Chinese numerals

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Numeral systems by culture
HinduArabic numerals
Western rabic
!astern rabic
"engali
"urmese
#ndian family
$hmer
%ao
&ongolian
'inhala
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
East Asian numerals
Chinese
(apanese
Suzhou
$orean
)ietnamese
Counting rods
Alphabetic numerals
b*ad
rmenian
+ryabha a
Cyrillic
,e-e.
,reek
/oman
,eorgian
0ebre1
Other historical systems
egean
ttic
"abylonian
"rahmi
!gyptian
!truscan
#nuit
$harosthi
&ayan
2uipu
Positional systems by base
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
3<
33
34
35
36
37
38
3:
4<
46
47
48
49
5<
54
58
8<
86
:7
3<<
=on>standard positional numeral systems
ist of numeral systems
)
T
!
Chinese numerals are words and characters used to denote numbers in Chinese.
Today speakers of Chinese use three written numeral systems: the system of Arabic numerals used
world-wide, and two indigenous systems. The more familiar indigenous system is based on Chinese
characters that correspond to numerals in the spoken language. These are shared with other languages
of the Chinese cultural sphere such as apanese, !orean and "ietnamese. #ost people and institutions
in China primarily use the Arabic system for con$enience, with traditional Chinese numerals used in
finance, mainly for writing amounts on checks, banknotes, some ceremonial occasions, some bo%es, and
on commercials.
&citation needed'
The other indigenous system is the (u)hou numerals, or huama, a positional system, the only sur$i$ing
form of the rod numerals. These were once used by Chinese mathematicians, and later in Chinese
markets, such as those in *ong !ong before the +,,-s, but ha$e been gradually supplanted by Arabic
.and also /oman0 numerals.
Contents
&hide'
+ Written numbers
o +.+ Characters used to represent numbers
+.+.+ (tandard numbers
+.+.1 Characters with regional usage
+.+.2 Characters with military usage
+.+.3 4arge numbers
+.+.5 6umbers from 7uddhism
+.+.8 (mall numbers
+.+.9 (: prefi%es
o +.1 /eading and transcribing numbers
+.1.+ Whole numbers
+.1.1 Fractional $alues
+.1.2 ;rdinal numbers
+.1.3 6egati$e numbers
+.1.5 <sage
1 Counting rod and (u)hou numerals
2 *and gestures
3 *istorical use of numerals in China
5 Cultural influences
8 (ee also
9 /eferences
= >%ternal links
Written numbers[edit]
Chinese and Arabic numerals may coe%ist, as on this kilometer marker: +81- km on *wy ?1-, .? 0
The Chinese character numeral system consists of the Chinese characters used by the Chinese written
language to write spoken numerals. (imilar to spelling-out numbers in >nglish .e.g., @one thousand nine
hundred forty-fi$e@0, it is not an independent system per se. (ince it reflects spoken language, it does not
use the positional system as inArabic numerals, in the same way that spelling out numbers in >nglish
does not.
Characters used to represent numbers[edit]
Standard numbers[edit]
There are characters representing the numbers )ero through nine, and other characters representing
larger numbers such as tens, hundreds, thousands and so on. There are two sets of characters for
Chinese numerals: one for e$eryday writing and one for use in commercial or financial conte%ts known
as dxi .simplified Chinese: A traditional Chinese: A literally @big writing@0. The latter arose
because the characters used for writing numerals are geometrically simple, so simply using those
numerals cannot pre$ent forgeries in the same way spelling numbers out in >nglish would.
&+'
A forger
could easily change the e$eryday characters .2-0 to .5---0 Bust by adding a few strokes. That
would not be possible when writing using the financial characters .2-0 and .5---0. They are
also referred to as @bankerCs numerals@, @anti-fraud numerals@, or @bankerCs anti-fraud numerals@. For the
same reason, rod numerals were ne$er used in commercial records.
T denotes Traditional Chinese characters, S denotes (implified Chinese characters.
