Tangram

Tangram () is a dissection puzzle.
It consists of seven pieces, called tans, which fit together to form a

shape of some sort. The objective is to form a specific shape with seven pieces. The shape has to contain
all the pieces, which may not overlap.
Tangrams are a good tool for developing spatial reasoning and for exploring fractions and a variety of
geometric concepts, including size, shape, congruence, similarity, area, perimeter, and the properties of
polygons. Tangrams are especially suitable for students’ independent work, since each student can be
given a set for which he or she is responsible.
Tangrams can also provide a visual image essential for developing an understanding of fraction
algorithms.
History of the tangram puzzle
Tangram puzzles originated in Imperial China during the Tang Dynasty, they are thought to have
travelled to Europe in the 19th century on trading ships.
Tangram puzzles were popular during World War 1 and have become the most popular dissection puzzle
in the world. Besides, tangram patterns have also been described as early psychological tests.
Tangram patterns are called in China "Chin-Chiao Pan" meaning intriguing seven piece puzzle.
A book published in China in 1815 by Shan-Chiao contains 374 puzzle patterns.
Early Chinese mathematicians manipulated geometric shapes in their problem solving. A technique that
is still applied in classrooms today, inter alia, through the use of tangrams.
History
The Tangram very possibly originated from the yanjitu (燕几圖) furniture set during the Song Dynasty.
According to historical Chinese records, the furniture set was originally a set of 6 rectangular tables.
Later, an additional triangular table was added to the set, and people can arrange the 7 tables into a big
square table. There is some variation to such furniture set during the Ming Dynasty, and later became a
set of wooden blocks for playing.
According to other authors, the earliest reference to tangram appears in a Chinese book dated 1813,
which was probably written during the reign of the Emperor Jiajing.
A legend states that a servant of a Chinese emperor was carrying a ceramic tile, extremely expensive
and extremely fragile. The servant tripped, shattering the tile. In a panic, the servant desperately tried to
reassemble the tile into a square, but could not. He spent many days trying to reassemble the pieces
into a square again, but could not, and instead created thousands of patterns and pictures during his
attempts.
While the tangram is often said to be ancient, its existence in the Western world has been verified no
earlier than 1800. Tangrams were brought to America by Chinese and American ships during the first
part of the nineteenth century. The earliest example known is made of ivory in a silk box and was given
to the son of an American ship owner in 1802.
The word "tangram" is built from TANG + GRAM. The word "Tangram" was first used by Thomas Hill,
later President of Harvard, in his book Geometrical Puzzle for the Youth in 1848.
The author and mathematician Lewis Carroll reputedly was a great enthusiast of tangrams and
possessed a Chinese book with tissue-thin leaves containing 323 tangram designs. Napoleon was said to
have owned a Tangram set and Chinese problem and solution books while he was imprisoned on the
island of St. Helena although this has been contested by Ronald C. Read. Photos are shown in "The
Tangram Book" by Jerry Slocum.
In 1903, Sam Loyd wrote a spoof of tangram history, The Eighth Book Of Tan convincing many people
that the game was invented 4,000 years ago by a god named Tan. The book included 700 patterns some
of which are not possible.
Traditional tangrams were made from stone, bone, clay or other easy to get materials. Nowadays they
can be made from plastic, wood or other modern materials.
Short history of the Tangram

Little is known for certain about the origin of the Tangram. Even the origin of the name is obscure! The
earliest known book was published in 1813 in China, but the publication date is not reliable.
Nevertheless, one Tangram-like puzzle first appeared in a book published in Japan in 1742.
Scholars assume that Tangram began in the Orient before the 18th century and then spread westward.
Frankly, in my humble opinion, a lot of 'oriental' games were first created in Europe and then readapted
in Asia, like the "Chinese checker", called tiao-qi in China (the "Chinese checker" was actually invented in
Germany in 1892 and is a descendant from the game Halma)... In the past, the adjective 'Chinese' was
commonly used to denote any odd, complicate or contrived thing and not the origin! However, by 1817,
Tangram publications had appeared in the United States and in Europe. Whatever date the Tangram was
invented, you have to know that rearrangement puzzle roots can be traced back to the 3rd century BC!
Back in those days, Archimedes, a Greek mathematican, designed a Tangram-like puzzle called Loculus
Archimedis or Ostomachion.
Toward the end of 19th century, Friedrich Ad. Richter, a German industrialist, began to manufacture
stone versions of Tangram along with other dissection puzzles under the name of 'The Anchor Puzzle'
(Anker). The Anchor puzzles were so successful that over 30 new designs of puzzle sets followed.
The tangram is the Chinese word meaning literally: “seven boards of skill”. It is a dissection puzzle
consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the
puzzle is to form a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may
not overlap.
https://www.tangram-channel.com/history-of-the-tangram/
https://tangram.askdefine.com/
https://www.archimedes-lab.org/tangramagicus/pagetang1.html
https://learningtools.co.za/shop/tangram/

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Tangram () is a dissection puzzle.

It consists of seven pieces, called tans, which fit together to form a

History of the tangram puzzle

A book published in China in 1815 by Shan-Chiao contains 374 puzzle patterns.

Short history of the Tangram

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