Liang (simplified Chinese:两;traditional Chinese:兩;pinyin:liǎng), orleung in Cantonese,liae in Wenzhounese,liong in Hakka,lian in Shanghainese, also called "Chinese ounce" or "tael",[a] is atraditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East and Southeast Asia.
Modern standards for theliang include 1/10jin (50 grams) in mainland China,[2] 37.5 grams in Taiwan, Korea and Thailand,[3][4]37.799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia,[5][6][7] and 37.8 grams in Vietnam.[8]
Liang is mostly used in traditional markets, and is a well-known measure for gold, silver and Chinese medicines.[2][4]
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On 7 January 1915, theBeiyang government promulgated a measurement law to use not only metric system as the standard but also a set of Chinese-style measures based directly on theQing dynasty definitions (营造尺库平制).[9]
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| háo | 毫 | 1⁄10000 | 3.7301 mg | 0.0001316 oz | |
| lí | 釐 | 1⁄1000 | 37.301 mg | 0.001316 oz | cash |
| fēn | 分 | 1⁄100 | 373.01 mg | 0.01316 oz | candareen |
| qián | 錢 | 1⁄10 | 3.7301 g | 0.1316 oz | mace or Chinesedram |
| liǎng | 兩 | 1 | 37.301 g | 1.316 oz | tael or Chineseounce |
| jīn | 斤 | 16 | 596.816 g | 1.316 lb | catty or Chinesepound |
whereliang is the base unit, equal to 37.301 grams.
On 16 February 1929, theNationalist government adopted and promulgatedThe Weights and Measures Act[10] to adopt themetric system as the official standard and to limit the newer Chinese units of measurement to private sales and trade, effective on 1 January 1930. These newer "market" units are based on rounded metric numbers. Andjin became the base unit.[11]
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sī | 絲 | 1⁄1600000 | 312.5 μg | 0.00001102 oz | |
| háo | 毫 | 1⁄160000 | 3.125 mg | 0.0001102 oz | |
| lí | 市釐 | 1⁄16000 | 31.25 mg | 0.001102 oz | cash |
| fēn | 市分 | 1⁄1600 | 312.5 mg | 0.01102 oz | candareen |
| qián | 市錢 | 1⁄160 | 3.125 g | 0.1102 oz | mace or Chinesedram |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 1⁄16 | 31.25 g | 1.102 oz | tael or Chineseounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinesepound |
| dàn | 擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinesehundredweight |
where oneliang is equal to 1/16 of ajin, or 31.25 grams.
On June 25, 1959, the State Council of thePeople's Republic of China issued the "Order on the Unified Measurement System", retaining the market measure system, with the statement of "The market system originally stated that sixteenliangs are equal to onejin. Due to the trouble of conversion, it should be changed to ten liangs per jin."[12]
| Pinyin | Character[13] | 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 Chinesedram |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 1⁄10 | 50 g | 1.764 oz | tael or Chineseounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinesepound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin |
| dàn | 市擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinesehundredweight |
Legally, 1jin equals 500 grams, and 10liangs equal 1jin (that is, 1liang equals 50 grams). The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.[2]
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 theQing dynasty. 1 Taiwanliang is equal to 37.5 grams, or 1/16 Taiwanjin.[14]
| 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 asJapaneseRin |
| Hun | Fûn | Fēn | 分 | 1⁄100 | 3/8000 kg | 375 mg | 37,500/45,359,237 lb | 5.787 gr | Candareen; Same asJapaneseFun |
| Chîⁿ | Chhièn | Qián | 錢 | 1⁄10 | 3/800 kg | 3.75 g | 375,000/45,359,237 lb | 2.116 dr | Mace; Same asJapaneseMomme (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 asJapaneseKin |
| Tàⁿ | Tâm | Dàn | 擔 | 1600 | 60 kg | 6,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 132.3 lb | Picul; Same asJapaneseTan | |
whereliang is the base unit.
