The jin () or catty (from Malay ''kati'') is a traditional Chinese unit of
mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
used across
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, notably for weighing food and other groceries. Related units include the picul (dan/shi), equal to 100 catties, and the
stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
(also dan/shi) is a former unit used in Hong Kong equal to 120 catties and a ''gwan'' () is 30 catties. Catty or ''kati'' is still used in Southeast Asia as a unit of measurement in some contexts especially by the significant
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese people are Chinese people, people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 milli ...
populations across the region, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.
The catty is traditionally equivalent to around pound avoirdupois, formalised as 604.78982
gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...
s in Hong Kong, 604.5 grams historically in Vietnam, 604.79 grams in Malaysia and 604.8 grams in Singapore. In some countries, the weight has been rounded to 600 grams (Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Thailand). In
mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
, the catty (more commonly translated as jin within China) has been rounded to 500 grams and is referred to as the market catty ( ) in order to distinguish it from the kilogram, called the ''common catty'' ( ), and it is subdivided into 10 taels rather than the usual 16.
History
In ancient China, there was an official post called "Sima" () in charge of the military affairs. Because the management of military grain and fodder involved plenty of weighing, the units of ''jin'', ''liang'', ''qian'', ''fen'' etc. were also called as "Sima Jin" (), "Sima Liang", etc., and the measuring tools were called "Sima Scales" (). This is still true in today's Hong Kong. One Sima jin is equal to sixteen Sima liang, which is where the idiom "half a jin vs eight liang" comes from.
The actual mass of the ''jin'' has changed in different eras and regions, but its ratio to other relevant units remains unchanged: One ''jin'' is equal to sixteen ''liangs'', or 1/120 of a ''dan''. Starting from the late Qing Dynasty, ''jin'' was also written in English as ''catty'' or ''kan'' based on the sounds of Malay language.
Before the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, various regions and industries in China had their own weight standards for ''jin'' and ''liang''. During the Qing Dynasty, unified weights and measures were implemented. One late-Qing ''jin'' was 596.816 grams according to the Beiyang government, which equaled 16 ''liangs''.
China Mainland
Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915
On 7 January 1915, the
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government was the internationally recognized government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China between 1912 and 1928, based in Beijing. It was dominated by the generals of the Beiyang Army, giving it its name.
B ...
promulgated a measurement law to use not only metric system as the standard but also a set of Chinese-style measures based directly on the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
definitions ().
where ''liang'' is the base unit.
Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930
On 16 February 1929, the
Nationalist government
The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
adopted and promulgated ''The Weights and Measures Act'' to adopt the
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
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. And ''jin'' became the base unit.
Mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959
On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the
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 ...
issued the ''Order on the Unified Measurement System'', retaining the market system, with the statement of "The market system originally stated that sixteen ''liangs'' are equal to one ''jin''. Due to the trouble of conversion, it should be changed to ten ''liangs'' per ''jin''." HTML
Legally, 1 ''jin'' equals 500 grams, and 10 ''liang'' equals 1 ''jin'' (that is, 1 ''liang'' equals 50 grams). The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.
Mass units in traditional Chinese medicine
Until 1979, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) generally kept the division of 16 ''liang'' in 1 (500-gram) ''jin''. In 1979, the State Council of China issued an order to switch to metric units for the trade of TCM. Previously-used ''qian'' is to be treated as exactly 3 grams, with other units derived from the 1/16-''jin'' ''liang'' scaled accordingly.
Weight units in ancient TCM prescriptions should be interpreted using the metric (gram) conversions appropriate for the era (see above), not any modern version of these units.
Taiwan
The ''jin'', or ''kin'', in Taiwan is called "Taiwan jin" or ''Taijin'' (). The so-called Taijin is actually the ''jin'' used throughout China during the Qing Dynasty. In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. The Japanese implemented the metric system, but Taiwan continued to use the old weights and measures. When mainland China no longer used the old system of the Qing Dynasty, the old system of weights used in Taiwan naturally became the so-called "Taiwan system." 1 Taiwan ''jin'' is 600 grams, which is equal to 16 Taiwan ''liang'', and 1 Taiwan ''liang'' is equal to 37.5 grams.
