The ''ge'' () is a traditional

Chinese unit 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 ...

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

equal to '' sheng''. Its Korean equivalent is the ''hop'' (or ''hob'') and its Japanese equivalent is the ''gō''.

China

The ''ge'' is a traditional Chinese unit of volume equal to 10''

shao Shao (; HKG Romanisation: Shiu; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Shaw) is a common Chinese family name. It is the 86th most populous family name in China. It corresponds to last name So in Korean; Thiệu or Thiều in Vietnamese; Zau in Wu Chinese/Shanghaines ...

'' or '' sheng''. Its exact value has varied over time with the size of the ''sheng''. In 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 ...

set the ''ge'' as equivalent to .. 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 ...

's 1929 Weights and Measures Act, effective 1 January 1930, set it equal to the

deciliter The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic ...

or 0.182 dry pt).. 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 ...

confirmed that value in 1959, although it made the official Chinese name of the deciliter the ''fēnshēng'' and exempted TCM pharmacists from punishment for noncompliance with the new measure when traditional amounts were required for preparing medicine..

Korea

The ''hop'' is a traditional Korean unit based on the ''ge'' which is equal to '' doe'' (SK) or ''toe'' (NK). Its exact value has varied over time with the size of the ''doe''. During its occupation, Korea's native measures were standardized to their Japanese equivalents. The present-day ''hop'' is

litre The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter ( American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A ...

s (6.1 floz or 0.328 dry pt), the same as the Japanese ''gō''. Its use for commercial purposes has been criminalized in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, although it continues to be used in the North.

Japan

Volume

The ''gō'' or cup is a

traditional Japanese unit Traditional Japanese units of measurement or the shakkanhō () is the traditional system of measurement used by the people of the Japanese archipelago. It is largely based on the Chinese system, which spread to Japan and the rest of the Sinosphe ...

based on the ''ge'' which is equal to or . It was officially equated with liters in 1891. The ''gō'' is the traditional amount used for a serving of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and a cup of

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

. Although the ''gō'' is no longer used as an official unit, 1-''gō'' measuring cups or their 180mL metric equivalents are often included with Japanese

rice cooker A rice cooker or rice steamer is an automated kitchen appliance designed to boil or steam rice. It consists of a heat source, a cooking bowl, and a thermostat. The thermostat measures the temperature of the cooking bowl and controls the heat. C ...

s. In dining, a 1-''gō'' serving is sometimes equated with 150g of Japanese short-grain rice. It also appears as a serving size for

fugu Fugu (; ; ) in Japanese language, Japanese, ''bogeo'' (; 鰒魚) or ''bok'' () in Korean language, Korean, and ''hétún'' () in Standard Modern Chinese refers to tetraodontidae, pufferfish, normally of the genus ''Takifugu'', ''Lagocephalus'', o ...

and other fish. Since

bottles are typically either 720 or 750mL, they can be reckoned as holding about four cups.

Area

The ''gō'' is also used as a unit equal to ''

tsubo A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area (mathematics), area and floorspace, equal to a square ''kan (unit), kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese units, Taiwanese and Japanese units ...

''. This is approximately equal to 0.3306 m².

Mountaineering

In Japanese

mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

terms, the distance from the foot of a mountain to the summit is divided into 10 ''gō'', and the points corresponding to these tenths of the route are generally referred to as "stations" in English.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ge, Unit Units of volume Sake Customary units of measurement