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A Tai Chi Compendium by John Murney

A book about tai chi — its origins, history, philosophy, health benefits, styles, self-defense methods, weapons training, and meditation approach. It's not a "How To" book but a book that answers many questions about the nature of tai chi: where it comes from, what it does, how it works, what makes it unique, why it's beneficial, and what it has to offer. With over 90 images, over 100 glossary entries, and links to tai chi resources, and much more....available at Amazon.com.

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Here's a simple 10-step guide to help beginners understand the basics of using a suanpan: suànpán 算盘
The abacus is still used to teach the fundamentals of mathematics to children in many countries such as Japan and China.

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Step 1: Understand the Chinese Suànpán Structure

• The suanpan has vertical rods (columns) with beads.
• Each rod has 2 upper beads called "heaven beads" (each worth 5 units) and 5 lower beads called "earth beads" (each worth 1 unit).
• The horizontal divider separates the heaven and earth beads.
• Each vertical rod reflects a "place value" 10x the value as the one to the right of it. So if starting at the far right side, the #13th rod is a value of "1", the 12th rod is a value of "10", the 11th rod is a value of "100", the 10th rod is a value of "1000", etc. etc. This will become clear as we proceed.

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Step 2: Clear the Abacus

• Before starting, clear the abacus by moving all beads away from the divider. In this digital version, you can use the "reset" button at the bottom as a shortcut.
• This pushes the heaven beads up, away from the divider and the earth beads down, away from the divider, making the unit counts "0" on each rod.
• When adding numbers, it doesn't matter which rod you start on, but you enter from right to left. Most people start so that the longest number they expect ends up on the far right, but if adding prices you might want to leave 2 empty rods on the right for dollar and cent calculations. Complex scientific calculations could use several rods to represent decimal point values. Having blank rods on either side of your entries will not affect the result.

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Step 3: Representing Numbers

• To represent a number, move beads "toward the divider".

For example:

• To represent "1 unit", move "1 earth bead" up.
• To represent "5 units", move "1 heaven bead" down.
• To represent "7 units", move "1 heaven bead" (5 units) and "2 earth beads" (2 units) toward the divider.

You will notice that this digital version has the value listed at the bottom of each rod to help you verify your result.

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Step 4: Adding 2 Numbers

• Start by representing the first number on the abacus.
• To add a second number, move the appropriate beads toward the divider.

Example: To add "3 + 4":

• Move "3 earth beads" up to the divider, thus adding the first number "3".
• Move "4 earth beads" up to add the second number "4".
• Since there are only 4 earth beads, you will move one heaven bead down to equal 5 units and subtracting 1 earth bead by moving it down to a total of 4 added units.
• The result is "7" (1 upper bead + 2 lower beads) near the divider.

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Step 5: Subtracting Numbers

• Start by representing the first number on the abacus.
• To subtract, move beads "away from the divider".

Example: To subtract "7 - 4":

• Represent "7" (1 upper bead + 2 lower beads).
• Move "4 lower beads" down.
• The result is "3".

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Step 6: Carrying Over (When a Rod Exceeds 9)

If a rod has more than "9" (e.g., 10), you need to carry over to the next rod to the left.

Example: To add "6 + 7":

• Represent "6" (1 upper bead + 1 lower bead).
• Add "7" by moving another upper bead (5) and 2 lower beads (2).
• The rod now shows "13" (which is invalid on a single rod).
• But much like adding number on paper, we "carry over".
• To carry over: Subtract 10 units from the rod (by moving beads away from the divider) and add "1" to the next rod to the rod to the left.
• The result is "13". Check the totals at the bottom and it should read "13". You don't have to press an "equals" button to see the result.

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Step 7: Practice Simple Addition

• Try adding small numbers (e.g., "2 + 3", "5 + 4") to get comfortable with moving beads and carrying over if needed.
• Try adding several larger numbers like 524 + 123 + 2.

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Step 8: Practice Simple Subtraction

• Try subtracting small numbers (e.g., "8 - 3", "9 - 5") to practice moving beads away from the divider.
• Try some larger numbers like ("150 - 125", "1024-522")

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Step 9: Combine Addition and Subtraction

• Practice problems that involve both operations, like "7 + 4 - 2".

Break it into steps:

• Represent "7".
• Add "4". (tool tip)
• Subtract "2".

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Step 10: Review and Practice

• Review the basics: bead values, adding, subtracting, and carrying over.
• Practice regularly to build confidence and speed.
• Once you master adding and subtracting, you are ready for more advanced operations like multiplication, division, square root, etc.

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Bonus Tips for Your Simulation
- Include visual cues (e.g., highlight beads to move) for each step.
- Provide interactive examples where users can try problems and get feedback.

This tutorial should give beginners a solid foundation for using the suanpan. Once they master these basics, you can introduce more advanced operations like multiplication and division in a future tutorial!

Sent from my iPad