WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY
CHINESE
1 liang
16 liang 100 kin 120 kin
(tacl) make 1 kin
WEIGHTS
(tael) F(catty)
(catty) make 1 tan
(catty) make 1 shin
1·333 oz. avoir., or 37.78 grammes
1:333 lbs. avoir., or G0153 grammes
(picul)
= 133:333 lbs. avoir., or 60:153 kilogrammes (stone) = 160.000 lbs. avoir., or 72:514 kilogrammes
Four ounces equal three taels; one pound equals three quarters of a catty or twelve taels one hundredweight equals 81 catties; one ton equals 16 piculs 80 catties.
MEASURE OF CAPACITY
1 koh 合(gill)
0.103 litre
10 koh 合wake 1 sheng 升 (pint)
1031 litre
make 1 tou 斗(peck)
10-31 litre
MEASURE OF LENGTH
1 fun 芬
10 sheng
10 fun
分 make1 tsun of (inch)
10 tsun
10 chih
make 1 chih (foot) make 1 chang (pole)
14 inch English
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 11 inches.
about 5 feet English
about English Mile
5 chih
make 1 pú
步(pace)
360 pú
make 1 li
10 li
里 wake 1 tang-sun 汛塘 (league)
about 3 English Miles
250 li
make 1 tu
(degree)
LAND MEASURE
1 chih R
M
13.126 inches
5chih 尺 make pi步
1
30-323 square feet
24 pú
1 fun 芬 步make
80-862 square yards
60 pú
make 1 kioh
202·156 square yards
4 kioh 角 make 1 mow
100 mowinake 1 king
t
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.
10 li
MONEY
1 li
釐(cash)
·032 of a penny
make I fên
(candareen)
•32 of a penny
3.2 pence
10 fén 芬 wake 1 ch'ien 錢(mace) 10 chien錢 make 1 liang 兩(tael)
The Tael may be taken as worth one and a third silver dollar.
28. 8d.
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.
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