A ''cun'' (), often glossed as the ''Chinese inch'', is a traditional
Chinese unit of length. Its traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle, whereas the width of the two forefingers denotes 1.5 cun and the width of four fingers (except the thumb) side-by-side is 3 cuns. It continues to be used to chart
acupuncture point
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
s on the human body, and, in various uses for
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...
.
The cun was part of a larger decimal system. A cun was made up of 10
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
, which depending on the period approximated lengths or widths of millet grains, and represented one-tenth of a
chi ("Chinese foot"). In time the lengths were standardized, although to different values in different jurisdictions. (See
chi (unit)
The chi (Tongyong Pinyin chih) is a traditional Chinese unit of length. Although it is often translated as the "", its length was originally derived from the distance measured by a human hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the foref ...
for details.)
In Hong Kong, using the traditional standard, it measures ~3.715 cm (~1.463 in) and is written "tsun".
Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
/ref> In the twentieth century in the Republic of China
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 northeas ...
, the lengths were standardized to fit with the metric system, and in current usage in 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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and 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 no ...
it measures cm (~1.312 in).
In Japan, the corresponding unit, , was standardized at mm (~3.030 cm, ~1.193 in, or ~0.09942 ft).
See also
* ''shaku Shaku may refer to:
* Shaku (unit)
* Shaku (ritual baton)
* Buddhist surname
In East Asian Buddhism, monks and nuns usually adopt a Buddhist surname and a Dharma name, which are combined in the surname-first East-Asian naming order. Since the 4th ...
''
References
External links
Cun measurements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cun (Length)
Units of length
Human-based units of measurement