From the economic activities and quantitative relations reflected in "tying ropes to record events", to the number worship and space-time concept embodied in "Hetu Luoshu", and to the mechanized mathematical thought contained in the complete counting method of "five liter Decimal" of the abacus, we can say that numbers are the framework of human quantitative understanding of the world and the instinct of human beings to describe the world. The abacus calculation, which uses an abacus to complete the calculation process, has condensed the typical cognition of the Chinese nation towards "numbers" and contributed unique paths and innovative achievements to the development of world mathematics.

The vivid condensation of traditional abacus culture

Abacus calculation is known as the "oldest computer in the world". During the Qin and Han Dynasties, with national unity, political stability and economic development, representative works of Chinese traditional mathematics such as Zhou Bi Suan Jing and The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art appeared. Xu Yue, a mathematician from the Eastern Han Dynasty, wrote a specialized mathematical work titled "Records of Mathematical Techniques". The book clearly records: "Abacus calculation controls the four seasons and the three talents of longitude and latitude." The name "Abacus calculation" also emerged from this and has been continuously developed and improved. Abacus calculation reached its peak in the 15th century, and in the 16th century, it has become the most important calculation method in China. Wang Wensu's "Treasure of Mathematics" uses abacus to solve various mathematical problems, from the practical application of "square fields" (land area) and "Su cloth" (financial lending) to theoretical research on "Pythagorean", "higher order equations", and "equations", representing the highest achievement of mathematics in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zaiyu, known as the "celebrity of Human history and culture", is an encyclopedic scientist and artist. He uses abacus to square and cube operations, pioneered the "Equal temperament", applied abacus to scientific research, and achieved fruitful results in astronomy, mathematics, and other aspects. Cheng Dawei, who is regarded as the sage of calculation, wrote the "Suanfa Tongzong", which summarized the standard of abacus algorithm and promoted the development of Mathematics education in the Ming Dynasty. It was introduced into Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries and regions at the end of the 16th century, and abacus was widely spread overseas.

In 2008, the abacus project was included in the "second batch of national Intangible cultural heritage list". In 2013, Chinese abacus was successfully included in the list of representative works of Intangible cultural heritage of mankind, which was highly praised by UNESCO as "providing another kind of knowledge system for the world" and "an example of adapting to contemporary needs". As an excellent representative of traditional Chinese culture, abacus has condensed the understanding and practical application of "number" in the Chinese nation, and has become an important cultural "symbol" for national memory and identity recognition. We need to pay attention to it and strive to do a good job in the protection, inheritance, and development of abacus intangible cultural heritage.

Committed to the protection and inheritance of modern abacus computing

With the instructions of Comrade Deng Xiaoping and the preparation organized by the Ministry of Finance, the China Abacus Association (now renamed the China Abacus Mental Arithmetic Association, hereinafter referred to as the China Abacus Association) was officially established on October 31, 1979, at the beginning of the reform and opening up. It is the only national level organization in China that specializes in the inheritance and promotion of Chinese abacus, and is also an important inheriting force and main body of abacus culture. With long-term work practice, the China Pearl River Association has become a strong driving force for the development of modern abacus industry. The establishment of assessment standards for accounting personnel's abacus skills, participation in the construction of the national professional qualification system for Mental abacus trainers, and the construction of the national Mental abacus education and teaching experimental area have achieved positive results.

����In terms of organizational construction, promote the establishment of the Chinese Academy of Financial Sciences Mental abacus Research Institute and its subordinate Beijing Finance Science Everest Technology Co., Ltd., explore the effective ways and innovative ways of "marketization" serving "public welfare" in the new situation with the integrated design model of "virtual platform+corporate entity".

����In terms of serving the national strategy, in July 2021, the "China Abacus Intangible Cultural Heritage Rural Revitalization Public Welfare Action" was launched in Yinchuan, Ningxia, providing assistance and exchange activities to pilot units in western and ethnic minority areas, injecting deep Abacus cultural heritage and scientific education connotation into the rural revitalization strategy.

����In terms of appraisal, promote the implementation of standardized and standardized appraisal reform work. As of November this year, 39 provincial-level appraisal centers and 950 appraisal bases (points) have been established nationwide, striving to establish a nationwide, efficient, authoritative, and supervised appraisal management and operation service system.

����In terms of teacher training, a pilot work plan was launched in 2019, during which four pilot units organized a total of 8 training courses for trainers and inheritors, with a total of 1094 participants, effectively improving the teaching knowledge and skills level of frontline teachers.