!inancial Normal
"alue
P#ny#n
$%andarin&
'yutpin(
$Cantonese&
Notes
Character
$T&
Character
$)&
Character
$T&
Character
$)&
? < l@ng ling
6
AlingB
Usually is preferred, but in
some areas, may be a more
common informal 1ay to
represent .ero. The traditional
is more often used in
schools. is not a standard
Chinese character, because
Chinese characters never
contain ovals or circles. #n
Unicode, is treated as
a Chinese symbol or
punctuation, rather than
a Chinese ideograph.
3 yC *at
3
AyaatB
lso Aobsolete financialB,
can be easily manipulated into
At1oB or AthreeB.
4 Dr *i
8
AyeeB
lso Aobsolete financialB,
can be easily manipulated into
AoneB or AthreeB.
lso ATB or A'B,
see Characters 1ith regional
usage section.
5 sEn saam
3
AsaamB
lso Aobsolete financialB,
can be easily manipulated into
AoneB or At1oB.
lso ATB or A'B sEn. )ulgar
variants include , .
6 sF sei
5
AseiB lso Aobsolete financialB
G4H
7 1I ng
7
AngB
8 liJ luk
8
AlooghB
9 qC cat
3
AtsaatB
: bE baat
5
AbaatB
; *iI gau
4
AgauB
3< sh@ sap
8
AsubB
lthough some people use
as financial
Gcitation neededH
, it is
not ideal because it can be
easily manipulated into
AfiveB or AthousandB.
3<< bKi baak
5
AbaakB
3,<<< qiEn cin
3
AtseenB
! 3<
6
1Ln maan
8
AmaanB
Chinese numbers group by ten>
thousandsM see /eading and
transcribing numbers belo1.
" " 3<
:
yF *ik
3
AyiekB
Nor variant meanings and 1ords
for higher values, see %arge
numbers belo1 and *aO# A
#B.
Characters with regional usage[edit]
!inancial Normal "alue
Pinyin
$%andarin&
)tandard
alternative
Notes

3 yEo

%iterally means Pthe smallestP. #t is used in &andarin to

unambiguously pronounce PQ3P in a series of one AB such
as phone numbers and #R numbers, because reading them
together in a ro1 is not distinguishable Ae.g. 1ould
be pronounced as Pyao>yao>yaoP instead of sounding like
PS!!!!!!PB. #n Tai1an, it is only used by soldiers, police,
and emergency services. This usage is not observed in
Cantonese except for Aa special 1inning handB
in &ah*ong.
ATB or
A'B
4 liKng
very common alternative 1ay of saying Pt1oP. #ts usage
varies from dialect to dialect, even person to person. Nor
example P4444P can read as PP, P
P or even PP in &andarin.
'ee /eading and transcribing numbers section belo1.
5 sE
#n regional dialects of =ortheastern &andarin, represents
a Pla.yP pronunciation of three 1ithin the local dialect. #t can
be used as a general number to represent PthreeP Ae.g.$
d s ho, Pnumber threePM %& xngqs,
PWednesdayPB, or as an alternative for Pthree ofP Ae.g.
' !"#en s, Pthe three of usP, as opposed to '
!"#en sn g$B. /egardless of usage, a measure
1ord Asuch as B never follo1s after .
3< yE
#n Cantonese speech, 1hen is used in the middle of a
number, preceded by a multiplier and follo1ed by a ones
digit, becomes Aaa
8
B, e.g. , 85. This usage is not
observed in &andarin.
( 4< niLn
The 1ritten form is still used to refer to dates, especially
Chinese calendar dates.
'poken form is still used in various dialects of Chinese.
'ee /eading and transcribing numbers section belo1.
#n Cantonese, A*aa
8
B must be follo1ed by another digit 3>
; Ae.g. , 45B, or in a phrase like ) APt1enty>
somethingPBM it is not used by itself to mean 4<.
* is a rare variant.
5< sL
The 1ritten form is still used to abbreviate date references in
Chinese. Nor example, &ay 5< &ovement A +, B.
'poken form is still used in various dialects of Chinese.
