雙語科技百科(數學) 第30期:九九乘法表
Multiplication Table
Chinese students are no strangers to the multiplication table. Known as jiujiu biao(Nine-nines rhyme)，the multiplication table was already very popular as early as the seventh century BC in China according to historical very popular as early as the seventh century BC in China according to historical was titled this because when it was taught one would start with “nine times nine ( 9x9)”and work his or her way down to “1x1” today’s schools in ents start with“1x1”and work their way up.
中國的學生都背過九九乘法表。據史料記載，早在公元前7世紀，九九乘法表(亦稱九九歌訣)在中國已廣爲人知。之所以稱之爲九九表，原因在於，古代的乘法口訣從“九九八十一”開始，一直到“一一得一”。今天則反其道而行之，從“一一得一”開始，一直到“九九八十一”。Recent archeological finds shows that a multiplication table found at the Guren-di cultural relics of the Eastern Han Dynasty in Zhangjiajie of Central China’s Hunan Province was amazingly consistent with the table of today, although the handwrit-ing on the table is quite illegible. The table was discovered on a 22cm long wooden strip，which was broken when it was discovered. Previously, another 2,200-year-old bamboo strip from the Qin Dynasty with the carving of the multiplication table was found in the Ancient Liye City in western Hunan Province，which is the earliest calculation table ever found in China.
根據考古專家在湖南張家界古人堤漢代遺址出土的簡犢上發現的漢代“九九乘法表”，竟與現今生活中使用的乘法口訣表有着驚人的一致。這枚記載有“九九乘法表”的簡犢是木質的，大約有22釐米長，殘損比較嚴重。此前在湘西里耶古城出土的一枚秦簡上也發現了距今2200多年的乘法口訣表，並被考證爲中國現今發現的最早的乘法口訣表實物。
Another multiplication table was discovered in documents from Loulan，which was written on two pieces of paper and discovered by Swedish explorer Sven Hedin a century ago.
除了裏耶秦簡外，與張家界古人堤遺址發現的這枚簡犢樣式基本一致的“九九乘法表”還曾在樓蘭文書中見到過，那是寫在兩張殘紙上的九九乘法表，爲瑞典探險家斯文赫定在上個世紀初期發掘。Ancient Chinese were not the only people inventing multiplication tables as they have also been discovered on the clay tablets from ancient Babylon，but as the pronunciation of Chinese words is monosyllabic，the traditional Chinese multiplica-tion table can be read smoothly and easily to be remembered and used.
乘法表在古代並非中國一家獨有，古巴比倫的泥版書上也有乘法表。但漢字(包括數目字)單音節發聲的特點，使之讀起來朗朗上口，便於記憶、使用。
