Chinese units of measurement, known in Chinese as the ''shìzhì'' ("market system"), are the traditional

units of measurement A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can ...

of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

. Although

Chinese numerals Chinese numerals are words and characters used to denote numbers in Chinese. Today, speakers of Chinese use three written numeral systems: the system of Arabic numerals used worldwide, and two indigenous systems. The more familiar indigenous sy ...

have been

decimal The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers of the Hindu–Arabic numeral ...

(base-10) since the

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and f ...

, several Chinese measures use

hexadecimal In mathematics and computing, the hexadecimal (also base-16 or simply hex) numeral system is a positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of 16. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using 10 symbols, hexa ...

(base-16). Local applications have varied, but the

Chinese dynasties Dynasties in Chinese history, or Chinese dynasties, were hereditary monarchical regimes that ruled over China during much of its history. From the legendary inauguration of dynastic rule by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC to the abdication of the ...

usually proclaimed standard measurements and recorded their predecessor's systems in their histories. In the present day, the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

maintains some customary units based upon the market units but standardized to round values in the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...

, for example the common ''jin'' or

catty The catty, kati or , pronounced as jin in Mandarin and gan in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries in some wet markets, street markets, and shops ...

of exactly 500 g. 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 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, like

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, saw its traditional units standardized to

Japanese values Japanese values are cultural goals, beliefs and behaviors that are considered important in Japanese culture. Global perspective From a global perspective, Japanese culture scores higher on ''emancipative values'' (individual freedom and equalit ...

and their conversion to a metric basis, such as the Taiwanese ''

ping Ping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933 * Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom * Ping, a c ...

'' of about 3.306m² based on the square ''

ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

''. The

Hong Kong SAR Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

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

According to the ''

Liji The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book o ...

'', the legendary

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

created the first measurement units. The ''

Xiao Erya The ''Xiao Erya'' (; "Little ra") was an early Chinese dictionary that supplements the ''Erya''. It was supposedly compiled in the early Han Dynasty by Kong Fu ( 264?-208 BCE), a descendant of Confucius. However, the received ''Xiao Erya'' text w ...

'' and the ''

Kongzi Jiayu The ''Kongzi Jiayu'' (), translated as ''The School Sayings of Confucius'' or ''Family Sayings of Confucius'', is a collection of sayings of Confucius (Kongzi), written as a supplement to the '' Analects'' (''Lunyu''). A book by the title had ex ...

'' state that length units were derived from the human body. According to the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'', these human body units caused inconsistency, and

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

, another legendary figure, unified the length measurements.

Ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

s with decimal units have been unearthed from

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

tombs. In the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

, 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 The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

unified China, and later standardized measurement units. In the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, these measurements were still being used, and were documented systematically in the

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

. 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 The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

that the traditional system was revised.

Republican Era

On 7 January 1915, the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally r ...

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 The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

definitions ().. On 16 February 1929, the Nationalist government adopted and promulgated ''The Weights and Measures Act'' to adopt the

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.

People's Republic of China

The

Government of the People's Republic of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...

continued using the market system along with metric system, as decreed by the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

on 25 June 1959, but 1

being 500 grams, would become divided into 10 (new)

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

province to province, while exempting Chinese prescription drugs from the conversion to prevent errors.1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of ChinaNo. 180
pages 311 to 312 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 Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

measures would be exempt from this mandatory

metrication Metrication or metrification is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. All over the world, countries have transitioned from local and traditional units of measurement to the metric system. This process began in F ...

until further investigation and study.Decree of the State Council Concerning the Use of Uniform Legal Measures in the Country

Hong Kong

In 1976 the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Metrication Ordinance The Metrication Ordinance () was enacted in 1976 in Hong Kong. The law allowed a gradual replacement of the Imperial units and Chinese units of measurement in favour of the International System of Units Metric System. The adoption was facilitate ...

allowed a gradual replacement of the system in favor of the

International System of Units The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...

(SI) metric system. The Weights and Measures Ordinance defines the metric, Imperial, and Chinese units.Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
/ref> As of 2012, all three systems are legal for trade and are in widespread use.

Macau

On 24 August 1992,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

published ''Law No. 14/92/M'' to order that Chinese units of measurement similar to those used in Hong Kong,

Imperial units The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thro ...

, and

United States customary units United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system (USCS or USC) developed from English 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.''Law No. 14/92/M'' ( ;
Lei n.^o 14/92/M

Ancient Chinese units

Length

Traditional units of length include the ''

chi Chi or CHI may refer to: Greek *Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ); Chinese *Chi (length), ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon *Chi (surname) (池, pin ...

'' (), ''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''.

Modern Chinese units

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.

Length

Chinese length units promulgated in 1915

Chinese length units effective in 1930

Metric length units

The Chinese word for

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

is ''mǐ''; this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "kilo-", "centi-", etc.). A

kilometer The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

, 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.

Hong Kong and Macau length units

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

Area

Chinese area units promulgated in 1915

Chinese area units effective in 1930

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 kilometer is ''píngfāng gōnglǐ''.

Macau area units

Volume

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

jialiang Jialiang () is an ancient Chinese device for measuring several volume standards. The term jialiang is mentioned in the '' Rites of Zhou''. The passage describes the construction of one that includes three measures, ''fu'' (釜), ''dou'' (豆), a ...

Chinese volume units promulgated in 1915

Chinese volume units effective in 1930

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 meter.

Macau volume units

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

Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930

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

Metric mass units

The Chinese word for

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

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

Hong Kong troy units

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

Time

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 Qiu Guangming (丘光明, b. 1936) is a researcher best known for her works on the history of Chinese metrology. Qiu was born in Nanjing in 1936. In 1937, her parents fled the Japanese attack on the city, and resettled in Chongqing. Desiring to b ...

& 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 Wilkinson may refer to: People * Wilkinson (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places in the United States * Wilkinson, Illinois * Wilkinson, Indiana, a town in Hancock County * Wilkinson, Minnesota * Wilkinson, Mis ...

's year 2000 ''Chinese History''..

References

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 Homer Hasenpflug Dubs (March 28, 1892 – August 16, 1969) was an American sinologist and polymath. Though best known for his translation of sections of Ban Gu's ''Book of Han'', he published on a wide range of topics in ancient Chinese histo ...

(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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese units of measurement Customary units of measurement Science and technology in China Chinese units in Hong Kong Systems of units Units of measurement by country Standards of the People's Republic of China

History

Republican Era

People's Republic of China

Hong Kong

Macau

Ancient Chinese units

Length

Modern Chinese units

Length

Chinese length units promulgated in 1915

Chinese length units effective in 1930

Metric length units

Hong Kong and Macau length units

Area

Chinese area units promulgated in 1915

Chinese area units effective in 1930

Metric and other area units

Macau area units

Volume

Chinese volume units promulgated in 1915

Chinese volume units effective in 1930

Metric volume units

Macau volume units

Mass

Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915

Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930

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

Metric mass units

Hong Kong and Macau mass units

Hong Kong troy units

Time

Historiography

See also

References

Citations

Sources