'ee /eading and transcribing numbers section belo1. s
1ith , must be used 1ith another number to mean )
APthirty>somethingPB in Cantonese. Used in other dialects
too, as 1ell as historical 1ritings.

6< xF

'poken form is still used in various dialects of Chinese,

albeit very rare, as 1ell as historical 1ritings 1ritten
in Classical Chinese.
s 1ith , must be used 1ith another number to mean
) APforty>somethingPB in Cantonese. The usage of the
1ord is done in the follo1ing matter, PseiAB ah QQP, or
P6 ah QQP. Thus 63 1ould be pronounced Psei ah yatP, i.e.
Pfour ah oneP.
4<< bF
)ery rarely used, one common example is the literature
- ./0 .
Characters with military usage[edit]
:n the D4A, some numbers will ha$e altered names when used for clearer radio communications. They
are:
-: renamed 1 .dEng0 lit. hole
+: renamed .yFo0 lit. small
1: renamed .liGng0 lit. double
3: renamed 2 .dFo0 lit. knife
9: renamed 3 .guGi0 lit. turn
,: renamed 4 .gHu0 lit. hook
Large numbers[edit]
For numbers larger than +-,---, similarly to the long and short scales in the West, there ha$e been four
systems in ancient and modern usage. The original one, with uniIue names for all powers of ten up to
the +3th, is ascribed to the Jellow >mperor in the 8th century book by Khen 4uan, Wujing
suanshu .Arithmetic in Fi$e Classics0. :n modern Chinese only the second system is used, in which the
same ancient names are used, but each represents a number +-,--- .myriad, wLn0 times the
pre$ious:
Character $T& " 5 6 7 8 9 : ; <
!actor of increase
Character $)& 5 6 7 8 ;
Pinyin y* +h,o -#n( (.i +/ r0n( (1u -i,n +h2n( +,i
'yutpin( -i34 siu5 (in(4 (oi4 +i6 -oen(7 3au4 (aan8 +in(8 +oi8
Alternative =? >
4 3<
7
3<
8
3<
9
3<
:
3<
;
3<
3<
3<
33
3<
34
3<
35
3<
36
!ach numeral is 3< A sh@B
times the previous.
6
$current usa(e&
3<
:
3<
34
3<
38
3<
4<
3<
46
3<
4:
3<
54
3<
58
3<
6<
3<
66
!ach numeral is 3<,<<< A ATB
or ! A'B 1LnB times the
previous.
8 3<
:
3<
38
3<
46
3<
54
3<
6<
3<
6:
3<
78
3<
86
3<
94
3<
:<
!ach numeral is 3<
:
A?@
ATB or !?@! A'B 1Ln chTng
yU 1Ln, 3<<<< times 3<<<<B
times the previous.
7 3<
:
3<
38
3<
54
3<
86
3<
34:
3<
478
3<
734
3<
3<46
3<
4<6:
3<
6<;8
!ach numeral is the square of
the previous.
:n practice, this situation does not lead to ambiguity, with the e%ception of 5 .)hLo0, which means
+-
+1
according to the system in common usage throughout the Chinese communities as well as
in apan and !orea, but has also been used for +-
8
in recent years .especially in mainland China
for megabyte0. To a$oid problems arising from the ambiguity, the D/C go$ernment ne$er uses this
character in official documents, but uses ! .wLnyM0 instead. The /;C go$ernment in Taiwan uses 5
.)hLo0 to mean +-
+1
in official documents.
Numbers from Buddhism[edit]
This article may be expanded 9ith text translated from the correspondin(
article in the Chinese :i3ipedia. (Se%te#&er 20'0)
Click Gsho1H on the right to read important instructions before translating.Gsho1H
6umerals beyond < )Li come from 7uddhist te%ts in (anskrit, but are mostly found in ancient te%ts.
