Chinese units of measurement (Chinese: 市制; pinyin: Shìzhì; literally "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.
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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.
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 | 0.2310 | 1.3860 | 415.80[3][4] | ||
| Han | 0.2310 | 1.3860 | 415.80[5]415.80[6][7] | ||
| 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 | |
All "metric values" given in the tables are exact unless otherwise specified by the approximation sign '~'.
| Unit | Hanzi | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hū | 忽 | 1/1 000 000 | ⅓ µm | ||
| sī | 丝 | 1/100 000 | 3 ⅓ µm | ||
| háo | 毫 | 1/10 000 | 33 ⅓ µm | ||
| lí | 市厘 | 1/1000 | ⅓ mm | ||
| fēn | 市分 | 1/100 | 3⅓ mm | ~0.1312 in | |
| cùn | 市寸 | 1/10 | 3 ⅓ cm | ~1.312 in | |
| chǐ | 市尺 | 1 | 33 ⅓ cm | ~1.094 ft | Chinese foot |
| bù | 步 | 5 | 1 ⅔ m | ~1.823 yd | Chinese pace |
| zhàng | 市丈 | 10 | 3 ⅓ m | ~3.645 yd | |
| yǐn | 引 | 100 | 33 ⅓ 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 |
| 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 meters |
| 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 |
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 |
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.
| 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 |
(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 |
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 |
| 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.) |
| shí | 时 | 10 kè | 2.5 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:
As there were hundreds of unofficial measures in use, the bibliography is quite vast. Up to the 1980s or so, the book by Wu Chenglou (吳承洛), Zhongguo dulianghengshi (中國度量衡史), first printed in 1937 and republished/revised a few times since (1957, 1993), was often used as reference. It relies however mostly on literary accounts. Newer research has put more emphasis on archeological discoveries.[9] From this latter body of work, an abridged Chinese-English overview book appeared in 2005.[10] Alas, no comprehensive text appears to exist in English. A relatively recent and comprehensive bibliography, organized by period studied, has been compiled in 2004 by Theobald, Vogel, et al.;[11] for a shorter list see Wilkinson's Chinese history: a manual (2000).[9]
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