wherever he went, consulting local experts to enhance his calculation abilities.
From scrap collection stations to antique bookstores, Jing Yushu's collection grew. Regrettably, many of the early collected classical abacus texts faced destruction later on. Despite discouragement from others, he persisted, stating, "I can endure some hardship myself, but I worry that this invention will be stifled, which would be a disservice to our ancestors."
Recognizing the loss of valuable ancient texts like "Elementary Mathematics in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties," "Detailed and Clear Algorithm," "Mathematical Guide," and "Abacus Algorithm" in China, he sought help from friends in Japan to make copies. He spared no effort in collecting ancient mathematical texts, devoting everything he had.
As his collection grew, in 1982, Jing Yushu established China's first Abacus History Museum, which was open to the public for free.
The Abacus History Museum quickly gained renown, attracting mathematicians and abacus researchers from across the country to verify the materials. In 2004, Hong Jianrong, President of the Taiwan Abacus Mental Arithmetic Association, visited the museum and established a long-term friendship with the Linyi Abacus Association. In July, Jing Yushu organized the "Cross-Strait Abacus Mental Arithmetic Academic Seminar," conducting on-site skill assessments for Taiwanese teachers and awarding them certificates as abacus mental arithmetic trainers.
The museum's collection of ancient mathematical books, spanning from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, included almost all texts except those lost to history. With over 80,000 volumes in total, including more than 3,000 thread-bound books from before the Qing Dynasty, many of which were woodblock or early bronze movable type editions, these texts became invaluable resources for Jing Yushu's later teaching, research, and the successful application for UNESCO recognition of Chinese abacus calculation.
In 1982, Jing Yushu (middle) was at the Abacus History Museum.
"Although he has no formal education, his knowledge is profound."
Due to his outstanding performance as an accountant at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Jing Yushu began teaching at the Linyi Supply and Marketing School in 1979. In the late 1970s, there was a lack of abacus teaching materials in domestic colleges and universities. Based on the ancient and modern principles and algorithms of abacus collected by him, as well as the folk algorithms passed down, Jing Yushu categorized and compiled them into the "Abacus Textbook" for higher education based on modern advanced methods and practical innovations, such as changing the "2-5 beads" to "1-4 beads," using the "formula positioning method" for continuous multiplication, division, and mixed multiplication and division, as well as the "cutting and positioning method."
This textbook provided a comprehensive and systematic summary and explanation of the abacus discipline, was published in 1985, and was accompanied by an "Abacus Exercise Collection," addressing the lack of teaching materials in abacus education at that time. The textbook was included in the national list of new scientific and technological books.
Given the scattered nature of ancient Chinese arithmetic books, in the early 1990s, the General Administration of Press and Publication (now the National Press and Publication Administration) decided that the key books of the "Eighth Five-Year Plan" should include a set of "Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Arithmetic." Due to Jing Yushu's vast accumulation of materials, researchers Mei Rongzhao from the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Bai Shangshu, a professor in the Mathematics Department of Beijing Normal University, recommended Jing Yushu to be the chief editor of this book.
Jing Yushu searched for rare books, visited renowned figures in the field of arithmetic, and worked day and night to compile the three-volume "Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Arithmetic," totaling 12 million words. The book was published in 1994. It is a specialized series of Chinese mathematical history literature, collecting various ancient arithmetic materials from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Together with the "Comprehensive Collection of Chinese Scientific and Technological Classics - Mathematics Volume" edited by Guo Shuchun in 1993, it became essential reading for related research.
In addition to writing textbooks and publishing research articles, in practice, he was able to swiftly operate the abacus, with both hands moving at the same speed. Once during a class inspection of students using the abacus, he immediately pointed out the mistakes made by several students right after they finished. His students found this ability quite remarkable. Among the professionals he trained, some could even operate the abacus at an incredibly fast pace.
Jing Yushu often emphasized the importance of starting abacus education from a young age and dedicated himself to nurturing "child prodigies" in China after retirement. According to him, child prodigies can be classified as innate or acquired, with acquired child prodigies being able to be trained using the abacus method. He believed that abacus calculation is most suitable for children, as it helps develop their intelligence and improve their overall quality, which is crucial for the development of science and technology in China.
In 1996, Jing Yushu was invited to participate in the first World Abacus Conference, where 190 official representatives from 11 countries and regions attended. After the conference, he became even more determined to cultivate children in abacus calculation.
In 1999, he founded the Child Prodigy Abacus School, where children were trained in abacus calculation and mental arithmetic. The school also provided abacus training for accounting students, cultivating a group of abacus teachers. Teachers from Beijing, Tianjin, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and other regions attended the training sessions.
