Chinese units of measurement

Template:Short description Chinese units of measurement, known in Chinese as the shìzhì ("market system"), are the traditional units of measurement of the Han Chinese. Although Chinese numerals have been decimal (base-10) since the Shang, several Chinese measures use hexadecimal (base-16). Local applications have varied, but the Chinese dynasties usually proclaimed standard measurements and recorded their predecessor's systems in their histories.

In the present day, the People's Republic of China maintains some customary units based upon the market units but standardized to round values in the metric system, for example the common jin or catty of exactly 500Template:Nbspg. The Chinese name for most metric units is based on that of the closest traditional unit; when confusion might arise, the word "market" (, shì) is used to specify the traditional unit and "common" or "public" (, gōng) is used for the metric value. Taiwan, like Korea, saw its traditional units standardized to Japanese values and their conversion to a metric basis, such as the Taiwanese ping of about 3.306Template:Nbspm² based on the square ken. The Hong Kong SAR continues to use its traditional units, now legally defined based on a local equation with metric units. For instance, the Hong Kong catty is precisely Template:Val.

Note: The names lí ( or ) and fēn () for small units are the same for length, area, and mass; however, they refer to different kinds of measurements.

History

File:Bronze ruler. Han Dynasty 206 BCE to CE 220. Excavated in Zichang County. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an.jpg

Bronze ruler from the Han dynasty (206 BCE to CE 220); excavated in Zichang County; Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an

Template:History of science and technology in China According to the Liji, the legendary Yellow Emperor created the first measurement units. The Xiao Erya and the 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.

Republican Era

On 7 January 1915, the Beiyang government promulgated a measurement law to use not only metric system as the standard but also a set of Chinese-style measurement based directly on the Qing dynasty definitions ().

On 16 February 1929, the Nationalist government adopted and promulgated The Weights and Measures Act to adopt the metric system as the official standard and to limit the newer Chinese units of measurement (Template:Zh) to private sales and trade in Article 11, effective on 1 January 1930. These newer "market" units are based on rounded metric numbers.

These units are still retained for use in the Republic of China-controlled territories of Kinmen and Matsu nowadays.

People's Republic of China

The Government of the People's Republic of China continued using the market system along with metric system, as decreed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 25 June 1959, but 1 catty being 500 grams, would become divided into 10 (new) taels, instead of 16 (old) taels, to be converted from province to province, while exempting Chinese prescription drugs from the conversion to prevent errors.

On 27 February 1984, the State Council of the People's Republic of China decreed the market system to remain acceptable until the end of 1990 and ordered the transition to the national legal measures by that time, but farmland measures would be exempt from this mandatory metrication until further investigation and study.

Hong Kong

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. The Weights and Measures Ordinance defines the metric, Imperial, and Chinese units. As of 2012, all three systems are legal for trade and are in widespread use.

Macau

On 24 August 1992, Macau published Law No. 14/92/M to order that Chinese units of measurement similar to those used in Hong Kong, Imperial units, and United States customary units would be permissible for five years since the effective date of the Law, 1 January 1993, on the condition of indicating the corresponding SI values, then for three more years thereafter, Chinese, Imperial, and US units would be permissible as secondary to the SI.

Ancient Chinese units

Length

File:Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 cm. Western Han (206 BCE - CE 8). Hanzhong City.jpg

Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 mm. Western Han (206 BCE–8 CE). Hanzhong City

Traditional units of length include the chi (), bu (), and li (). 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.

Length in metres

dynasty	chi	bu		li
		= 5 chi	= 6 chi	= 300 bu	= 360 bu
Shang (Template:Circa)	0.1675		1.0050	301.50
	0.1690		1.0140	304.20
Western Zhou (Template:Circa–771 BC)	0.1990		1.1940	358.20
Eastern Zhou (Template:Circa–256 BC)	0.2200		1.3200	396.00
	0.2270		1.3620	408.60
	0.2310		1.3860	415.80
Qin (Template:Circa–206 BC)	0.2260		1.3560	406.80 415.80
Han (Template:Circa–9 AD; 25–220 AD)	0.2300		1.3800	414.00
	0.2381		1.4286	415.80 415.80 428.58
Wei - Sui (Template:Circa–266 AD; 581 to 618 AD)	0.2550		1.5300	459.00
Tang (Template:Circa–690 AD; 705–907 AD)	0.2465	1.2325		369.75	443.70
	0.2955	1.4775		443.25	531.90
Song (Template:Circa–1279 AD)	0.2700	1.3500		405.00	486.00
Northern Song (Template:Circa–1127 AD)	0.3080	1.5400		462.00	554.40
Ming (Template:Circa–1644 AD)	0.3008–0.3190	1.5040–1.5950		451.20–478.50	541.44–574.20
Qing (Template:Circa–1912 AD)	0.3080–0.3352	1.5400–1.6760		462.00–503.89	554.40–603.46

