BEIJING, December 22. /TASS/. The Chinese were using the multiplication table at least 2,300 years ago, Xinhua reports.

This is evidenced by a bamboo slip that archaeologists found in the city of Jingzhou in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The hieroglyphic text inscribed on the slip reads as follows: "Five times seven is thirty plus five; four times seven is twenty plus eight; three times seven is twenty plus one."

The slip was found in a tomb dating back to the fourth century BC, that is, the Warring States period (475-221 BC). "The inscription is about 100 years older than another piece of the same kind which was uncovered earlier during excavation efforts in the central province of Hunan," excavation chief Yang Kaiyong said. According to him, researchers used infrared technology to discern the words inscribed on the slip.

Thousands of bamboo slips were found in the tomb, which contain over 30,000 hieroglyphic characters. There are texts on mathematics, literature, livestock breeding and pharmacology. Chinese historian Tan Jingnan believes that Chinese government officials of the Warring States period used the multiplication table for industrial calculations and other similar purposes.