duliangheng 度量衡, weights and measures

Length measures (du 度)

1 zhang 丈 = 10 chi 尺 ("ell")= 100 cun 寸 ("inch") = 1,000 fen 分 = 10,000 li 釐 = 100,000 hao 毫

1 li 里 ≈ 500 m (not centrally defined)

Area measures

The term for "square" is fang 方, but not regularly used in area measuring. Most bewildering is the fact that the field area measure mu 畝 has not a square shape, but represents a strip 240 "paces" (bu 步) long but only 1 pace wide.

100 mu 畝 = 1 qing 頃; 900 mu = 1 jing 井

300 bu = 1 li 里

Volume measures (liang 量)

2 (!) hu 斛 (fivepecks) = 10 dou 斗 ("pecks") = 100 sheng 升 = 1,000 gě (!) 合 = 2,000 yue 龠

1 dàn (!) 石 ("bushels") = 10 dou, new unit from Song on

Weight measures (heng 衡) and monetary units

1 shí 石 ("picul"*) = 120 jin 斤 (觔) "catties"* ("pounds")= 1,920 liang 兩 "tael"* ("ounces") = 46,080 zhu 銖

1 dan 擔 "picul"* ("load") = 100 jin

1 jin = 16 liang

1 liang = 24 zhu (the unit zhu disappears in the Tang period)

1 liang = 10 qian 錢 "mace"* (new unit from the Tang on) = 100 fen 分 "candareens"* = 1,000 li 釐 "cash"*

1 yin 引, a commercial weight unit (esp. for salt and tea) of varying size (Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing)

*words of Southeast Asian origin.

One qian (c. 4 g) is the ideal weight of a copper cash coin (wen 文), and liang/tael (c. 40 g) is used as a monetary unit of account and denomination for silver ingots (yinzi 銀子, yinding 銀錠). Although the weight relations are 1 : 10 the value of the two metals gives them an ideal conversion rate of 1 silver liang/tael to 1,000 copper cash (= 1 guan 貫 "string"). The precursor of the qian coin was the 5-zhu coin.