WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY.
CHINESE
WEIGHTS
1 liang
(tael)
16 liang
(tael) make 1 kin
斤(catty)
100 kin
(catty) make 1 tan
(catty) make 1 shih
擔(picul)
(stone)
1·333 oz. avoir., or 37·78 gramines
1.333 lbs. avoir., or 604-53 grammes
133-333 lbs. avoir., or 60-453 kilogrammes
120 kin
160.000 lbs. avoir., or 72.544 kilogrammes
Four ounces equal three taels; one pound equals three quarters of a catty or twelve taels ; one hundredweight equals 84 catties; one ton equals 16 piculs 80 catties.
10 koh ✰ make 1 sheng Ħ (pint)
MEASURE OF CAPACITY
1 koh ✩ (gill)
0.103 litre
1.031 litre
10 sheng # make 1 tou
斗(peck)
=
10.31 litre
MEASURE OF LENGTH
1 fun 分
·14 inch English
10 fun
make 1 tsun
(inch)
10 tsun
make 1 chih
(foot) =
10 chih
make 1 chang (pole) =
chang†
1-41 inch English
141 inches English
11 ft. 9 inches English
The length of the Chang is fixed by the Treaty of Tientsin at 141 inches.
5 chih
make 1 pú
360 pú
make 1 li
10 li
250 li
make 1 tu
make 1 tang-sun
步(pace)
里
= about 5 feet English
- about English Mile
(league) = about 34 English Miles 度(degree)
LAND MEASURE
1 chih R
5 chih 尺make pi 步
13.126 inches
30-323 square feet
80-862 square yards
24 pú
make 1 fun
60 pú
make 1 kioh
4 kioh
make 1 mow
100 mow
make 1 king t
202.156 square yards 26.73 square poles 16.7 acres
The Mow, which is the unit of measurement, is almost exactly one sixth of an acre.
Weights and measures in China vary in every province and almost every district, and
differ in the same districts for different kinds of goods. The words picul, catty, tael, mace, candareen are not Chinese.
MONEY
1 li
(cash)
·032 of a penny
10 li
10 fên
鰲 make 1 fôn 分(candareen) make 1 ch'ien (mace)
·32 of a penny
3.2 pence
28. 8d.
10 chien 錢 make 1 liang 兩 (tael)
The Tael may be taken as worth one and a third silver dollar.
The above are weights of silver. They are not represented by any coin except the copper cash, which is supposed to be the equivalent in value of a li of silver, but the value of which differs greatly in different districts and at different times. They have no uniform intrinsic value, being made large and small and of varying composition. Silver is used uncoined in ingots, usually of fifty taels more or less, in weight, called "shoes," the usual shape being not unlike a Chinese shoe. In the maritime district from Canton to Amoy chopped dollars are the general medium of exchange. In 1890 a mint was established for the coinage of silver dollars and subsidiary pieces, and more recently mints for silver and copper coinage have been opened at Nanking, Wuchang, and Tientsin, and others are projected. The coins, although supposed to be of equal weight and fineness, are differently inscribed. Some of the foreign banks issue tael and dollar notes of the value of one dollar and upwards at the larger of the Treaty Ports.