Multiplication Table
九九乘法表
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 records.It 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”.In today’s schools in China.students start with“1x1”and work their way up.
中国的学生都背过九九乘法表。据史料记载，早在公元前7世纪，九九乘法表(亦称九九歌诀)在中国已广为人知。之所以称之为九九表，原因在于，古代的乘法口诀从“九九八十一”开始，一直到“一一得一”。今天则反其道而行之，从“一一得一”开始，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.
根据考古专家在湖南张家界古人堤汉代遗址出土的简犊上发现的汉代“九九乘法表”，竟与现今生活中使用的乘法口诀表有着惊人的一致。这枚记载有“九九乘法表”的简犊是木质的，大约有22厘米长，残损比较严重。此前在湘西里耶古城出土的一枚秦简上也发现了距今2200多年的乘法口诀表，并被考证为中国现今发现的最早的乘法口诀表实物。
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.
除了里耶秦简外，与张家界古人堤遗址发现的这枚简犊样式基本一致的“九九乘法表”还曾在楼兰文书中见到过，那是写在两张残纸上的九九乘法表，为瑞典探险家斯文赫定在上个世纪初期发掘。
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.
乘法表在古代并非中国一家独有，古巴比伦的泥版书上也有乘法表。但汉字(包括数目字)单音节发声的特点，使之读起来朗朗上口，便于记忆、使用。