Character
$T&
Character
$)&
Pinyin 'yutpin( "alue Notes
A *@ gik3 3<
6:
%iterally means P!xtremeP
BC DBC
hTng hT
shE
hang6 ho6
sa3
3<
74Gcitation
neededH
%iterally means P'ands of the ,angesPM a metaphor used
in a number of "uddhist texts referring to the grains of
sand in the ,anges /iver.
EFG
E sVng
q@
aa3 .ang3
.i4
3<
78
Nrom 'anskrit sa khyeya
HIJ
nL yWu
tE
naa7 *au6
taa3
3<
8<
Nrom 'anskrit =ayuta
KLMN KLM bJkX sCyF
bat3 ho4
si3 *i5
3<
86
%iterally translated as PunfathomableP.
OP QP 1Y liLng
mou6
loeng8
3<
8:
%iterally translated as P1ithout measureP
R dL shJ daai8 sou5 3<
94
%iterally translated as Pa large numberP
Small numbers[edit]
The following are characters used to denote small order of magnitude in Chinese historically. With the
introduction of (: units, some of them ha$e been incorporated as (: prefi%es, while the rest ha$e fallen
into disuse.
Character$s&
$T&
Character$s&
$)&
Pinyin "alue Notes
STUV STU niD pZn *F *Fng 3<
[46
%iterally, P=irvana-s TranquilityP
W ATB or A'B corresponds to the '# prefix yocto>.
EXY EX E mW luW 3<
[45
Ancient Chinese, from 'anskrit amalaB
E Z EZ E lLi yV 3<
[44
Ancient Chinese, from 'anskrit ElayaB
V qCng *Fng 3<
[43
%iterally, P2uietP
[ ATB or \ A'B corresponds to the '# prefix .epto>.
]^ ^ x\ k]ng 3<
[4<
%iterally, P)oidP
_ liJ dT 3<
[3;
Ancient ChineseB
H `H chL nL 3<
[3:
%iterally, P"revityP, from 'anskrit ksaa
E corresponds to the '# prefix atto>.
ab b tZn .hU 3<
[39
%iterally, PNlick of a fingerP
cd shJn xC 3<
[38
%iterally, P&oment of "reathP
ef f x\ yY 3<
[37
Ancient ChineseB
g ATB or A'B corresponds to the '#
prefix femto>.
hi q\n xYn 3<
[36
Ancient ChineseB
jk mW hu 3<
[35
%iterally, P"lurredP
l m^ 3<
[34
Ancient ChineseB
m corresponds to the '# prefix pico>.
n miKo 3<
[33
Ancient ChineseB
o Ei 3<
[3<
Ancient ChineseB
p chTn 3<
[;
%iterally, PRustP
q ATB or A'B corresponds to the '# prefix nano>.
C shE 3<
[:
%iterally, P'andP
r xiEn 3<
[9
%iterally, PNiberP
s 1Vi 3<
[8
still in use, corresponds to the '# prefix micro>.
t h\ 3<
[7
Ancient ChineseB
u sC 3<
[6
PThreadP
v hZo 3<
[5
also w.
still in use, corresponds to the '# prefix milli>.
x l@ 3<
[4
also y.
still in use, corresponds to the '# prefix centi>.
z fVn 3<
[3
still in use, corresponds to the '# prefix deci>.
SI prefixes[edit]
See also: Chinese units of measurement
:n the DeopleCs /epublic of China, the translations for the (: prefi%es in +,=+ were different from those
used today. The larger .5, 6, 7, , 80 and smaller Chinese numerals .s, r, C, p, n0 were defined
as translations for the (: prefi%es as mega, giga, tera, peta, exa', micro, nano, pico, femto, atto, resulting
in the creation of more $alues for each numeral.
&2'
/epublic of China .Taiwan0 defined as the translation for mega. This translation is widely used in
official documents, academic communities, informational industries, etc. *owe$er, the ci$il broadcasting
industries sometimes use 5{ to represent @megahert)@.
Today, both the go$ernments of the DeopleCs /epublic of China .#ainland China, *ong
!ong and #acau0 and /epublic of China .Taiwan0 use phonetic transliterations for the (: prefi%es.
