Li (simplified Chinese: 厘; traditional Chinese: 釐; pinyin: lí), called lei4 in Cantonese, lî in Taiwanese, ly or li in Vietnamese, or "cash" 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 li equals 50 mg (i.e., 0.05 grams) in mainland China, 37.5 mg in Taiwan, 37.8 mg in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and 37.8 mg in Vietnam. Li is mostly used in the traditional markets.
China Mainland
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.
| Pinyin | Character | 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 li equals 50 mg or 0.05 grams, and 10 li equals 1 fen.
Taiwan
The Taiwanese still use the old weights and measures of the Chinese Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan li is equal to 37.5 mg, or 1/10 Taiwan fen.
| 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
In Hong Kong, one li is equal to 1/10 fen, which is 37.799 mg or 0.037799 grams.
| Jyutping | Character | English | Portuguese | Relative value | Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau) | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lei4 | 厘 | li (cash) | liz | 1⁄16000 | 1⁄10 condorim | 37.79931 mg | 0.02133 dr | |
| fan1 | 分 | fen (fan, candareen) | 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. |
Singapore and Malaysia have similar regulations as Hong Kong, as they are all former British colonies.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, 1 li or ly is equal to 37.8 mg (i.e., 0.038 grams) or 1/10 fen by traditional value.
| 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 | 302.25 kg | 5 tạ | 500 kg | obsolete | |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10 yến | 100 kg | 10 yến |
| bình | 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
- Chinese units of measurement
- Hong Kong units of measurement
- Taiwanese units of measurement
- Vietnamese units of measurement
References
- ^ (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.
- ^ "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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. 14/92/M)
- ^ Manuel de conversation française-annamite [French-Annamite conversation manual] (in French). Saigon: Imprimerie de la Mission. 1911. pp. 175–178.