jin (mass)

In ancient China, there was an official post called "Sima" ({{zhi|t=司馬}}) 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" ({{zhi|t=司馬斤}}), "Sima Liang", etc., and the measuring tools were called "Sima Scales" ({{zhi|t=司馬秤}}). 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"{{efn|Idiom, 半斤八兩, (chiefly derogatory) six of one, half a dozen of the other; not much to choose between the two}}https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/半斤八兩 comes from.{{cite web |title=司马 (Sima) |url=http://xh.5156edu.com/html3/5371.html |publisher=在线新华字典 (Xinhua Dictionary on Line) |language=Chinese }}{{cite book |editor=黄文照，张云然编 (Huang Wenzhao and Zhang Yuenran. |title=中外计量换算手册[M] (Handbook of conversion between measurement units in China and abroad). |place=Beijing |publisher=Commercial Press |year=2007|language=Chinese}}

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.{{cite book |title=唐字音英語 (Chinese chareacter pronunciation in English) |author=莫文暢 (Mo Wenchang) |time=Early 20th century |language=zh}}

Before the Qing Dynasty, 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.

On 7 January 1915, the Beiyang government 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 definitions ({{lang|zh|营造尺库平制}}).{{citation |contribution-url=http://gaz.ncl.edu.tw/eng/detail.jsp?sysid=D1500002 |contribution=權度法 [Quándù Fǎ] |title=政府公報 [Zhèngfǔ Gōngbào, Government Gazette] |location=Beijing |volume=957 |publisher=Office of the President |date=7 January 1915 |pages=85–94 }} {{in lang|zh}}{{cite web |title=World weights and measures; handbook for statisticians |editor=the Statistical Office of the United Nations in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015030989050&seq=86 |page=48}}

where liang is the base unit.

{{Infobox Chinese

|title =Market-unit system

|pic=Classicchineseinstrumentscale.jpg |piccap=A traditional Chinese scale

|c={{linktext|市制}} |p=shìzhì |w=shih-chih |l={{nowrap|market system}}

|c2=市用制 |p2=shìyòngzhì |w2=shih-yung-chih |l2={{nowrap|market-use system}}

}}

On 16 February 1929, the Nationalist government adopted and promulgated The Weights and Measures Act{{Cite web |url=http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/LawClass/LawHistory.aspx?PCode=J0100052 |title=The Weights and Measures Act: Legislative History |publisher=Ministry of Justice (Republic of China)}} to adopt the metric system 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.{{Cite web|url=http://lis.ly.gov.tw/lghtml/lawstat/version2/01926/0192618020200.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425025351/http://lis.ly.gov.tw/lghtml/lawstat/version2/01926/0192618020200.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-04-25 |title=The Weights and Measures Act (1929) |publisher=Legislative Yuan }}

On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China 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."{{cite web |language=zh |url=https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/shuju/1959/gwyb195916.pdf |date=1959 |title=国务院关于统一我国计量制度的命令 （Order of the State Council on unifying the national measurement system, No. 180 ）|author=the State Council of the People's Republic of China |pages=311–312}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20101206082614/http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2005-01/10/content_2440001.htm 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.

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.{{cite web |last1=ZHENG |first1=Ying |last2=CHEN |first2=Ang |last3=LIU |first3=Haipeng |title=以北京为例简述上世纪 70 年代中医处方用药计量单位改革情形 |url=https://www.weighment.com/discourse/paper2022/221201.pdf |website=weighment.com |language=zh |trans-title=Taking Beijing as an example, a brief description of the reform of TCM prescription measurement units in the 1970s}}

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.{{cite web |title=古今中药计量换算 |url=http://www.zhongguoyaoye023.com/news/detail/id/221 |website=中国药业官方网站 |language=en}}

Image:Sam-ho-chhi.jpg

The jin, or kin, in Taiwan is called "Taiwan jin" or Taijin ({{zhi|台斤}}). 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.{{cite book|author1-link=Tonio Andrade |last=Andrade |first=Tonio |year=2005 |title=How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century |url=http://www.gutenberg-e.org/andrade/ |publisher=Columbia University Press |chapter=Appendix A: Weights, Measures, and Exchange Rates |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg-e.org/andrade/appA.html }}

According to the original Hong Kong law, Article 22 of 1884, one jin is 1 and 1⁄3 British pounds (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 {{frac|4|3}} is 0.453 592 65 kg, the 1878 definition of the British Avoirdupois pound.)