Mass

Ancient Chinese weight units are mostly defined around the jin or catty. Blanks in the table means that the derived unit is not used in the era.

Mass in grams

Dynasty		shi/dan (石)Template:Efn	jun (鈞)	jin (斤)	liang (兩)	zhu (銖)	qian (錢)	fen (分)
		120 jin	30 jin	1 jin	1⁄16 jin	1⁄384 jin	1⁄160 jin	1⁄1600 jin
Pre-Qin		30000	7500	250	15.625	0.651Template:Efn
Qin		30360	7590	253	15.8	0.66
Western Han		29760	7440	248	15.5	0.65
Eastern Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin dynasty		26400	6600	220	13.8	0.57
N&S D	S. Qi	39600	9900	330	20.625	0.859375
	Liang, Chen	26400	6600	220	13.8	0.57
	N. Wei & N. Qi	52800	13200	440	27.5	1.1458333333333
	N. Zhou	79200	19800	660	41.25	1.71875
Sui	Small system	26400	6600	220	13.8
	Large system	79320	19830	661	41.3
Tang		79320	19830	661	41.3		4.13	0.41
Song, Yuan		75960		633	40		4	0.4
Ming, Qing		70800		590	36.9		3.69	0.369

Time

For daytime and nighttime units, the following assume a standardized sundown of yǒu shí central 1 kè (19:12 in 24-hour notation).

Table of time units

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric/modern value	Notes
miǎo		1⁄100 fēn	144 milliseconds	Defined in 1280
fēn		1⁄6000 day	14.4 second
kè		(minor) 1/6 major kè	144 seconds	The major kè was defined at 1⁄100 (rarely 1⁄96, 1⁄108, or 1⁄120) day during most of Chinese history. It became established at 1⁄96 day after the Qing dynasty, becoming the same as the modern kè.
		(major) 1⁄100 day	14 minutes 24 seconds
shí/shíchén	(T) (S)	1⁄12 day	2 hours	Daytime unit
diǎn	(T) (S)	1⁄6 gēng	24 minutes	Nighttime unit
gēng		1⁄10 day	2.4 hours	Nighttime units
rì / tiān		(basic unit)	1 day

Volume

According to Book of Han, the fundamental unit of volume was the lun (), the volume of 1200 grains of proso millet. 100 lun makes a gě (), and 10 gě makes a shēng (, about 1L). For dry measure, the dǒu (, "ladle"), hú (), and shi or dàn (, "[basket for] a stone['s weight]") were used for larger amounts.

The amounts of grains were also used as a measure of monthly and annual salary, particularly for official posts in the imperial bureaucracy.

Modern Chinese units

File:ROC1915-01-06--01-16政府公報956--965.pdf

Chinese measurement law in 1915

All "metric values" given in the tables are exact unless otherwise specified by the approximation sign '~'. Certain units are also listed at List of Chinese classifiers → Measurement units.

The units in the following tables can be grouped into a few types:

• Traditional-derived units for length, area, volume, and mass.
  • On the Chinese mainland, these units were defined in three batches. The Republic of China government promulgated in 1915 a metric version of the Qing Dynasty Yingzao Chi Kuping Zhi (Template:Zh). The ROC government then promulgated the "market unit" (Template:Zh) system in 1930, redefining traditional units as simple fractions of metric units. Finally, the People's Republic of China modified the "market unit" mass system to divide 1 jin into 10 instead of the traditional 16 liang for ease of calculation.
  • In Hong Kong and Macau the mass units were defined in terms of the British pound, specifically the 1878 definition of 0.45359 kg. The volume units were inherited from the Qing dynasty units, with a small difference compared to the 1915 definition. The length units were based on the unusually large chi found in the area of Guangdong (see Template:Section link). The source of the area unit is unknown, as it appears to be based on a different chi of Template:Convert (obtained by taking the square root of the metric value of cek3, the square-chi).
• Chinese names for metric units and prefixes. This includes time units.

