A ''cun'' ( ;
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
cùn
IPA , mi=), often glossed as the ''Chinese inch'', is a traditional
Chinese unit of length. Its traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle, whereas the width of the two forefingers denotes 1.5 cun and the width of four fingers (except the thumb) side-by-side is 3 cuns. It continues to be used to chart
acupuncture point
Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...
s on the human body, and, in various uses for
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
.
The cun was part of a larger decimal system. A cun was made up of 10
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
, which depending on the period approximated lengths or widths of millet grains, and represented one-tenth of a
chi ("Chinese foot"). In time the lengths were standardized, although to different values in different jurisdictions. (See ''
Chi (unit)
The chi (Tongyong Pinyin chih) is a traditional Chinese unit of length. Although it is often translated as the "", its length was originally derived from the distance measured by a human hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the fore ...
'' for details.)
In Hong Kong, using the traditional standard, it measures ~3.715 cm (~1.463 in) and is written "tsun".
Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
/ref> In the twentieth century in the Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, the lengths were standardized to fit with the metric system, and in current usage in People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
it measures cm (~1.312 in).
In Japan, the corresponding unit, , was standardized at mm (3. cm, ~1.193 in, or ~0.09942 ft).
See also
* '' shaku''
References
External links
Cun measurements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cun (Length)
Units of length
Human-based units of measurement