In Japan, the abacus is still popular台北珠算課約1965

我們老一輩，小學有珠算課：台北中山國小五年級，約1965，最後變成訓練選手馬玉龍去參賽，上課時，他與老師表演。




• 今日圖片：本月在京都舉行的日本全國珠算大賽。直到1970年代，珠算仍是日本小學的主要課程之一。據政府估計，目前日本仍有數万名兒童學習珠算。 （《 紐約時報 》）


In Japan, the abacus is still popular

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Schools across the country still teach how to calculate dizzying sums by sliding tiny beads along rods in wooden frames, and at least 43,000 students take advanced lessons. Many practitioners sit for exams and the elite take part in national competitions, like the All-Japan Abacus Championship in Kyoto this month, pictured above.

“Unlike the computer or calculator, you have to watch the movement of the beads with your eyes, and then think with your brain and make a move with your fingers,” one expert said. “It’s a very foundational learning process.”