Length

Chinese length units promulgated in 1915

Table of Chinese length units promulgated in 1915

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo		1⁄Template:Val	32 μm	Template:Val
lí	(T) or (S)	1⁄1000	0.32 mm	0.0126 in
fēn		1⁄100	3.2 mm	0.126 in
cùn		1⁄10	32 mm	1.26 in	Chinese inch
chǐ		1	0.32 m	12.6 in	Chinese foot
bù		5	1.6 m	5.2 ft	Chinese pace
zhàng		10	3.2 m	3.50 yd	Chinese yard
yǐn		100	32 m	35.0 yd
lǐ		1800	576 m	630 yd	Chinese mile, this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone

Chinese length units effective in 1930

File:ROC1929-02-20國民政府公報97.pdf

Chinese measurement law in 1929, effective 1 January 1930

File:Chinese-measuring-tape.jpg

Chinese measuring tape

Table of Chinese length units effective in 1930

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo		1⁄10 000	33+1⁄3 μm	Template:Val	Chinese mil
lí	(T) or (S)	1⁄1000	1⁄3 mm	0.0131 in	Chinese calibre
fēn		1⁄100	3+1⁄3 mm	0.1312 in	Chinese line
cùn		1⁄10	3+1⁄3 cm	1.312 in	Chinese inch
chǐ		1	33+1⁄3 cm	13.12 in	Chinese foot
zhàng		10	3+1⁄3 m	3.645 yd	Chinese yard
yǐn		100	33+1⁄3 m	36.45 yd	Chinese chain
lǐ		1500	500 m	546.8 yd	Chinese mile, this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone

Metric length units

The Chinese word for metre is mǐ; this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "kilo-", "centi-", etc.). A kilometre, however, may also be called gōnglǐ, i.e. a metric lǐ.

In the engineering field, traditional units are rounded up to metric units. For example, the Chinese word (T) or (S) sī is used to express 0.01 mm.

Table of Chinese length units in engineering

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
hū		1⁄Template:Val	1 μm		Authorized name:
sī	(T) or (S)	1⁄Template:Val	10 μm		Authorized name:
háo		1⁄Template:Val	100 μm		Authorized name: (T) or (S)
lí	(T) or (S)	1⁄1000	1 mm		Authorized name:
fēn		1⁄100	10 mm		Authorized name: (T) or (S)
cùn		1⁄10	100 mm		Authorized name:
chǐ		1	1 m		Authorized name:
Zhàng		10	10 m		Authorized name:
yǐn		100	100 m		Authorized name:
lǐ		1000	1000 m		this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone

Hong Kong and Macau length units

Table of Chinese length units in Hong Kong and Macau

Jyutping	Character	English	Portuguese	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
fan1		fan	condorim	1⁄100	Template:Val	0.1463 in
cyun3		tsun	ponto	1⁄10	Template:Val	1.463 in	Hong Kong and Macau inch
cek3		chek	côvado	1	Template:Val	1.219 ft	Hong Kong and Macau foot

These correspond to the measures listed simply as "China" in The Measures, Weights, & Moneys of All Nations

Area

Chinese area units promulgated in 1915

Table of Chinese area units promulgated in 1915

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo		1⁄1000	0.6144 m2	0.7348 sq yd
lí	(T) or (S)	1⁄100	6.144 m2	7.348 sq yd
fēn		1⁄10	61.44 m2	73.48 sq yd
mǔ	(T) or (S)	1	614.4 m2	734.82 sq yd	Chinese acre, or 60 square zhang
qǐng	(T) or (S)	100	6.144 ha	15.18 acre	Chinese hide

Table of Chinese square units effective in 1915

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
fāng cùn		1⁄100	10.24 cm2	1.587 sq in	square cun
fāng chǐ		1	0.1024 m2	1.102 sq ft	square chi
fāng zhàng		100	10.24 m2	110.2 sq ft	square zhang

Chinese area units effective in 1930

Table of Chinese area units effective in 1930

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo		1⁄1000	2⁄3 m2	7.18 sq ft
lí	(T) or (S)	1⁄100	6+2⁄3 m2	7.973 sq yd
fēn		1⁄10	66+2⁄3 m2	79.73 sq yd
mǔ	(T) or (S)	1	666+2⁄3 m2	797.3 sq yd 0.1647 acre	Chinese acre 6000 square chi per Article 5 of the 1930 Law (六千平方尺定為一畝) 60 square zhang 1/15 of a hectare
qǐng	(T) or (S)	100	6+2⁄3 ha	16.47 acre	Chinese hide