*owe$er, the go$ernments ha$e each chosen different Chinese characters for certain prefi%es. The
following table lists the two different standards together with the early translation.
); Prefixes
"alu
e
)ymbol En(lish Early translation P<C standard <OC standard
3<
46
S yotta> yZo | y^u
3<
43
_ .etta> .T } *iV
3<
3:
! exa> 8
G5H
rZng ~ Li ~ Li
3<
37
P peta>
G5H
.U pEi pEi
3<
34
T tera> 7
G5H
gEi tLi 5 .hLo
3<
;
, giga> 6
G5H
*Cng *@ *@
3<
8
& mega> 5
G5H
.hLo 5 .hLo bKi1Ln
3<
5
k kilo> qiEn qiEn qiEn
3<
4
h hecto> bKi bKi bKi
3<
3
da deca> sh@ sh@ sh@
3<
<
A=oneB one yC yC
3<
[3
d deci> z fVn z fVn z fVn
3<
[4
c centi> x l@ x l@ x l@
3<
[5
m milli> v hZo v hZo v hZo
3<
[8
` micro> s
G5H
1Vi s 1Vi s 1Vi
3<
[;
n nano> r
G5H
xiEn nL q nLi
3<
[34
p pico> C
G5H
shE m p@ m p@
3<
[37
f femto> p
G5H
chTn fVi g fVi
3<
[3:
a atto> n
G5H
miKo E L E L
3<
[43
. .epto> \ .D [ *iD
3<
[46
y yocto> yEo W y]u
eading and transcribing numbers[edit]
!hole numbers[edit]
#ultiple-digit numbers are constructed using a multiplicati$e principleA first the digit itself .from + to ,0,
then the place .such as +- or +--0A then the ne%t digit.
:n #andarin, the multiplier .liGng0 is often used rather than .Nr0 for all numbers greater than 1--
with the @1@ numeral .although as noted earlier this $aries from dialect to dialect and person to person0.
<se of both .liGng0 or .Nr0 are acceptable for the number 1--. When writing in the Cantonese
dialect, .yi
8
0 is used to represent the @1@ numeral for all numbers. :n the southern #in dialect of
Chao)hou .Teochew0, .no
8
0 is used to represent the @1@ numeral in all numbers from 1-- onwards.
Thus:
Number )tructure
Characters
%andarin Cantonese Chao+hou )han(hainese
8< G8H G3<H
4< G4H G3<H or G4<H or
4<< G4H ADrB or AliKngB G3<<H or or
4<<< G4H ADrB or AliKngB G3<<<H or or
67 G6H G3<H G7H or
4,584 G4H G3,<<<H G5H G3<<H G8H G3<H G4H
For the numbers ++ through +,, the leading @one@ .0 is usually omitted. :n some dialects, like
(hanghainese, when there are only two significant digits in the number, the leading @one@ and the trailing
)eroes are omitted. (ometimes, the one before @ten@ in the middle of a number, such as 1+2, is omitted.
Thus:
Number
)trict Puton(hua Collo=uial or dialect usa(e
)tructure Characters )tructure Characters
36 G3<H G6H
34<<< G3H G3<<<<H G4H G3<<<H G3H G3<<<<H G4H or
336 G3H G3<<H G3H G3<H G6H G3H G3<<H G3<H G6H
337: G3H G3<<<H G3H G3<<H G7H G3<H G:H See note ' &elo(
6otes:
+. 6othing is e$er omitted in large and more complicated numbers such as this.
:n certain older te%ts like the Drotestant 7ible or in poetic usage, numbers such as ++3 may be written as
&+--' &+-' &3' .0.
For numbers larger than a myriad, the same grouping system used in >nglish applies, e%cept in groups
of four places .myriads0 rather than in groups of three .thousands0. *ence it is more con$enient to think
of numbers here as in groups of four, thus +,123,589,=,- is regrouped here as +1,2358,9=,-. 4arger
than a myriad, each number is therefore four )eroes longer than the one before it, thus +---- O wLn .0
P yM ."0. :f one of the numbers is between +- and +,, the leading @one@ is omitted as per the abo$e point.
