WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY
CHINESE
WEIGHTS (tael)
1:333 oz. avoir., or 37.78 grammes
1 liang
100 kin
120 kin
兩斤斤
16 liang (tael) make 1 kin (catty) make 1 tan
斤(catty)
1.333 lbs. avoir., or 60153 grammes
擔(picul)
133-333 lbs. avoir., or 60-453 kilogrammes
斤 (catty) make 1 shik
石 (stone)
160.000 lbs. avoir., or 72544 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 cattics.
MEASURE OF CAPACITY
10 koh
10 sheng
1 koh 合(gill) make 1 sheng Ħ (pint) make 1 tou 斗 (peck)
MEASURE OF LENGTH
1 fun 分
10 fun 分 make1 tsun (inch) 10 tsun f make 1 chih 尺(foot)
10 chih
make 1 chang (pole) =
= 0·103 litre
1.031 litre
10.31 litres
•14 inch English 1'41 inch English 14-1 inches English
11 ft. 9 inches English
The length of the Chang is fixed by the Treaty of Tientsin at 141 inches.
5 chih
R
make 1 pú
360 pú
make 1 li
J0 li
250 li
步(pace)
里
about 5 feet English
== about
English Mile
里 wake 1 tang-sun 汛塘 (leagne) = about 3} English Miles 里 nake 1 tu
度 (degree)
LAND MEASURE
I chih 尺
13.126 inches
5 chih make 1 pú
30 323 square feet
24 pú
1 fun 芬 步make
60 pú
make 1 kioh f
4hich
100 mow
make 1 mow make 1 king t
80-862 square yards
202.136 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, tacl, mace, and candareen are not Chinese.
10 li
10 fên
MONEY
1 li 釐(cash)
M make I fèn (candareen)
芬
10 ch'ien
make I ch'ien錢(mace)
make 1 liang (tael)
032 of a penny
32 of a penny
3.2 pence
2s. 8d.
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 1800 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.
HONGKONG AND STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
MONEY:-The legal tender in Hongkong is British or Mexican Dollars, local 30, 20, 10 and 5 cent silver pieces, to the amount of $2, bronze cents and mils. The circulation of any foreign silver or copper coin other than the Mexican dollar is prohibited. Some of the banks issue notes from one dollar upwards. Mexican and British dollars were demonetised in the Straits Settlements in 1904 and a Straits dollar sub-stituted. The value of this dollar is fixed at 28.