����In terms of the competition, in 2020, the "First National Mental abacus Online Answering Activity" was innovatively held, and the Paperless office answer method of "network+terminal" was adopted to expand the popularity and influence of the competition. In terms of external exchanges, we have strengthened communication and cooperation with countries around the world and overseas abacus and mental arithmetic organizations. Our external exchanges have become increasingly close, and international cooperation has gradually deepened, promoting the internationalization process of abacus and mental arithmetic cultural inheritance and dissemination.

����In terms of theoretical research, we actively cooperated with the key subjects of the Chinese Academy of Financial Sciences, organized experts to complete the preparation of China Mental abacus Development Report (2020), which was published in November this year.

The Creative Transformation of Traditional Abacus Culture

The so-called Mental abacus refers to the calculation carried out in the brain by using the algorithm of abacus with the appearance of abacus as the carrier. It will transfer and internalize the "physical process" of using hands to calculate beads into the "virtual scene" of the brain. This transition and transformation from being centered around the "hand" to being centered around the "brain" allows "virtual computing" to replace "physical computing", breaking through the physical limitations of computing, and thus creating supercomputing power different from computers.

The benefits of Mental abacus education are not only reflected in the improvement of learners' computing speed; More importantly, it has rich and comprehensive educational enlightening functions, which are in line with the important connotation of "comprehensive development" of quality education. The China Pearl River Association entrusted three universities and scientific research institutions, including Zhejiang University, Beijing Normal University and China Academy of Educational Sciences, to carry out long-term pedagogical tracking experimental research, brain mechanism research based on nuclear magnetic resonance, etc., and achieved a series of important research results, which became the scientific endorsement and important guide for carrying out Mental abacus education. Related studies have shown that abacus mental arithmetic education has a significant effect on promoting students' overall intellectual development, and can significantly improve primary school students' memory, attention, thinking ability, and imagery ability; Mental abacus training can significantly improve children's computing ability, promote the development of children's number sensitivity and number cognition, and significantly improve children's mathematical visual space and logical reasoning ability; Long term Mental abacus training can also affect the plasticity of the brain, promote the rapid interaction of information between the left and right brains, and improve the efficiency of the brain.

Abacus and Mental abacus are not only popular in the field of children's education at home and abroad, but also widely practiced in special education, elderly education and other fields, and have received good results. At present, at least 13 regions in China have set up courses and teaching classes of Mental abacus for the elderly, providing vivid examples and beneficial practices for building a lifelong education system of abacus.

From abacus to Mental abacus, from "dial up" to "mental abacus", from computing tools to means of education, from a single dimension of cultural heritage to giving its value to the times from an educational perspective, it can be said that the "magnificent turn" from abacus to Mental abacus is a powerful example of "adapting to contemporary needs" of the intangible cultural heritage of abacus, as well as a vivid example of creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture. While people pay attention to the contemporary educational value of Mental abacus, they can further deepen the inheritance of the Chinese cultural matrix and the absorption of cultural nutrients, and effectively establish cultural self-confidence and pride.

Pioneering and innovating is an important breakthrough point in the development of abacus calculation industry

As a Intangible cultural heritage, abacus also has contemporary educational value. People from the China Pearl River Association and the abacus community need to study it carefully and explore it constantly.

One is to be good at identifying and adapting to changes. By carefully sorting out the historical context of the development of abacus, we can widely obtain information on the development of abacus, accurately grasp the logical laws of abacus development, achieve "accurate identification of changes, scientific adaptation, and proactive pursuit of change", seize opportunities in change, and seize opportunities in adaptation; The second is to strengthen investigation and research, with a scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts, problem oriented, and the development of scientific research plans, in order to promote the formation of scientific decisions that are in line with objective reality, and at the same time, to promote the formation of a work style that respects facts and is thorough and meticulous in investigation and research; The third is to gather all forces and strive to form a joint force for protection, inheritance, and development. We need to further leverage the initiative and creativity of the China Pearl River Delta Association and local Pearl River Delta organizations, fully mobilize the widespread participation of private member units, and actively explore new models of market-oriented operation and public welfare oriented joint promotion.

The sound of catchphrases such as "three times five times dividing by two" and "two times one times adding to five" converged over the classroom; Holding a small abacus, the children burst into innocent smiles. This kind of scene always brings joy and satisfaction to people. Fortunately, we have held onto the cultural roots of abacus calculation; This kind of scene makes people complacent, longing and imagining a new chapter of future development. Work hard and forge ahead bravely, make continuous efforts and make contributions for a long time, effectively improve the level of systematic protection of China's abacus Intangible cultural heritage, and provide spiritual strength for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.