Chinese units of measurement
Pinyin Character Relative value Metric value Imperial value Notes
sī 絲 ​ ⁄ 1 600 000 312.5 µg 0.000 011 02 oz centicash or Chinese decimillidram
háo 毫 ​ ⁄ 160 000 3.125 mg 0.000 1102 oz decicash or Chinese millidram
lí 市釐 ​ ⁄ 16 000 31.25 mg 0.001 102 oz cash or Chinese centidram
fēn 市分 ​ ⁄ 1600 312.5 mg 0.011 02 oz candareen or Chinese decidram
qián 市錢 ​ ⁄ 160 3.125 g 0.1102 oz mace or Chinese dram
liǎng 市兩 ​ ⁄ 16 31.25 g 1.102 oz tael or Chinese ounce
jīn 市斤 1 500 g 1.102 lb catty or Chinese pound
dàn 擔 100 50 kg 110.2 lb picul or Chinese hundredweight
Modern Chinese units -- Mass
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, several Chinese measures use hexadecimal (base-16). Local applications have varied, but the Chinese dynasties usually proclaimed standard measurements and recorded their predecessor's systems in their histories. In the present day, the People's Republic of China maintains some customary units based upon the market units but standardized to round values in the metric system, for example the common jin or catty of exactly 500g. The Chinese name for most metric units is based on that of the closest traditional unit; when confusion might arise, the word market (, shì) is used to specify the traditional unit and common or public (, gōng) is used for the metric value. Taiwan, like Korea, saw its traditional units standardized to Japanese values and their conversion to a metric basis, such as the Taiwanese ping of about 3.306m based on the square ken. The Hong Kong SAR continues to use its traditional units, now legally defined based on a local equation with metric units. For instance, the Hong Kong catty is precisely . Note: The names lí () and fēn () for small units are the same for length, area, and mass; however, they refer to different kinds of measurements.