WEIGHTS, MEASURES, MONEY
CHINESE
WEIGHTS
1 liang
(tael)
1-333 oz. avoir., or 37-78 gramines
16 liang
(tael) make 1 kin
斤(catty)
=
1.333 lbs. avoir., or 60453 grammes
100 kin
catty) make 1 tan
擔(picul) = 133.333 lbs. avoir., or 60-453 kilogrammes
120 kin
(catty) make 1 shin
(stone) = 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.
MEASURE OF CAPACITY
1 koh
合(gill)
=
0.103 litre
10 koh
合 make 1 sheng
(pint) 1.031 litre
10 sheng make 1 tou 斗(peck)
=
= 10-31 litre
MEASURE OF LENGTH
1:41 inch English
1 fun
=
14 inch English
10 fun
分 make 1 tsun
f (inch)
10 tsun
make 1 chih
(foot)
=
10 chih
make 1 chang
14.1 inches English
(pole) 11 ft. 9 inches English
The length of the Chang is fixed by the Treaty of Tientsin at 141 inches.
步(pace) = about 5 feet English
5 chih
make 1 pú
360 pú
make 1 li
BE
10 li
里 make I tang-sun 汛塘 (league)
about English Mile about 3 English Miles
250 li
里
make 1 tu
度(degree)
1 chih 尺
5 chih
LAND MEASURE
make 1 pú
24 pí 步make l fun 芬
60 pú
make 1 kioh
4 kioh
make 1 mow
100 mow
make 1 king
=
13.126 inches
30.323 square feet
80-862 square yards
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
釐(cash)
·032 of a penny
10 li
10 fên
make 1 fên
(candareen)
=
32 of a penny
芬 make 1 ch'ien錢(mace)
10 ch'ien
make 1 liang (tael)
3.2 pence
28. 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 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. Wachang, 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.
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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