Another possible source of the suanpan is Chinese counting rods, which operated with a decimal system but lacked the concept of zero as a placeholder.
ɐnˈʌðɚ pˈɑːsᵻbəl sˈoːɹs ʌvðə sˈuːɐnpˌæn ɪz tʃaɪnˈiːz kˈaʊntɪŋ ɹˈɑːdz, wˌɪtʃ ˈɑːpɚɹˌeɪɾᵻd wɪð ɐ dˈɛsɪməl sˈɪstəm bˌʌt lˈækt ðə kˈɑːnsɛpt ʌv zˈiəɹoʊ æz ɐ plˈeɪshoʊldɚ.