Although the school was relatively new, it produced many successful individuals. For instance, Li Mianjun, an abacus teacher trained at the school, established the Shenmo Education, which grew into an international training school, impacting countries and regions such as Singapore, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Overall, the enthusiasm for abacus and mental arithmetic persisted from the late 1990s to 2006. Although it waned in later years, Jing Yushu always believed that Chinese abacus culture has a solid foundation and will be passed down through generations with more dedication and effort put into its preservation.
After decades of academic practice, Jing Yushu received numerous awards and honors, including being recognized as a national outstanding abacus teacher, a science popularization activist in Shandong Province, an outstanding science and technology worker in Shandong Province, and receiving the Self-Taught Achievement Award in Shandong Province.
Supporting the "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Application for Chinese Abacus
Abacus, with its simple calculating tools and unique mathematical concepts, is hailed as the "oldest computer in the world." In December 2013, at the eighth meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO held in Baku, the capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Chinese abacus project was officially included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The road to applying for the UNESCO recognition of Chinese abacus was not easy, with establishing the inventor and birthplace of the abacus being crucial. As a member of the expert group applying for the world intangible cultural heritage status for Chinese abacus, Jing Yushu faced disputes from places like Rome, Italy, and Japan regarding the origin of the abacus, and successfully proved that Liu Hong, a mathematician and astronomer from the Eastern Han Dynasty, was the inventor of the abacus and that its origin lies in China.
In fact, there are various opinions on the era in which the abacus originated in China.
In 1982, pottery balls were unearthed in Shaanxi, leading the abacus community to propose the "Pottery Ball Ancestor Theory," suggesting that the abacus evolved from pottery balls. Jing Yushu countered this theory in his article "From Non-Holed Beads to Holed Beads, Abacus Beads," by comparing and analyzing various types of non-holed and holed beads that appeared in Chinese history. He argued that pottery balls were non-holed beads, and the possibility of abacus beads developing from holed beads was greater, thus refuting the "Pottery Ball Ancestor Theory."
At that time, the abacus community largely agreed with this viewpoint, and it was published in People's Daily and China Youth Daily. Newspapers from countries such as Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom also reprinted the article, and it was even included in various textbooks and dictionaries.
In 2008, the Chinese Abacus Association submitted the abacus for UNESCO recognition for the first time, using the relevant materials related to the "Pottery Ball Ancestor Theory" as a significant theoretical basis, but the application was not approved. In June 1982, at the first Shandong Province Abacus History Research Association held in Mengyin County, Shandong Province, Jing Yushu proposed the idea that Liu Hong was the inventor of the abacus, based on the book "Shushu Ji Yi" written by Xu Yue, a student of Liu Hong. The meeting was attended by experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Abacus Association, and some provinces. However, the abacus community did not agree with his viewpoint.
Jing Yushu persisted in believing that Liu Hong was the inventor of the abacus. He further wrote papers such as "The Activities and Relationship between Liu Hong and Xu Yue," "The Mathematical Level of the Mathematical Saint Liu Hong and the Value and Contribution of the Abacus He Invented," "The Life and Achievements of Xu Yue," and "The Historical Contribution of Abacus from the Calculation of Ancient Astronomy and Calendar." With more detailed evidence, he proved that Liu Hong was the inventor of the abacus.
His evidence pointed out that the term "abacus" first appeared in the book "Shushu Ji Yi" written by Xu Yue at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The book records: "Liu Kuaiji, knowledgeable and well-read, especially in mathematics... He excelled in various arts, one of which is the abacus." This argument finally gained unanimous approval from the abacus community.
In 2013, the Chinese Abacus Association re-applied to UNESCO to declare the abacus as an intangible cultural heritage. Jing Yushu's "Compendium of Ancient Chinese Mathematics" and papers confirming Liu Hong as the founder of the abacus were included in the application materials.
This application was successful. The Intangible Heritage Committee commented: The abacus is a significant ancient Chinese invention that has accompanied the Chinese people through more than 1800 years of history.
In 2013, Jing Yushu was studying ancient arithmetic books.
From the above text, it is evident that Jing Yushu conducts his research independently. He has published over 50 academic papers on beads arithmetic, repeatedly pointing out errors in domestic and foreign research on beads arithmetic and innovating in the theoretical and practical techniques of beads arithmetic.
For example, he clarified the meaning of the character "线" (line) in the "Lu Ban Wooden Classics." At that time, Li Yan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and mathematician Qian Baocong interpreted the character "线" in the "Lu Ban Wooden Classics" as its original meaning but left a question unanswered.
To solve this issue, it was necessary to find the "Lu Ban Wooden Classics," a book carved by the royal family during the Ming Dynasty when repairing Beijing city, with only a few copies preserved by craftsmen of that time. Jing Yushu sent inquiries to major bookstores nationwide and personally visited ancient bookstores in Beijing, finally locating the book in a Chinese bookstore.
