Changchun Municipal Abacus Association, affiliated to Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau, is a group member of Chinese Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association (hereinafter referred to as “CAMAA”). Over the past 30-plus years since its establishment, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association has boldly explored, thoroughly researched, established new mechanisms, studied the new roles, ideas and methods of abacus and mental arithmetic, actively addressed the difficulties encountered in its development, and proactively sought new ways to promote abacus and mental arithmetic. In this way, it has laid a foundation for the inheritance and protection of abacus and mental arithmetic by promoting this skill wider and further. It has mainly strengthened work in the following five aspects:
I. Establishing a new platform for abacus and mental arithmetic education, thus opening the door wider
With the advent of the computer age, the status and development of abacus skill have suffered severe setback. Abacus and mental arithmetic was developed on the basis of abacus skill. Nowadays, abacus and mental arithmetic includes more than the original calculation function, and its user groups have also undergone fundamental changes. Against this backdrop, how to inherit and protect the abacus skill has become a major challenge to us. Changchun Municipal Abacus Association promptly changed its paradigm and shifted its focus to kindergartens and primary schools that are most suitable for abacus and mental arithmetic education. Usually, a comprehensive competition is organized every two years and a children’s competition is organized every two years to ensure that there will be a competition every year. So far, 22 comprehensive competitions and 12 children’s competitions have been organized and a comprehensive service platform for Changchun City’s “Internet Plus Abacus and Mental Arithmetic” has been established. The platform consists of such modules as Bulletin Board, Information and Dynamics, Learning Materials, Express, News on Competitions, and Latest Information at Municipal, District and County Levels. Now in official use, the platform plays an important role in the popularization of abacus and mental arithmetic education across Changchun City.
II. Establishing a publicity system and organizing knowledge competitions on “Chinese Abacus Skill”
When “Chinese Abacus Skill” was included in the list of world intangible cultural heritages, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association took this opportunity to successfully hold the first “Chinese Abacus Skill” Knowledge Competition at Changchun Radio and Television Station on August 31, 2015, honoring such an occasion. In order to strengthen the publicity of Chinese Abacus Skill and strengthen its inheritance and protection, Changchun Daily and Changchun Evening News published five consecutive reports on inheriting and carrying forward abacus skill, detailing the development process and fruitful achievements made in recent years by Changchun City in abacus and mental arithmetic. As a result, a publicity system of Chinese Abacus Skill knowledge has been established in the city. The competition was divided into preliminary and final stages. The preliminary competition was attended by 20 municipal, district and county representative teams, and the final competition was attended by six representative teams. At the same time, four skill performances were arranged during the knowledge competition, encouraging onstage and offstage interactions. By organically integrating the knowledge competition and abacus skill, the event highlighted the role of abacus and mental arithmetic in improving children’s comprehensive quality and developing children’s intelligence to the whole society. The event has heightened the attention to and awareness of the whole society on “Chinese Abacus Skill”. Moreover, it has popularized and promoted Chinese Abacus as a world intangible cultural heritage.
III. Opening abacus and mental arithmetic demonstration schools for the popularization and improvement of abacus and mental arithmetic education
In 2012, Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and Changchun Municipal Education Bureau jointly issued a document to clarify the standards and conditions for key demonstration schools and popularization demonstration schools of abacus and mental arithmetic education. The key demonstration schools would be established with joint approval from Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and Changchun Municipal Education Bureau, while the popularization demonstration schools would be established with joint approval from Finance Bureaus and Education Bureaus at the municipal, district and county levels. In addition, policy and financial support would be granted to those schools. In the same year, Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and Changchun Municipal Education Bureau approved four key demonstration schools that were up to the standards, while Finance Bureaus and Education Bureaus at the municipal, district and county levels approved a number of popularization demonstration schools that met the conditions. This initiative had four benefits. First, it reopened the door for Changchun Municipal Education Bureau to support abacus and mental arithmetic education. Second, it gave abacus and mental arithmetic education a prominent position in schools and kindergartens, eliminating worries and stimulating the enthusiasm of schools and kindergartens to offer abacus and mental arithmetic education courses. Third, it gave full play to the leading role of demonstration schools in abacus and mental arithmetic education.
IV. Encouraging more competition and exchanges and promoting the development of abacus and mental arithmetic in Changchun City
1. Sponsored by Jilin Provincial Abacus Association, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association and Changchun Museum of Art, the 25th Jilin Provincial Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition Conference was held at Changchun HNA Changbai Mountain Pavilion on July 13-15, 2016. Fifty two teams from 11 cities and prefectures were divided into Pre-school Group, Student Group C, Student Group B, Student Group A and Contestant Group. Together with the representative team of the host city, more than 160 contestants took part in the competition, which was attended by a total of 310 people. It was the largest ever competition in terms of the numbers of contestants and participants.
2. The 6th Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition of WAAMA was held in China’s Hong Kong SAR on July 28, 2016. Changchun City sent nine contestants and six coaches to participate in the competitions of three groups. After fierce competition, the representative team of Changchun City won the first collective prize of the Contestant Group and ranked third in the world by total score, as well as won the second collective prize of Student Group and the second collective prize of Pre-school Group.
Changchun Municipal Abacus Association joined the World Association of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic in November 2015, and it was the first time for Changchun City to send a representative team to participate in the Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition of WAAMA. Thanks to the strong support of the leaders of the Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and the facilitation of Finance Bureaus and Education Bureaus at the municipal, district and county levels, the representative team of Changchun City successfully completed the competition and stood on the awarding stage of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition of WAAMA for the first time, thus putting the name of Changchun City in the annals of the 6th Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition of WAAMA.