Table of Chinese square units effective in 1930

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
fāng cùn		1⁄100	11+1⁄9 cm2	1.722 sq in	square cun
fāng chǐ		1	1⁄9 m2	172.2 sq in 1.196 sq ft	square chi
fāng zhàng		100	11+1⁄9 m2	119.6 sq ft 13.29 sq yd	square zhang

Metric and other area units

Metric and other standard length units can be squared by the addition of the prefix píngfāng. For example, a square kilometre is píngfāng gōnglǐ.

Macau area units

Table of Chinese area units in Macau

Jyutping	Portuguese	Character	Relative value	Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau)	Metric value	Imperial value
cek3	côvado		1	1⁄25	0.1269 m2	1.366 sq ft
pou3			25	1⁄4	3.1725 m2	34.15 sq ft 3.794 sq yd
zoeng6	braça		100	1⁄6	12.69 m2	136.6 sq ft 15.18 sq yd
fan1	condorim		600	1⁄10	76.14 m2	91.06 sq yd
mau5	maz	(T) or (S)	6000	None	761.4 m2	910.6 sq yd

The units cek3 and zoeng6 are also names of traditional length units. This is an ancient practice with Chinese units of measurement, where area units derived by squaring length units simply take on the same name. Modern derivations would add a prefix 方 or 平方 "square".

Volume

These units are used to measure cereal grains, among other things. In imperial times, the physical standard for these was the jialiang.

Chinese volume units promulgated in 1915

Table of Chinese volume units effective in 1915

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	US value	Imperial value	Notes
sháo		1⁄100	Template:Val	0.3501 fl oz	0.3644 fl oz
gě		1⁄10	Template:Val	3.501 fl oz	3.644 fl oz
shēng		1	Template:Val	2.188 pt	1.822 pt
dǒu		10	Template:Val	2.735 gal	2.278 gal
hú		50	Template:Val	13.68 gal	11.39 gal
dàn		100	Template:Val	27.35 gal	22.78 gal

Chinese volume units effective in 1930

Table of Chinese volume units effective in 1930

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	US value	Imperial value	Notes
cuō		1⁄1000	1 mL	0.0338 fl oz	0.0352 fl oz	millilitre
sháo		1⁄100	10 mL	0.3381 fl oz	0.3520 fl oz	centilitre
gě		1⁄10	100 mL	3.381 fl oz	3.520 fl oz	decilitre
shēng		1	1 L	2.113 pt	1.760 pt	litre
dǒu		10	10 L	21.13 pt 2.64 gal	17.60 pt 2.20 gal	decalitre
dàn		100	100 L	26.41 gal	22.0 gal	hectolitre

Metric volume units

In the case of volume, the market and metric shēng coincide, being equal to one litre as shown in the table. The Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "milli-", "centi-", etc.) may be added to this word shēng.

Units of volume can also be obtained from any standard unit of length using the prefix lìfāng ("cubic"), as in lìfāng mǐ for one cubic metre.

Macau volume units

Table of Chinese volume units in Macau

Jyutping	Character	Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau)	Metric value
cyut3		1⁄10	1.031 L
gam1 dak6		1⁄10	10.31 L
sek6		None	103.1 L

Mass

These units are used to measure the mass of objects. They are also famous for measuring monetary objects such as gold and silver.

Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915

Table of Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo		1⁄Template:Val	3.7301 mg	0.0001316 oz
lí		1⁄1000	37.301 mg	0.001316 oz	cash
fēn		1⁄100	373.01 mg	0.01316 oz	candareen
qián		1⁄10	3.7301 g	0.1316 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng		1	37.301 g	1.316 oz	tael or Chinese ounce
jīn		16	596.816 g	1.316 lb	catty or Chinese pound

Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930

Table of mass units in the Republic of China since 1930

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
sī		1⁄Template:Val	312.5 μg	Template:Val
háo		1⁄Template:Val	3.125 mg	Template:Val
lí		1⁄Template:Val	31.25 mg	Template:Val	cash
fēn		1⁄1600	312.5 mg	Template:Val	candareen
qián		1⁄160	3.125 g	0.1102 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng		1⁄16	31.25 g	1.102 oz	tael or Chinese ounce
jīn		1	500 g	1.102 lb	catty or Chinese pound
dàn		100	50 kg	110.2 lb	picul or Chinese hundredweight

Mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959

Table of mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
lí		1⁄Template:Val	50 mg	Template:Val	cash
fēn		1⁄1000	500 mg	Template:Val	candareen
qián		1⁄100	5 g	0.1764 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng		1⁄10	50 g	1.764 oz	tael or Chinese ounce
jīn		1	500 g	1.102 lb	catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin
dàn		100	50 kg	110.2 lb	picul or Chinese hundredweight

Metric mass units

The Chinese word for gram is kè; this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "milli-", "deca-", and so on). A kilogram, however, is commonly called gōngjīn, i.e. a metric jīn.

Hong Kong and Macau mass units

Table of Chinese mass units in Hong Kong and Macau

Jyutping	Character	English	Portuguese	Relative value	Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau)	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
lei4		li, cash	liz	1⁄Template:Val	1⁄10 condorim	Template:Val	Template:Val	Not defined in Hong Kong. Macanese definition may not be correct when dividing catty.
fan1		fen, fan, candareen	condorim	1⁄1600	1⁄10 maz	Template:Val	0.2133 dr	Macanese definition of 377.9931 mg may not be correct when dividing catty.
cin4		qian, tsin, mace	maz	1⁄160	1⁄10 tael	Template:Val	2.1333 dr	Macanese definition of Template:Val may not be correct when dividing catty.
loeng2		liang, leung, tael	tael	1⁄16	1⁄16 cate	Template:Val	1.3333 oz	Macanese definition of Template:Val may not be correct when dividing catty.
gan1		jin, kan, catty	cate	1	1⁄100 pico	604.78982 g	1.3333 lb	Hong Kong and Macau share the definition.
daam3		dan, tam, picul	pico	100	None	60.478982 kg	133.3333 lb
		Ding				1000 kg

Hong Kong troy units

These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.

Table of mass (Hong Kong troy) units

English	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
fen (candareen) troy		1⁄100	374.29 mg	0.096 drt
qian (mace) troy		1⁄10	3.7429 g	0.96 drt
liang (tael) troy		1	37.429 g	1.2 ozt

Time

Modern Chinese time units largely correspond one-to-one to Western units.

Table of modern time units

Pinyin	Character	Value	Notes
miǎo		1 second
fēn		1 minute
kè		15 minutes (i.e. one quarter-hour)	Same definition since Qing dynasty
shí xiǎoshí		1 hour	shí is more technical than xiǎoshí. Also used is diǎn for reporting the time-of-day (3 diǎn means 3 o'clock)
rì / tiān		1 day

In addition to the above units, the ancient shíchén is occasionally used with the value of exactly 2 hours.

Historiography

As there were hundreds of unofficial measures in use, the bibliography is quite vast. The editions of Wu Chenglou's 1937 History of Chinese Measurement were the usual standard up to the 1980s or so, but rely mostly on surviving literary accounts. Newer research has put more emphasis on archeological discoveries. Qiu Guangming & Zhang Yanming's 2005 bilingual Concise History of Ancient Chinese Measures and Weights summarizes these findings. A relatively recent and comprehensive bibliography, organized by period studied, has been compiled in 2012 by Cao & al.; for a shorter list, see Wilkinson's year 2000 Chinese History.

See also

• Chinese numbers and classifiers
• Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
• Units, systems, and history of measurement
• Taiwanese and Hong Kong units of measurement
• Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese units of measurement

References

Sources

• Hill, John E. (2015) Through the Jade Gate - China to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. Vol. I. John E. Hill. CreateSpace, Charleston, South Carolina. Template:ISBN.
• Homer H. Dubs (1938): The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku. Vol. One. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Baltimore. Waverly Press, Inc.
• Homer H. Dubs (1955): The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku. Vol. Three. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Ithaca, New York. Spoken Languages Services, Inc.
• Hulsewé, (1961). "Han measures." A. F. P. Hulsewé, T'oung pao Archives, Vol. XLIX, Livre 3, pp. 206–207.
• Chinese Measurement Converter - Online Chinese / Metric / Imperial Converter
• Chinese/Metric/Imperial Measurement Converter