For example, the amount "4" can be noted on an abacus in one motion. Using the older method, four slats had to be moved one by one, which meant that complex calculations tended to get a little frantic. By the Ming dynasty, a time of great commercial activity, these slats were totally supplanted by the abacus.
例如珠算的四，只需同時撥四子，籌算卻得一根根排上去，遇到繁瑣的運算，便顯得手忙腳亂，因此到商業繁榮的明朝，便完全被算盤取代了。