These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver, defined around the British troy weight system.

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.

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.pan-koutorikyo.jp/display.html|access-date=2018-08-17|website=www.pan-koutorikyo.jp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101025003/https://www.pan-koutorikyo.jp/display.html|archive-date=2020-11-01|script-title=ja:日本パン公正取引協議会：包装食パンの斤表示の義務化 (Japan Bread Fair Trade Council: Labeling of loaf size on packaged bread mandatory) |language=Japanese}}

The base unit of Korean weight is the gwan.{{citation |last=Kim |first=Jun Hee |contribution=Taking Measure |title=Invest Korea Journal |volume=25 |date=March 2007 |location=Seoul |publisher=Korea Trade–Investment Promotion Agency }} 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 600{{nbsp}}g.{{citation |ref={{harvid|HMC|22 July 2007}} |title=The Hankyoreh |url = http://english.hani.co.kr/ |contribution-url = http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/224122.html |contribution=S. Korea Determined to Introduce Metric System |date=22 July 2007 |publisher=The Hankyoreh Media Co |location=Seoul }} The nyang also sees some use among Korea's vendors of traditional Chinese medicine.{{citation |last=B. |first=Paul |title=An Acorn in the Dog's Food |contribution=Measurements |contribution-url=http://samedi.livejournal.com/369252.html |url=http://samedi.livejournal.com/ |publisher=LiveJournal |date=21 February 2011 }}.

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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:{{cite web|title=Vietnam, units of mass|work=Sizes|publisher=Sizes, Inc|date=2005-12-28|url=http://www.sizes.com/units/charts/UTBLVietnam_wts.htm}}

Notes:

• The cân (lit. "scale") is also called cân ta ("our scale") to distinguish it from the kilogram (cân tây, "Western scale").{{cite web|title=binh|work=Sizes|publisher=Sizes, Inc|date=2004-01-23|url=http://www.sizes.com/units/binh.htm}}

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:{{Cite book |last=Language Institute |first=Chinese Academy of Social Sciences |script-title= zh:现代汉语词典 (附錄：計量單位表) | trans-title= Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (Appendix: Measure units) |publisher=Commercial Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-7-100-12450-8 |edition=7th |location=Beijing |language=zh|page=1790}}

• {{zhi|市斤}} (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" ({{lang|zh|市制}}) adopted since 1930 in Mainland China, a jin equals 500 grams.
• {{zhi|公斤}} (kilogram, literally "common jin"): An international metric unit, equivalent to 1000 grams.
• {{zhi|磅}} (pound, "pound"): A British Imperial unit, about 453.6 grams.

1 Chinese jin = 0.5 kilograms = 1.1023 pounds in Mainland China.

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.

• wikt:幾斤幾兩 (jǐjīnjǐliǎng)
• wikt:半斤八兩 (bànjīnbāliǎng)
• wikt:缺斤少兩 (quējīnshǎoliǎng)
• wikt:斤斤計較 (jīnjīnjìjiào)

Sam-ho-chhi.jpg|Fruit sold in catties in a market in Sanchong, New Taipei, Taiwan.

Lin Hua Tai tea pricelist.jpg|Tea priced by the catty in Dadaocheng, Taipei, Taiwan.

Hong kong weight standards 2.jpg|A spring scale in Hong Kong shows conversions between metric system (in red), traditional Chinese unit (in green) and British Imperial Units (in blue).

• Chinese units of measurement
• Japanese units of measurement
• Korean units of measurement
• Taiwanese units of measurement
• Vietnamese units of measurement

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From Chinese Wikipedia:

• 中國度量衡#衡 (Chinese mass mesaures)
• 市制 (market system)
• 斤 (jin)

Category:Units of mass

Category:Chinese units of measurement

Category:Customary units of measurement

Category:Chinese units in Hong Kong