China's own abacus, the one described in the Lu Pan Mu Classic as having "two peas above and five below," and which we still see used by proprietors and accountants in some older shops and in traditional dramas, has two upper and five lower flat, round beads in each column.
至於我們自己的算盤，則應如「魯班木經」所述，「線上二子，線下五子」才對，也就是現在一些老店鋪或古裝劇中，帳房、掌櫃所拿的上面二顆、下面五顆，珠形如餅的大算盤。