Chinese units of measurement
Chinese units of measurement (Chinese: 市制; pinyin: Shìzhì; lit. 'market system') are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. In the People's Republic of China, the units were re-standardised during the late 20th century to make them approximate SI (metric) units. Many of the units were formerly based on the number 16 instead of 10. In Hong Kong, the British Imperial system was used together with Hong Kong units of measurement, which were traditional Chinese weights and measures, and now traditional Chinese units and Imperial units are used alongside the metric system, which was introduced by legislation in 1976 as the official standard system of weights and measures. Taiwanese units of measurement, which appeared under the colonial influences of the Dutch and the Japanese, for the most part may have similar names but are different from the Chinese units of measurement. Taiwan is now fully metricated.
The Chinese name for most SI units is based on that of the closest traditional unit. When it is necessary to emphasize which system is used, the words "market" (市 shì) for traditional units or "common/standard" (公 gōng) for SI units may be added in front of the name. SI is the official system of units, but traditional units are still ubiquitously used in everyday life.
Note: The names lí (厘) and fēn (分) for small units are the same for length, area, and mass; however, they refer to different kinds of measurements.
History
According to the Liji, the legendary Yellow Emperor created the first measurement units. The Xiao Erya and Kongzi jiayu state that length units were derived from the human body. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, these human body units caused inconsistency, and Yu the Great, another legendary figure, unified the length measurements. Rulers with decimal units have been unearthed from Shang Dynasty tombs.
In the Zhou Dynasty, the king conferred nobles with powers of the state and the measurement units began to be inconsistent from state to state. After the Warring States Period, Qin Shi Huang unified China, and later standardized measurement units. In the Han Dynasty, these measurements were still being used, and were documented systematically in the Book of Han.
Astronomical instruments show little change of the length of chi in the following centuries, since the calendar needed to be consistent. It was not until the introduction of decimal units in the Ming Dynasty that the traditional system was revised. In 1928, the government of the Republic of China adopted the metric system as the official standard.
In 1976 the Hong Kong Metrication Ordinance allowed a gradual replacement of the system in favor of the International System of Units (SI) metric system.[1]
The government of the People's Republic of China resumed using the traditional system until 1984, when it adopted the SI system. The SI system became the national standard in 1987.
Ancient Chinese units
Length
Traditional units of length include the chi (尺), bu (步), and li (里). The precise length of these units, and the ratios between these units, has varied over time. 1 bu has consisted of either 5 or 6 chi, while 1 li has consisted of 300 or 360 bu.
| dynasty | chi | bu | li | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| = 5 chi | = 6 chi | = 300 bu | = 360 bu | ||
| Shang | 0.1675 | 1.0050 | 301.50 | ||
| 0.1690 | 1.0140 | 304.20 | |||
| Zhou | 0.1990 | 1.1940 | 358.20 | ||
| Eastern Zhou | 0.2200 | 1.3200 | 396.00 | ||
| 0.2270 | 1.3620 | 408.60 | |||
| 0.2310 | 1.3860 | 415.80 | |||
| Qin | 0.2260 | 1.3560 | 406.80 | ||
| Han | 0.2310 | 1.3860 | 415.80[3] | ||
| 600 CE | 0.2550 | 1.5300 | 459.00 | ||
| Tang | 0.2465 | 1.2325 | 369.75 | 443.70 | |
| 0.2955 | 1.4775 | 443.25 | 531.90 | ||
| Song | 0.2700 | 1.3500 | 405.00 | 486.00 | |
| Northern Song | 0.3080 | 1.5400 | 462.00 | 554.40 | |
| Ming | 0.3008–0.3190 | 1.5040–1.5950 | 451.20–478.50 | 541.44–574.20 | |
| Qing | 0.3080–0.3352 | 1.5400–1.6760 | 462.00–503.89 | 554.40–603.46 | |
Modern Chinese units
All "metric values" given in the tables are exact unless otherwise specified by the approximation sign '~'.
Length
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hū | 忽 | 1/1 000 000 | ⅓ µm | ||
| sī | 丝 | 1/100 000 | 3⅓ µm | ||
| háo | 毫 | 1/10 000 | 33⅓ µm | ||
| lí | 市厘 | 1/1000 | ⅓ mm | ||
| fēn | 市分 | 1/100 | 3⅓ mm | ~0.1312 in | |
| cùn | 市寸 | 1/10 | 3⅓ cm | ~1.312 in | |
| chǐ | 市尺 | 1 | 33⅓ cm | ~1.094 ft | Chinese foot |
| bù | 步 | 5 | 1⅔ m | ~1.823 yd | Chinese pace |
| zhàng | 市丈 | 10 | 3⅓ m | ~3.645 yd | |
| yǐn | 引 | 100 | 33⅓ m | ~36.45 yd | |
| lǐ | 市里 | 1500 | 500 m | ~546.8 yd | this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone |
Hong Kong length units
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fen | 分 | 1/100 | ~3.715 mm | ~0.1463 in | |
| tsun | 寸 | 1/10 | ~3.715 cm | ~1.463 in | |
| chek | 尺 | 1 | ~37.15 cm | ~1.219 ft | Hong Kong foot Exactly 0.371475 metres |
Area
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lí | 市厘 | 1 | 6 2⁄3 m² | ~7.973 sq yd | |
| fēn | 市分 | 10 | 66 2⁄3 m² | ~79.73 sq yd | 10 li |
| mǔ | 市亩, 畝 |
100 | 666 2⁄3 m² | ~797.3 sq yd, or ~0.1647 acres |
10 fen, or 60 zhang² |
| shí | (市)石 | 1,000 | 6,666 2⁄3 m² | ~1.647 acres | 10 mu |
| qǐng | 市顷 | 10,000 | 6 2⁄3 Ha | ~16.47 acres | 10 shí or 100 mǔ |
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fāng cùn | 方寸 | 1⁄100 | 11 1⁄9 cm² | ~1.722 sq in | 100 fen² |
| fāng chǐ | 方尺 | 1 | 1⁄9 m² | ~172.2 sq in, or ~1.196 sq ft |
100 cun² |
| fāng zhang | 方丈 | 100 | 11 1⁄9 m² | ~119.6 sq ft, or ~13.29 sq yd |
100 chi² |
Volume
These units are used to measure cereal grains.
