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 500g. 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 3.306m<sup>2</sup> 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 .
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
thumb|Bronze ruler from the Han dynasty (206 BCE to CE 220); excavated in [[Zichang County; Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an]]
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 () 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
<!-- put all ancient values and units in here. Missing Ancient China weights, cubic measures and and lengths. -->
Length
thumb|Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 [[chi (length)|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.
{|class="wikitable"
|+Length in metres
|-
!rowspan="2"|Dynasty
!rowspan="2"|chi
!colspan="2"|bu
!colspan="2"|li
|-
!= 5 chi
!= 6 chi
!= 300 bu
!= 360 bu
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|Shang ()
|0.1675
|0.8375
|1.0050
|301.50
|361.80
|-
|0.1690
|0.8450
|1.0140
|304.20
|365.04
|-
|Western Zhou (–771 BC)
|0.1990
|0.9950
|1.1940
|358.20
|429.84
|-
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|Eastern Zhou (–256 BC)
|0.2200
|1.1000
|1.3200
|396.00
|475.200
|-
|0.2270
|1.1350
|1.3620
|408.60
|490.32
|-
|0.2310
|1.1550
|1.3860
|415.80
|498.96
|-
|Qin (–206 BC)
|0.2260
|1.1300
|1.3560
|406.80415.80
|488.16
|-
|-
|rowspan="2" valign="top"|Han (–9 AD; 25–220 AD)
|0.2300
|1.1500
|1.3800
|414.00
|496.80
|-
|0.2381
|1.1805
|1.4286
|415.80 415.80|| (T)<br /> (S) || day || 2 hours || Daytime unit
|-align=right
| diǎn || (T)<br /> (S)
| gēng || 24 minutes || Nighttime unit
|-align=right
| gēng || || day || 2.4 hours || Nighttime units
|-align=right
| rì / tiān || || (basic unit) || 1 day
|}
Volume
According to Book of Han, the fundamental unit of volume was the yuè (), the volume of 1200 grains of proso millet. 100 yuè makes a gě (), and 10 gě makes a shēng (, about 0.2 L). 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.
The volume units have evolved through the Dynasties. By the Qing Dynasty, the shēng had become very close to the metric liter.
Hong Kong and Macau length units
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Table of Chinese length units in Hong Kong
=== Area ===<!-- This section is linked from Hectare -->
Chinese area units promulgated in 1915
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Table of Chinese area units promulgated in 1915
!Relative
!Metric
!Imperial
|-
|align=center|lí
|align=right|
|align=right|
|align=right|50 mg
|align=right|
|align=left|cash
|-
|align=center|fēn
|align=right|
|align=right|
|align=right|500 mg
|align=right|
|align=left|candareen
|-
|align=center|qián
|align=right|
|align=right|
|align=right|5 g
|align=right|0.1764 oz
|align=left|mace or Chinese dram
|-
|align=center|liǎng
|align=right|
|align=right|
|align=right|50 g
|align=right|1.764 oz
|align=left|tael or Chinese ounce
|-
|align=center|jīn
|align=right|
|align=right|1
|align=right|500 g
|align=right|1.102 lb
|align=left|catty or Chinese pound<br /> formerly 16 liang = 1 jin
|-
|align=center|dàn
|align=right|
|align=right|100
|align=right|50 kg
|align=right|110.2 lb
|align=left|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.
The PRC translated the non-SI quintal (100 kg) as gōngdàn ("metric dàn") in 1959, but abandoned the unit in newer publications.
Hong Kong and Macau mass units
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Table of Chinese mass units in Hong Kong 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. 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
- Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese units of measurement
- Taiwanese and Hong Kong units of measurement
- Units, systems, and history of measurement
References
Notes
Citations
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. .
- 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