Preparations for construction of an “abacus museum ” for Shanxi merchants is under way in Qixian county, north China's Shanxi Province.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), merchants in Shanxi Province were influential across China. Then abacuses were necessities for all kinds of stores. Most children of wealthy business people in Shanxi learned to do business by learning how to operate abacus.
The Abacus Museum will be located in the newly renovated residence of Qu Benqiao, a business tycoon in ancient China. The museum will display over 1,000 abacuses, with the biggest being about six meters long, and the smallest being only 1 cm with beads barely visible.
To be displayed will be abacuses in different shapes such as the sword shape and the button shape. They were made of copper, wood, gold, silver, jade and bones. Western-style abacuses in modern times will also be shown.
All exhibits will be abacuses used by Shanxi business people in ancient times, with some handed down from generation to generation.
(Xinhua 04/02/2001)
