Liang ( zh, s=两 , t=兩 , p=liǎng), or ''leung'' in Cantonese, also called "Chinese ounce" or "

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

''jin'' or 50 grams in mainland China, 37.5 grams in Taiwan, Korea and Thailand, 37.799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and 37.8 grams in Vietnam. ''Liang'' is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines.
No. 180
pages 311 to 312

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 equal to 37.301 grams.

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. where one ''liang'' is equal to 1/16 of a ''jin'', or 31.25 grams.

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 measure 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." Legally, 1 ''jin'' equals 500 grams, and 10 ''liangs'' equals 1 ''jin'' (that is, 1 ''liang'' equals 50 grams). The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.

Taiwan

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 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 ...

. 1 Taiwan ''liang'' is equal to 37.5 grams, or 1/16 Taiwan ''jin''. where ''liang'' is the base unit.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau mass units

Currently, Hong Kong law stipulates that one ''liang'' is equal to 1/16 ''jin'', which is 37.79936375 grams. Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one ''jin'' is also equal to sixteen ''liangs'' or 0.6048 kilograms, and one ''liang'' equals to 37.799 g. Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony.

Hong Kong troy units

These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.

Korea

The base unit of Korean weight is the ''gwan''.* One ''liang'' (兩, Korean ounce) is 1/100 of a ''gwan'', or 37.5 g (1.32 oz).

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the unit of ''liang'' is called "lang": 1 ''lang'' is equal to 37.8 grams by traditional value, and 100 grams by modern value. For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see article

Jin (mass) The jin () or catty (from Malay ''kati'') is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries. Related units include the picul (dan/shi), equal to 100 catties, and the tael (l ...

Compounds

* wikt:幾斤幾兩 (jǐjīnjǐliǎng) * wikt:半斤八兩 (bànjīnbāliǎng) * wikt:缺斤少兩 (quējīnshǎoliǎng) * wikt:銀兩 (yínliǎng)

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

* 中國度量衡#衡 (in Chinese) * 市制 (in Chinese) * 兩 (in Chinese) Units of mass Chinese units of measurement Customary units of measurement