*ence .numbers in parentheses indicate that the number has been written as one number rather than
e%panded0:
Number )tructure Characters
34,567,89:,;<4,567
A34,5678,9:;<,4567B
A34B G3,<<<<,<<<<,<<<<H A5678B G3,<<<<,<<<<H
A9:;<B G3,<<<<H A4567B
5"

:nterior )eroes before the unit position .as in +--10 must be spelt e%plicitly. The reason for this is that
trailing )eroes .as in +1--0 are often omitted as shorthand, so ambiguity occurs. ;ne )ero is sufficient to
resol$e the ambiguity. Where the )ero is before a digit other than the units digit, the e%plicit )ero is not
ambiguous and is therefore optional, but preferred. Thus:
Number )tructure Characters
4<7 G4H G3<<H G<H G7H
3<<,<<6
A3<,<<<6B
G3<H G3<,<<<H G<H G6H
3<,<7<,<48
A3<<7,<<48B
A3<<7B G3<,<<<H A48B or
A3<<7B G3<,<<<H A<48B
or

"ractional #alues[edit]
To construct a fraction, the denominator is written first, followed by z .@parts of@0 and then
the numerator. This is the opposite of how fractions are read in >nglish, which is numerator first. >ach
half of the fraction is written the same as a whole number. #i%ed numbers are written with the whole-
number part first, followed by .@and@0, then the fractional part.
!raction )tructure Characters
4
?
5
G5H Gparts ofH G4H z
37
?
54
G5H G3<H G4H Gparts ofH G3<H G7H z
3
?
5<<<
G5H G3<<<H Gparts ofH G3H z
5
7
?
8
G5H GandH G8H Gparts ofH G7H z
Dercentages are constructed similarly, using .+--0 as the denominator. The .one0 before is
omitted.
Percenta(e )tructure Characters
47a G3<<H Gparts ofH G4H G3<H G7H z
33<a G3<<H Gparts ofH G3H G3<<H G3H G3<H z
Qecimal numbers are constructed by first writing the whole number part, then inserting a point .simplified
Chinese: A traditional Chinese: A pinyin: din0, and finally the decimal e%pression. The decimal
e%pression is written using only the digits for - to ,, without multiplicati$e words.
>ecimal
expression
)tructure Characters
38.;: G3<H G8H GpointH G;H G:H
34567.89:;
G3H G3<<<<H G4H G3<<<H G5H G3<<H G6H G3<H G7H GpointH G8H G9H G:H
G;H

97.6<47 G9H G3<H G7H GpointH G6H G<H G4H G7H

<.3 G<H GpointH G3H
$rdinal numbers[edit]
;rdinal numbers are formed by adding $ d .@seIuence@0 before the number.
Ordinal )tructure Characters
3st GsequenceH G3H $
4nd GsequenceH G4H $
:4nd GsequenceH G:H G3<H G4H $
Negati#e numbers[edit]
6egati$e numbers are formed by adding .simplified Chinese: A traditional Chinese: , Dinyin:
fR, yuping: fu80 before the number.
Number )tructure Characters
>337: GnegativeH G3H G3<<<H G3H G3<<H G7H G3<H G:H
>5
7
?
8
GnegativeH G5H GandH G8H Gparts ofH G7H z
>97.6<47 GnegativeH G9H G3<H G7H GpointH G6H G<H G4H G7H
%sage[edit]
Chinese grammar reIuires the use of classifiers .measure words0 when a numeral is used together with
a noun to e%press a Iuantity. For e%ample, @three people@ is e%pressed as sn ge r!n, @three ?>
person@, where ge is a classifier. There e%ist many different classifiers, for use with different sets of
nouns, although is the most common, and may be used informally in place of other classifiers. For
details see the article Chinese classifier.
Chinese uses cardinal numbers in certain situations in which >nglish would use ordinals. For e%ample,
sn l"u .literally @three story@0 means @third floor@ .@second floor@ in 7ritish numbering0. 4ikewise,
#rsh$ %& shj .literally @twenty-one century@0 is used for @1+st century@.
