Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 687

687. Fanboying Never Rests (1)

Despite the numerous significant events happening both within and outside the Empire, its administrative functions diligently continued.

And among the institutions working the hardest, or rather, being driven to the brink, was Area 51.

* * *

“Hmm… I think it’s almost ready…”

A master craftsman in Area 51 muttered with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, standing before a large brass box. The other craftsmen gathered behind him murmured in agreement, their expressions mirroring his.

“The design is sound, right?”

“It’s perfect. The wooden prototype worked flawlessly.”

“And the researchers at the institute confirmed there shouldn’t be any theoretical problems.”

Amidst the reassurances, the lead craftsman took a deep breath and placed his finger on the brass box.

“Let’s begin!”

With those words, the craftsman consulted the numbers written on a piece of paper beside him and began turning the circular dial on the box’s lid.

“6, 4, 3…”

After adjusting the numbers on the first line, the craftsman moved to the line below.

Having set all the numbers on the first two lines, he checked the numbers visible through the holes in the lid against the numbers on the third line of the paper and clenched his fist.

“It matches!”

“Yeah!”

“Finally!”

The craftsmen, overjoyed, crowded closer and proceeded to the next step.

“Okay, let’s double-check everything!”

“Good idea! Someone, bring the counting rods and abacus!”

* * *

Five days later, Hyang, who was attending to official duties in Geunjeongjeon Hall [the main hall of Gyeongbok Palace, used for important state functions], received a visit from Wan.

“Yes, what is it?”

In response to Hyang’s question, a craftsman who had accompanied Wan into Geunjeongjeon Hall respectfully presented the brass box.

“What is that?”

“It is a calculating device, Your Majesty.”

“A calculating device? Bring it here.”

Receiving the device with shining eyes, Hyang exclaimed inwardly.

‘Yes! Yes! I’ve seen this before! I saw it on the internet!’

What the craftsmen had created was similar to Pascal’s calculator [an early mechanical calculator invented by Blaise Pascal in the 17th century].

* * *

Even before the economic reforms, the mathematical skills of Joseon’s scholars and merchants were considerable. One of the cultural refinements that scholars had to master was mathematics, and some even studied it to relieve the stress of learning Confucian classics.

They learned mathematics using mathematical books imported from China. The most basic was Sangmyeong Sanbeop [a basic arithmetic textbook], followed by Yanghui Sanbeop [a mathematical treatise by Yang Hui] and Sanhak Gye Mong [an elementary mathematics textbook]. In particular, Sanhak Gye Mong was quite advanced, even covering higher-order equations.

And the scholars of Joseon solved these mathematical problems using counting rods [small rods used for mathematical calculations].

After establishing the research institute, Hyang introduced and promoted the abacus. This was based on the judgment that it would be superior to counting rods for researching and solving more advanced mathematical theories and problems. As the economy gradually developed, abacuses were also deployed to the Ministry of Finance, where the numbers to be calculated were increasing exponentially.

However, the reaction from the officials in charge was more lukewarm than expected.

“We can calculate everything with counting rods, so why bother learning and using something new?”

That was how skilled the scholars of Joseon were at using counting rods.

However, as time passed, Joseon began to reach its limits with counting rods.

Problems immediately began to arise in the Ministry of Finance, which was in charge of the Empire’s revenues and expenditures, budget planning, and allocation.

‘We have to check the calculations at least five times to be sure.’

The increased scale of the Empire’s economy made such statements commonplace.

And this was the same for private merchant groups.

While trading with Ming [the Ming Dynasty of China], as well as foreign countries like Ryukyu [an island kingdom, now part of Japan], Siam [modern-day Thailand], and Dai Viet [an old name for Vietnam], the process of calculating income and expenses and adjusting payments according to the local price of silver, a kind of key currency, began to reveal the limitations of counting rods.

Finally, counting rods began to show their limitations in the research institute and Area 51 as well. Research results were completely overturned due to a single miscalculation, and ships that were supposed to float sank, making it necessary to replace counting rods.

Observing these social phenomena, quick-witted craftsmen smelled an opportunity to make money.

“There’s the abacus, but the abacus still requires mental calculation! There are limits!”

“If we create something to replace counting rods and the abacus, we can make a lot of money!”

Before long, a research frenzy began among the Empire’s metalworking and woodworking craftsmen to invent new means of calculation.

Soon, the craftsmen realized what the most basic required performance was.

-It should be capable of at least eight-digit addition and subtraction.

-It should be able to display numbers directly using Hindu-Arabic numerals [the common numbering system: 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.].

-It should be capable of accurate calculation using mechanical force rather than human mental calculation.

-It should be portable and reasonably durable.

Having determined the above basic requirements, the craftsmen spurred on their research even more.

However, the solution did not come immediately.

Tired of research, the craftsmen slyly turned their attention to Area 51.

“Those monsters might come up with an answer…”

“If even those monsters can’t make it, it must be truly impossible, right?”

While such words were circulating outside, the craftsmen of Area 51 were also racking their brains.

“There seems to be an answer somewhere…”

“What are we missing?”

“I can’t figure it out at all…”

Although the answer was not easily forthcoming, the craftsmen of Area 51 had a secret weapon.

It was Jang Yeong-sil [a famous Joseon-era inventor and scientist].

Tired of struggling to find the answer, the craftsmen wrote a letter to Jang Yeong-sil. The contents of the letter were lengthy, but in summary, it was simple.

-Please save us!

Several months later, the contents of the letter sent by Jang Yeong-sil from Shinji were just one line.