The liang is a legal weight measure inHong Kong, and is still in active use. One liang is 37.799364167 g,[5] and in Ordinance 22 of 1884 is1+1⁄3oz. avoir. Similar to Hong Kong, in Singapore, one tael is defined as1+1⁄3 ounce and is approximated as 37.7994 g.[6]InHong Kong andSingapore, oneliang is equivalent to 10qian (Chinese:錢; pinyin:qián) or1⁄16jin,.[5][6] TheseChinese units of measurement are usually used inChinese herbal medicine stores as well as gold and silver exchange.
| 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 (tsin, mace) | 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 | dan (tam, picul) | pico | 100 | None | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that onejin is also equal to sixteenliangs or 0.6048 kilograms, and oneliang equals 37.799 g.[6] Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony.
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 |
The base unit of Korean weight is thegwan.[17] Oneliang (兩, Korean ounce) is 1/100 of agwan, or 37.5 g (1.32 oz).
| Romanization | Korean | English | Equivalents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR | MR | Other | Gwan | Other countries | Global | ||
| Ho | Ho | 호(毫) | 1⁄1,000,000 | 3.75 mg (0.0579 gr) | |||
| Mo | Mo | 모(毛) | |||||
| Ri | Ri | 리(釐/厘) | li | 1⁄100,000 | 0.0375 g (0.00132 oz) | ||
| Pun | P'un | 푼 | fen | 1⁄10,000 | 0.375 g (0.0132 oz) | ||
| Bun | Pun | 분(分) | |||||
| Don | Ton | 돈 | 1⁄1,000 | Momme | 3.75 g (0.132 oz) | ||
| Nyang | Nyang | Ryang[18] Yang[19] | 냥(兩) | liang (Korean ounce) | 1⁄100 | Tael | 37.5 g (1.32 oz)[19] |
| Geun | Kŭn | Keun[19] Kon[20] | 근(斤) | jin (Korean pound) | 4⁄25 (meat), 1⁄10 (others) | Jin,Catty[20] | 600 g (21 oz) (meat),[19]375 g (13.2 oz) (others) |
| Gwan | Kwan | 관(貫) | 1 | 3.75 kg (8.3 lb)[19] | |||
In Vietnam, the unit ofliang is called "lang". In the time ofFrench Indochina, the colonial administration fixed the(lạng) as 100 g, which is commonly used at food markets where many items typically weigh in the 100–900 g range. However, a different lang (calledcây,lạng, orlượng) unit of 37.5 g is used for domestic transactions in gold. Real estate prices are often quoted in liangs of gold rather than the local currency over concerns overmonetary inflation.[8][21]
| Name inChữ Quốc ngữ | Hán/Nôm name | Traditional value | Traditional conversion | Modern value | Modern conversion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tấn | 擯 | 604.5 kg | 10tạ | 1 000 kg | 10tạ |
| quân[22] | 302.25 kg | 5tạ | 500 kg | obsolete | |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10yến | 100 kg | 10yến |
| bình[22] | 30.225 kg | 5yến | 50 kg | obsolete | |
| yến | 6.045 kg | 10cân | 10 kg | 10cân | |
| cân (jin) | 斤 | 604.5 g | 16lạng | 1 kg | 10lạng |
| nén | 378 g | 10lạng | |||
| lạng (liang) | 兩 | 37.8 g | 10đồng | 100 g | |
| đồng ortiền (qian) | 錢 | 3.78 g | 10phân | ||
| phân | 分 | 0.38 g | 10ly | ||
| ly orli | 厘 | 37.8 mg | 10hào | ||
| hào | 毫 | 3.8 mg | 10ti | ||
| ti | 絲 | 0.4 mg | 10hốt | ||
| hốt | 忽 | 0.04 mg | 10vi | ||
| vi | 微 | 0.004 mg |
For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see articleJin (mass).
The English wordtael comes throughPortuguese from theMalay wordtahil, meaning "weight". Early English forms of the name such as "tay" or "taes" derive from the Portuguese plural of tael,taeis.Tahil (/ˈtɑːhɪl/ inSingaporean English)[23] is used in Malayand English today when referring to the weight inMalaysia,Singapore, andBrunei, where it is still used in some contexts especially related to the significantOverseas Chinese population.