Prior to the invention of the abacus, calculations were performed with thin wooden slats, marked one through five, laid vertically or crosswise on a table. The principles used were almost the same as for the abacus, but the process of calculation was rather time consuming.
算盤的前身為「籌算」，是以一根根木簽，擺在桌上，或縱或橫，表示五及一、二、三、四，原理和算盤近似，但計算過程相當費事。