Hong Kong and Macau
Hong Kong and Macau mass units
According to the original Hong Kong law, Article 22 of 1884, one ''jin'' is 1 and 1⁄3
British pound
Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...
s (that is, 3 jins is equal to 4 pounds). Currently, Hong Kong law stipulates that one ''jin'' is equal to one hundredth of a ''dan'' or sixteen ''liangs'', which is 0.604 789 82 kilograms. (0.604 789 82 kg divided by is 0.453 592 65 kg, the 1878 definition of the British Avoirdupois pound.)
Hong Kong troy units
These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver, defined around the British
troy weight
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 ...
system.
Malaysia and Singapore
Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony. The rounding is slightly different, as 0.604 79 kg.
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one ''jin'', or "catty", is also equal to 1 1⁄3 pounds, which is equal to sixteen ''liangs'' (or "taels") or 0.6048 kg.
Japan
In Japan, 1 ''jin'', or ''kin'' in Japanese pronunciation, is equal to 600 grams, but it is rarely used. The exception is the ''jin'' that is currently measured by the large piece of bread (food bread) before slicing the toast. According to the fair competition regulations of the Japanese Bread Fair Trade Council, a jin only needs to be more than 340 grams. Therefore, 510 grams can be called 1.5 jins.
Korea
The base unit of Korean weight is the ''gwan''. At the time of Korea's metrification, however, the Geun or Korean pound, was in more common use. It was usually taken as equivalent to 600g. The ''nyang'' also sees some use among Korea's vendors of
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 ...
.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the unit of ''jin'' is called "cân ta": 1 Sima jin (cân ta) = 0.6046 kilograms = 604.6 grams.
The following table lists common units of weight in Vietnam in the early 20th century:
Notes:
*The ''cân'' (lit. "scale") is also called ''cân ta'' ("our scale") to distinguish it from the
kilogram
The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand grams. It has the unit symbol kg. The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo- (m ...
(''cân tây'', "Western scale").
''Jin'', pound and kilogram
The three mass units of "jin", "pound" and "kilogram" are all currently used in China. Their meanings and conversions in Mainland China are as follows:
* (Chinese ''jin''; character-by-character translation: "market ''jin''"): Or simply called ''jin'', also called "Chinese pound", is a traditional Chinese unit of weight. In the "market unit" () adopted since 1930 in Mainland China, a ''jin'' equals 500 grams.
* (kilogram, literally "common ''jin''"): An international metric unit, equivalent to 1000 grams.
* (pound, "pound"): A British Imperial unit, about 453.6 grams.
1 Chinese ''jin'' = 0.5 kilograms = 1.1023 pounds in Mainland China.
Society and culture
Etymology
The word ''catty'' comes from Malay ''kati'', meaning 'the weight'. It has also been borrowed into English as '' caddy'', meaning a container for storing tea.
Sam-ho-chhi.jpg, Fruit sold in catties in a market in Sanchong,
New Taipei
New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...
, Taiwan.
Lin Hua Tai tea pricelist.jpg, Tea priced by the catty in Dadaocheng,
Taipei
, nickname = The City of Azaleas
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country ...
, Taiwan.
Hong kong weight standards 2.jpg, A spring scale in Hong Kong shows conversions between
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
Chinese units of measurement
Chinese units of measurement, known in Chinese as the ''shìzhì'' ("market system"), are the traditional units of measurement of the Han Chinese. Although Chinese numerals have been decimal (base-10) since the Shang dynasty, Shang, several Chine ...
*
Japanese units of measurement
Traditional Japanese units of measurement or the shakkanhō () is the customary units, traditional system of measurement used by the people of the Japanese archipelago. It is largely based on the Chinese units of measurement, Chinese system, whic ...
Taiwanese units of measurement
Taiwanese units of measurement (; Hakka: Thòi-chṳ) are the customary and traditional units of measure used in Taiwan. The Taiwanese units formed in the 1900s when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. The system mainly refers to Japanese system. T ...