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6umbers of years are commonly spoken as a seIuence of digits, as in #r l$ng l$ng %& .@two )ero
)ero one@0 for the year 1--+.
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6ames of months and days .in the Western system0 are also e%pressed
using numbers: %&%u# .@one month@0 for anuary, etc.A and %& x&ng'&%& .@week one@0 for #onday,
etc. .although (unday is %& x&ng'&r, or informally %& x&ng'&tin, @week day@0. Full dates are
usually written in the format 1--+ + 1- for anuary 1-, 1--+ .using ni(n @year@,
%u# @month@, and r @day@0 S all the numbers are read as cardinals, not ordinals, and the year is
read as a seIuence of digits as Bust mentioned. .(ee also Chinese calendar.0
Counting rod and Suzhou numerals[edit]
Counting rod numerals
)ain article: Su*hou numerals
:n the same way that /oman numerals were standard in ancient and medie$al >urope for mathematics
and commerce, the Chinese formerly used the rod numerals, which is a positional system. The (u)hou
numerals .simplified Chinese: A traditional Chinese: A pinyin: S+*h,u hum0 system is
a $ariation of the (outhern (ong rod numerals. 6owadays, thehum system is only used for displaying
prices in Chinese markets or on traditional handwritten in$oices.
Hand gestures[edit]
)ain article: Chinese num-er gestures
There is a common method of using of one hand to signify the numbers one to ten. While the fi$e digits
on one hand can e%press the numbers one to fi$e, si% to ten ha$e special signs that can be used in
commerce or day-to-day communication.
Historical use of numerals in China[edit]
(hang oracle bone numerals of +3th century 7.C.
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West Khou dynasty bron)e script
rod numeral place $alue from Jongle >ncyclopedia
apanese counting board with grids
#ost Chinese numerals of later periods were descendants of the (hang dynasty oracle numerals of the
+3th century 7C. Theoracle bone script numerals were found on tortoise shell and animal bones. :n early
ci$ili)ations, the (hang were able to e%press any numbers, howe$er large, with only nine symbols and a
counting board.
&9'
(ome of the bron)e script numerals such as +, 1, 2, 3, +-, ++, +1, and +2 became part of the system
of rod numerals.
:n this system, hori)ontal rod numbers are used for the tens, thousands, hundred thousands etc. (un
T)u wrote that @one is $ertical, ten is hori)ontal@.
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9 3 : 4 6
The counting rod numerals system has place $alue and decimal numerals for computation, and was used
widely by Chinese merchants, mathematicians and astronomers from the *an dynasty to the +8th
century.
Ale%ander Wylie, Christian missionary to China, in +=52 already refuted the notion that @the Chinese
numbers were written in words at length@, and stated that in ancient China, calculation was carried out by
means of counting rods, and @the written character is e$idently a rude presentation of these@. After being
introduced to the rod numerals, he said @*a$ing thus obtained a simple but effecti$e system of figures,
we find the Chinese in actual use of a method of notation depending on the theory of local $alue &i.e.
place-$alue', se$eral centuries before such theory was understood in >urope, and while yet the science
of numbers had scarcely dawned among the Arabs.@
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Quring the #ing and Ting dynasties .when Arabic numerals were first introduced into China0, some
Chinese mathematicians used Chinese numeral characters as positional system digits. After the Ting
period, both the Chinese numeral characters and the (u)hou numerals were replaced by Arabic
numerals in mathematical writings.
Cultural influences[edit]
Traditional Chinese numeric characters are also used in apan and !orea and were used
in "ietnam before the 1-th century. :n $ertical te%t .that is, read top to bottom0, using characters for
numbers is the norm, while in hori)ontal te%t, Arabic numerals are most common. Chinese numeric
characters are also used in much the same formal or decorati$e fashion that /oman numerals are in
Western cultures. Chinese numerals may appear together with Arabic numbers on the same sign or
document.