-Are you going to save the gears to beg for rice in a famine? [referring to using valuable materials for trivial purposes]

“Ah!”

“Indeed, the master of gears!”

Remembering Jang Yeong-sil, who had even created automatically moving dolls using gears and cogs, the craftsmen began full-scale research based on the given hint.

Meanwhile, Hyang, who heard the story, barely managed to restrain his excitement.

“I must be patient! I must be patient! They have finally reached the level of finding problems and pondering them on their own! I can add my input later!”

While Hyang was barely suppressing his fanboying, the craftsmen completed a calculator similar to the Pascaline.

* * *

Looking at the calculator with a satisfied expression, Hyang returned it to Wan and ordered.

“I want to see how it is used. The Left State Councillor and the Minister of Finance may come closer to observe.”

“Your Majesty’s grace is boundless!”

At Hyang’s command, Heo Hu and the new Minister of Finance, Lee Gyeon-gi, approached eagerly.

* * *

In the ensuing demonstration, Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi carefully checked how to use the calculating device. After spontaneously calling out numbers and checking the results of addition and subtraction, Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi had expressions that were half satisfaction and half dissatisfaction.

“The Ministry of Finance is likely to be the place that uses it the most. What do you think?”

At Hyang’s question, Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi bowed their heads and answered.

“It is indeed a useful instrument as it makes no mistakes in adding and subtracting large numbers, but there is a slight drawback.”

“That is correct. It is useful, but there is a slight drawback.”

“What is that drawback?”

“When entering numbers, there is a large margin of error if you do not know the correct number of digits from the beginning. Of course, the problem can be easily solved by entering the numbers in reverse from the lowest digit, but it is not easy to check the results either.”

“The Left State Councillor is correct.”

Hearing Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi’s words, Hyang nodded and muttered inwardly.

‘It’s definitely hard to recognize the number of digits easily without a proper tool.’

Thinking that the two men’s points were valid, Hyang pondered for a moment before coming up with an answer.

“Why don’t we paint it with colors? If we divide the number columns into groups of four and paint them in different colors, wouldn’t it be easy to recognize?”

Everyone who pondered Hyang’s words for a moment soon exclaimed with bright faces.

“Ah! What a brilliant idea!”

“It would be very easy to recognize if we did that!”

“To think there was such a simple solution!”

“Indeed, Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty’s presence in the Empire is truly a great blessing for the Empire!”

Geunjeongjeon Hall was filled with words praising Hyang. Hyang, with a shy expression, raised his hand.

“Excessive praise is burdensome, so please stop. So, it’s okay to paint colors on that calculating device, right?”

“That is correct!”

“Good. Then let’s use the same method for documents as well. If we put a ‘comma (, )’ every four digits, wouldn’t it be easier to read the documents? We don’t have to combine numbers and Korean script unnecessarily.”

At Hyang’s words, the officials closed their mouths again and pondered deeply.

Until now, the method of recording numbers in official documents was in the form of ‘Hindu-Arabic numerals + Korean script.’ For example, ‘43567’ would be written as ‘4만3천5백6십7’ [sa-man sam-cheon o-baek yuk-sip-chil] (4 ten-thousands, 3 thousands, 5 hundreds, 6 tens, 7).

While pondering which method would be more useful, Kim Jeom stepped forward and answered.

“The current method is easier to understand for large numbers, but Your Majesty’s proposal would be more useful for small numbers.”

Following Kim Jeom’s remarks, Wan added an explanation.

“The current method is good for the common people to see, but it is better to use only Hindu-Arabic numerals for writing the results of scholarship or precise calculations.”

And after the ensuing discussion, Wan’s proposal was accepted.

The existing method would be used for official gazettes posted on government bulletin boards for the public to see, but Hyang’s method would be used in other areas.

And this method was completely established before long. It was so convenient to use.

“To think we didn’t know this simple thing all along!”

As an aside, through this process, the East-West reversal occurred once again. When marking the digits of numbers, the Asian region was accustomed to dividing them into groups of four. On the other hand, Europe was accustomed to dividing them into groups of three.

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, the Asian region had to endure the inconvenience and follow the Western method due to the influence of Western dominance (西勢東漸) [Western encroachment on the East].

However, due to the butterfly effect of Hyang’s intervention, the West began to use the Eastern-style digit expression and complained about the inconvenience.

* * *

Hyang praised the craftsmen who made the calculating device and ordered them to prepare for its production.

Accordingly, Area 51 began to prepare for standard design and, at the same time, prepare for bidding to select the merchant groups that would be in charge of production.

While they were moving busily, a device from Shinji was delivered to Hyang.

And Hyang, who received the item, was so surprised that he became despondent and muttered.

“Is this guy really an alien?”

The calculating device that Hyang received was made by Jang Yeong-sil.

The basic structure of the calculating device made by Jang Yeong-sil was similar to the one made by the craftsmen of Area 51, using gears.

However, the method of entering numbers was extraordinary from the start.

While the craftsmen of Area 51 chose to rotate a circular dial, Jang Yeong-sil’s device had a row of keyboards with numbers from 1 to 0 engraved on each number column. Thanks to this, unlike the craftsmen’s calculating device, which required continuous checking of the numbers in the number column and turning the dial, Jang Yeong-sil’s device could be entered immediately by pressing only the keyboard with the engraved number.

In addition, while the craftsmen of Area 51’s device was only capable of addition and subtraction, Jang Yeong-sil’s device was an incredible object capable of multiplication and division as well.