Qian (mass)
Qian (simplified Chinese: 钱; traditional Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián), called tsin (cin4) in Cantonese, tiền or đồng in Vietnamese, or "Chinese ounce" or "mace"[a] in English, is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East Asia. Nowaday, the mass of 1 qian equals 5 grams in mainland China,[2] 3.75 grams in Taiwan, [3] 3.7799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia,[4][5] [6] and 3.78 grams in Vietnam.[7]
Qian is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines. [2]
China Mainland
[edit]On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the "Order on the Unified Measurement System", retaining the market measure system, with minor amendment. [8]
| Pinyin | Character[9] | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lí | 市厘 | 1⁄10000 | 50 mg | 0.001764 oz | cash |
| fēn | 市分 | 1⁄1000 | 500 mg | 0.01764 oz | candareen |
| qián | 市錢 | 1⁄100 | 5 g | 0.1764 oz | mace or Chinese dram |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 1⁄10 | 50 g | 1.764 oz | tael or Chinese ounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin |
| dàn | 市擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinese hundredweight |
where 1 qian equals 5 grams, and 10 qiags equals 1 liang. The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.[2]
Taiwan
[edit]In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan from China. The Japanese implemented the metric system, but the Taiwanese still followed their own habits and continued to use the old weights and measures of the Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan qian is equal to 3.75 grams, or 1/10 Taiwan liang. [10]
| Unit | Relative value | Metric | US & Imperial | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwanese Hokkien | Hakka | Mandarin | Character | Legal | Decimal | Exact | Approx. | ||
| Lî | Lî | Lí | 釐 | 1⁄1000 | 3/80,000 kg | 37.5 mg | 3750/45,359,237 lb | 0.5787 gr | Cash; Same as Japanese Rin |
| Hun | Fûn | Fēn | 分 | 1⁄100 | 3/8000 kg | 375 mg | 37,500/45,359,237 lb | 5.787 gr | Candareen; Same as Japanese Fun |
| Chîⁿ | Chhièn | Qián | 錢 | 1⁄10 | 3/800 kg | 3.75 g | 375,000/45,359,237 lb | 2.116 dr | Mace; Same as Japanese Momme (匁) |
| Niú | Liông | Liǎng | 兩 | 1 | 3/80 kg | 37.5 g | 3,750,000/45,359,237 lb | 21.16 dr | Tael |
| Kin/Kun | Kîn | Jīn | 斤 | 16 | 3/5 kg | 600 g | 60,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 1.323 lb | Catty; Same as Japanese Kin |
| Tàⁿ | Tâm | Dàn | 擔 | 1600 | 60 kg | 6,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 132.3 lb | Picul; Same as Japanese Tan | |
Hong Kong and Macau
[edit]Hong Kong and Macau mass units
[edit]Currently, Hong Kong law stipulates that one qian is equal to 1/10 liang, which is 3.779936375 grams.[4]
| Jyutping | Character | English | Portuguese | Relative value | Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau) | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lei4 | 厘 | cash | liz | 1⁄16000 | 1⁄10 condorim | 37.79931 mg | 0.02133 dr | |
| fan1 | 分 | fen (candareen, fan) | condorim | 1⁄1600 | 1⁄10 maz | 377.9936375 mg | 0.2133 dr | |
| cin4 | 錢 | qian (mace, tsin) | maz | 1⁄160 | 1⁄10 tael | 3.779936375 g | 2.1333 dr | |
| loeng2 | 兩 | liang (leung, tael) | tael | 1⁄16 | 1⁄16 cate | 37.79936375 g | 1.3333 oz | 604.78982/16=37.79936375 |
| gan1 | 斤 | jin (gan, catty) | cate | 1 | 1⁄100 pico | 604.78982 g | 1.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
| daam3 | 擔 | picul (tam, dan) | pico | 100 | None | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one qian equals 3.7799 g.[5] Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony as well.
Hong Kong troy units
[edit]These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.
| English | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fen (candareen) troy | 金衡分 | 1⁄100 | 374.29 mg | 0.096 drt | |
| qian (mace) troy | 金衡錢 | 1⁄10 | 3.7429 g | 0.96 drt | |
| liang (tael) troy | 金衡兩 | 1 | 37.429 g | 1.2 ozt |
Vietnam
[edit]In Vietnam, the unit of qian is called "đồng or tiền": 1 đồng is equal to 3.78 grams or 10 phân by traditional value. [7]
| Name in Chữ Quốc ngữ | Hán/Nôm name | Traditional value | Traditional conversion | Modern value | Modern conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tấn | 擯 | 604.5 kg | 10 tạ | 1 000 kg | 10 tạ |
| quân[13] | 302.25 kg | 5 tạ | 500 kg | obsolete | |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10 yến | 100 kg | 10 yến |
| bình[13] | 30.225 kg | 5 yến | 50 kg | obsolete | |
| yến | 6.045 kg | 10 cân | 10 kg | 10 cân | |
| cân | 斤 | 604.5 g | 16 lạng | 1 kg | 10 lạng |
| nén | 378 g | 10 lạng | |||
| lạng | 兩 | 37.8 g | 10 đồng | 100 g | |
| đồng or tiền | 錢 | 3.78 g | 10 phân | ||
| phân | 分 | 0.38 g | 10 ly | ||
| ly or li | 厘 | 37.8 mg | 10 hào | ||
| hào | 毫 | 3.8 mg | 10 ti | ||
| ti | 絲 | 0.4 mg | 10 hốt | ||
| hốt | 忽 | 0.04 mg | 10 vi | ||
| vi | 微 | 0.004 mg |
For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see article Jin (mass).
See also
[edit]- Chinese units of measurement
- Hong Kong units of measurement
- Taiwanese units of measurement
- Vietnamese units of measurement
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Oxford English Dictionary".
- ^ a b c d (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, pages 311 to 312
- ^ Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan Archived 2010-12-29 at the Wayback Machine from the Republic of China Yearbook – Taiwan 2001.
- ^ a b c "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
- ^ a b "Weights and Measures Act". Statutes of the Republic of Singapore.
- ^ "Weights and Measures Act 1972". Laws of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01.
- ^ a b "Vietnam, units of mass". Sizes. Sizes, Inc. 2005-12-28.
- ^ "国务院关于统一我国计量制度的命令 (Order of the State Council on unifying my country's measurement system)". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- ^ (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, page 316
- ^ Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Appendix A: Weights, Measures, and Exchange Rates". How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia University Press.
- ^ Law No. 14/92/M ((in Chinese) 第14/92/M號法律; (in Portuguese) Lei n.o 14/92/M)
- ^ Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
- ^ a b Manuel de conversation française-annamite [French-Annamite conversation manual] (in French). Saigon: Imprimerie de la Mission. 1911. pp. 175–178.