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | US dry value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cuō | 撮 | 1/1000 | 1 ml | |||
| sháo | 勺 | 1/100 | 10 ml | ~0.6102 cu in | ||
| gě | 合 | 1/10 | 100 ml | ~0.1816 pints | ~6.102 cu in | |
| shēng | 市升 | 1 | 1 L | ~1.816 pints | ~61.02 cu in | |
| dǒu | 市斗 | 10 | 10 L | ~18.16 pints, or ~2.27 gallons |
~610.2 cu in, or ~0.3531 cu ft |
|
| dàn | 市石 | 100 | 100 L | ~22.7 gallons | ~3.531 cu ft |
Mass
These units are used to measure the mass of objects. They are also famous for measuring monetary objects such as gold and silver. The decimal system has not been fully adopted by Chinese citizens[citation needed].
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hū | 忽 | 1/10 000 000 | 50 µg | ||
| sī | 絲 | 1/1000 000 | 500 µg | ||
| háo | 毫 | 1/100 000 | 5 mg | ||
| lí | 市厘 | 1/10 000 | 50 mg | cash | |
| fēn | 市分 | 1/1000 | 500 mg | ~0.2822 dr | candareen |
| qián | 市钱 | 1/100 | 5 g | ~2.822 dr | mace |
| liǎng | 市两 | 1/10 | 50 g | ~1.764 oz | tael or Chinese ounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | ~1.102 lb | catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin = 604.79 g |
| dàn | 市担 / 擔 | 100 | 50 kg | ~110.2 lb | picul or Chinese hundredweight |
Hong Kong mass units
(Transcription is in Jyutping.)
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| candareen | 分 (fan1) | 1/1600 | ~378 mg | ~0.2133 dr | |
| mace | 錢 (cin4) | 1/160 | ~3.78 g | ~2.133 dr | |
| tael | 両 (loeng2) | 1/16 | ~37.8 g | ~1.333 oz | Exactly 37.799 363 75 g |
| catty | 斤 (gan1) | 1 | ~604.8 g | ~1.333 lb | Exactly 0.604 789 82 kg |
| picul | 担 (daam3) | 100 | ~60.48 kg | ~133.3 lb |
Hong Kong Troy units
These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| candareen troy | 金衡分 | 1/100 | ~374.3 mg | ~0.2112 dr | |
| mace troy | 金衡錢 | 1/10 | ~3.743 g | ~2.112 dr | |
| tael troy | 金衡両 | 1 | ~37.43 g | ~1.32 oz | Exactly 37.429 grams |
Time
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Western value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| miǎo | 秒 | 1 second | ||
| old fēn | 分 | 1/60 kè | 15 seconds | No longer in common usage |
| fēn | 分 | 1 minute | ||
| zi | 字 | 5 minutes | Used mostly in dialogue, since saying 'minutes' implies more accuracy and usually one syllable longer. | |
| kè | 刻 | 60 old fēn | 15 minutes | Historically this had been defined as 1/96, 1/100, 1/108, or 1/120 of a day. The value here is the modern conventional value (1/96 day). |
| xiǎoshí | 小时 | 4 kè | 1 hour | |
| shíchén | 时辰 | 8 kè | 2 hours | No longer in common use; retains religious, ceremonial and traditional usage. (Mostly used in religious purposes.) |
| rì, or tiān |
日, or 天 |
12 shíchén | 24 hours |
Since 1645 (except for 1665–1669), the above equivalents have been true. Except for several short periods of a few years each, before 1645 (before the Qing dynasty) the following were true:
- 1 rì
- = 12 shíchén = 100 kè, and
- 1 shíchén
- = 8 1/3 kè = 8 kè 20 fēn.
See also
- Earthly Branches
- History of measurement
- Systems of measurement
- Units of measure
- Chinese numbers
- Chinese classifier
- Chemical elements in East Asian languages
Notes
References
- Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. John E. Hill. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.
- Chinese Measurement Converter - Online Chinese / Metric / Imperial Converter
- Hong Kong government definitions for Chinese units
- Chinese/Metric/Imperial Measurement Converter
- Schinz, Alfred (1996). The magic square: cities in ancient China. Edition Axel Menges. p. 428. ISBN 3930698021.
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