3. The 7th Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Competition of WAAMA was held in Bandung, Indonesia on July 28, 2018. Changchun Municipal Abacus Association sent nine contestants and three coaches to participate in the competition of three groups. After fierce competition, the representative team of Changchun City won the first collective prize of Pre-school Group, the third place in the world by total score, the second collective prize of Student Group and the third collective prize of Contestant Group.
V. Relying on scientific research and study projects to promote the quality development of abacus and mental arithmetic education - Research Work Conference on Practices of Cultivating Students’ Core Qualities through Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Education
In order to thoroughly implement the experimental project of “Cultivating Core Qualities through Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Education”, the Research Work Conference on Practices of Cultivating Students’ Core Qualities through Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Education, co-sponsored by Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and Changchun Municipal Education Bureau, was held in Changchun International Conference Center on the morning of March 29, 2018.
Wang Huili, Party Secretary and Director of Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau, delivered a speech on the development of abacus and mental arithmetic education in Changchun City and highlighted the significance of research on abacus and mental arithmetic.
Lu Min, deputy head of the research team, made an opening report. Principal Lu analyzed the background and significance of the research, narrated the objectives, contents, methods, steps, expected results of the project, introduced the members and division of labor of the research team, and expounded the analysis on the feasibility of the project.
Professor Zhou Xinlin of Beijing Normal University commented on the scientific nature and feasibility of the project. He offered three suggestions (opinions) on the work and research of Changchun Municipal Abacus Association: First, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association should focus on the six core qualities of humanity, scientific spirit, learning ability, healthy life, responsibility and innovation in teaching and research. Second, the “Research on Practices of Cultivating Students’ Core Qualities through Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Education” is the organic combination of inheriting excellent traditional culture and cultivating core literacy, as well as an effective way to inherit and protect abacus culture. Third, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association should pay attention to “borrowing force” in the research project, drawing on existing research results.
The conference was a milestone in the “Research on Practices of Cultivating Students’ Core Qualities through Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Education” project. It would promote the vigorous development of abacus and mental arithmetic education in Changchun City, and contribute its part to Changchun City’s inheritance and development of Chinese traditional culture.
VI. Taking the opportunity to open a new chapter of abacus skill inheritance and protection
Chinese Abacus Skill has been included in the list of world intangible cultural heritages. Changchun city will take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make full use of world heritage protection policies in abacus skill inheritance and protection activities.
1. Offering training courses. As jointly agreed by Changchun Municipal Finance Bureau and Changchun Municipal Education Bureau, a training course on the protection and inheritance of abacus skill, a world intangible cultural heritage, was held on April 22, 2015. This initiative aimed to help accumulate knowledge on intangible cultural heritage protection. The event was attended by leaders in charge of abacus and mental arithmetic work of Finance Bureaus and Education Bureaus at the municipal, district and county levels, principals of abacus and mental arithmetic base schools, and abacus and mental arithmetic teachers. Professor Du Liping, researcher of Changchun Museum of Art and Vice Secretary-General of Changchun Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Association, was invited to give a special lecture on “Protecting Outstanding Cultural Heritage and Building Our Spiritual Home Together”. This lecture helped participants better understand intangible cultural heritage and its protection, laying a foundation for relevant inheritance and protection work in the future.
2. Carrying forward the spirit of the meetings of the CAMAA and Changchun Municipal Abacus Association as well as of the speeches made by relevant leaders on world heritage protection; circulating the full texts of speeches made by leaders of the Ministry of Finance and by Gu Xiulian, honorary president of CAMAA, fully highlighting the importance and urgency of inheritance and protection of abacus skill, and helping participants better understand the significance of abacus skill protection.
3. Holding symposiums. Symposiums can help people in charge of abacus work in finance and education departments reach consensuses. First, we should change our concepts, find out the new role of abacus skill in daily life in the fast-developing information age, have a new understanding of abacus skill, and enhance national pride. Second, we should boost self-confidence. There is absolute need and value to carry forward abacus skill. We must have national pride and self-confidence in inheriting abacus culture. Third, we should stick to the mission. Education and finance departments should take the inheritance of abacus culture as an important mission. We need to work comprehensively with the finance department, and spare no effort in implementing the Three-Year Abacus Skill Development Plan. We need to make full use of abacus skill in developing children’s intelligence, study how to improve students’ comprehensive qualities, play a positive role in the development of students’ comprehensive qualities and potentials, and offer abacus skill courses in schools. We should give new vitality to abacus and mental arithmetic, study how to organically combine it with conventional teaching, and promote the improvement of teaching quality, thus improving the overall level of basic education in Changchun City. ”
In sum, over the years, Changchun City’s achievements in abacus and mental arithmetic work have mainly benefited from the strong support of municipal leaders to Changchun Municipal Abacus Association, from the education department’s recognition and full support, from the unity and cooperation of all relevant parties that have created a good atmosphere for the work, from the excellent teacher teams that have provided talent guarantee for the work of Changchun Municipal Abacus Association, and from the publicity efforts that have enhanced the external influence of the work of Changchun Municipal Abacus Association.
In the new historical period and under the realistic conditions, the abacus and mental arithmetic work has also encountered new challenges and still has a long way to go, especially after the successful inclusion into the list of world intangible heritages. Therefore, Changchun Municipal Abacus Association should strengthen study, research, communication and exchanges, solicit strong support from all relevant parties, unite the vast number of abacus and mental arithmetic workers, and jointly inherit and protect this world intangible cultural heritage, so as to jointly advance the scientific development of abacus work in Changchun City, as well as to make greater contributions to social and economic development and high-quality personnel training.