After conducting his research, he wrote an article titled "A Discussion on the 'Line' in the 'Lu Ban Wooden Classics,'" published in "Chinese Beads Arithmetic," dispelling the misconception that the crossbeam in ancient abacuses was a rope.
Jing Yushu analyzed several "old cases" in domestic and foreign beads arithmetic research. In June 1994, he published an article in the "Heilongjiang Beads Arithmetic" magazine titled "Seeking the Truth in the Doubts of Chinese Beads Arithmetic History," which was later reprinted by two Japanese publications, "Beads Arithmetic Studies" and "Political and Economic Forum."
The Song Dynasty counting beads unearthed in Julu, Liu Yin's "Abacus Poem," Fang Zhongtong's "Number Generation," and Yang Hui's "Yang Hui Algorithm" were three old cases in Chinese beads arithmetic history that were questionable and were analyzed and explained by Jing Yushu one by one.
In September 1994, at the National Conference on Chinese Beads Arithmetic History, Jing Yushu presented an article titled "The 'Nine Returns Ancient Abacus' and 'New Abacus' in the Southern Song Dynasty Cannot Be Reversed." He provided substantial evidence to clarify that the method of division originated in the Northern Song Dynasty, pushing back the timeline by nearly 200 years, which was widely accepted by the academic community domestically and internationally, correcting the previous misconception that the method of division began in the Southern Song Dynasty with Yang Hui.
It is worth mentioning that Jing Yushu corrected the theory proposed by Japanese scholar Toyotani Kiyokazu. In the early 1980s, Toyotani Kiyokazu suggested that the "Zeng Cheng Yi Method" was an early form of the method of division. After his research, Jing Yushu concluded that Shen Kuo's "Zeng Cheng Yi Method" in the Northern Song Dynasty and Xu Renmei's "Zeng Cheng Xuan Yi Algorithm" in the Tang Dynasty were algorithms of the complement number system, originating from beads arithmetic. Therefore, he determined that the "Zeng Cheng Yi Method" was not an early form of the method of division.
To support his viewpoint, he combined the complement method of the renowned mathematician Zhu Yongmao with the "Five-Character Multiplication and Division Method" of Li Xin, one of the main founders of the Chinese Beads Arithmetic Association, to create various methods of positive and negative peeling, and outlined ten multiplication and division methods of the complement system. This integration of complement numbers in beads arithmetic not only established its own system but also incorporated multiple methods of multiplication, theoretically refuting Toyotani Kiyokazu's viewpoint.
Toyotani Kiyokazu, who was the Chairman of the National Beads Arithmetic Education Alliance in Japan at the time, did not refute Jing Yushu's paper after reading it but had it reprinted in Japanese beads arithmetic publications.
Jing Yushu's passion for beads arithmetic led him to innovate multiple times in beads arithmetic practice. His paper "Seven Positioning Methods of Beads Arithmetic" first introduced the continuous multiplication, division, and mixed multiplication and division formulas on the abacus, especially the "Cutting Plate Positioning Method," which was widely adopted by beads arithmetic experts nationwide.
In 1981, Jing Yushu published an article titled "On the Five Decimal Places of Chinese Beads Arithmetic" at the Chinese Algorithm Research Society, which was later published in "Qilu Beads Altar." This was the first time in China that the definition of beads arithmetic was proposed, widely accepted by most scholars domestically, and awarded the second prize by the Shandong Provincial Beads Association.
Jing Yushu had a wide range of hobbies, excelling in both literary and martial arts. He studied traditional Chinese medicine and could prescribe medicine. He was skilled in martial arts, proficient in using whips, nine-section whips, and double sticks. He inherited family traditions from a young age, could write poetry, and had excellent calligraphy skills. Jing Yushu loved reading historical books and had a dialectical approach to problem-solving. He never cared about worldly success, as reflected in his seven-character poem expressing his aspirations: "Father has achieved greatness, son has grown up, historical books by the bedside satisfy my passion" and "Whose mansion rivals a royal palace, I have a book cave accessible through a lane."
Throughout his life, Jing Yushu was devoted to Chinese beads arithmetic, unaffected by external influences or authorities, embodying the image of an outstanding traditional Chinese intellectual and fully exemplifying the spirit of contemporary Chinese scientists.
During his early years in obscurity, he actively pursued learning, and even when he gained fame in the "beads altar" later on, he remained true to his original intentions. At different stages of his life, Jing Yushu remained grounded, continuously inheriting and promoting Chinese beads arithmetic culture, earning the respect of authoritative figures both domestically and internationally through his knowledge.
