Li (short)

The li (simplified Chinese: 厘; traditional Chinese: 釐; pinyin: lí) in Mandarin, or lei in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese unit of length. One li equals 10 hao, 1/10 of a fen, 1/1000 of a chi, or 1/3 mm in China.[1][2]

Chinese length units promulgated in 1915

Table of Chinese length units promulgated in 1915[3]
Pinyin Character Relative value Metric value Imperial value Notes
háo 毫 1⁄10000 32 μm 0.00126 in
lí 釐 (T) or 厘 (S) 1⁄1000 0.32 mm 0.0126 in
fēn 分 1⁄100 3.2 mm 0.126 in
cùn 寸 1⁄10 32 mm 1.26 in Chinese inch
chǐ 尺 1 0.32 m 12.6 in Chinese foot
bù 步 5 1.6 m 5.2 ft Chinese pace
zhàng 丈 10 3.2 m 3.50 yd Chinese yard
yǐn 引 100 32 m 35.0 yd
lǐ 里 1800 576 m 630 yd Chinese mile, this li is not the small li above,
which has a different character and tone

Present law on Chinese length units

Chinese measurement law in 1929, effective 1 January 1930

This law of length measurement was issued by the Chinese government in 1929, and has been effective since 1 January 1930. The base unit chi is defined to be 1/3 meter.[4][5]

Table of Chinese length units effective since 1930[4]
Pinyin Character Relative value Metric value Imperial value Notes
háo 毫 1⁄10 000 33+1⁄3 μm 0.00131 in Chinese mil
lí 釐 (T) or 厘 (S) 1⁄1000 1⁄3 mm 0.0131 in Chinese calibre
fēn 市分 1⁄100 3+1⁄3 mm 0.1312 in Chinese line
cùn 市寸 1⁄10 3+1⁄3 cm 1.312 in Chinese inch
chǐ 市尺 1 33+1⁄3 cm 13.12 in Chinese foot
zhàng 市丈 10 3+1⁄3 m 3.645 yd Chinese yard
yǐn 引 100 33+1⁄3 m 36.45 yd Chinese chain
lǐ 市里 1500 500 m 546.8 yd Chinese mile, this li is not the small li above,
which has a different character and tone

Chinese length units in engineering

These units are based on the metric system. The Chinese word for metre is 米 mǐ, which can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "kilo-", "centi-", etc.). A kilometre, however, may also be called 公里 gōnglǐ, i.e. a metric lǐ. In the engineering field, traditional units are rounded up to metric units.[6][7]

Table of Chinese length units in engineering
Pinyin Character Relative value Metric value Imperial value Notes
hū 忽 1⁄1000000 1 μm Authorized name: 微米
sī 絲 (T) or 丝 (S) 1⁄100000 10 μm Authorized name: 忽米
háo 毫 1⁄10000 100 μm Authorized name: 絲米 (T) or 丝米 (S)
lí 釐 (T) or 厘 (S) 1⁄1000 1 mm Authorized name: 毫米
fēn 公分 1⁄100 10 mm Authorized name: 釐米(T) or 厘米(S)
cùn 公寸 1⁄10 100 mm Authorized name: 分米
chǐ 公尺 1 1 m Authorized name: 米
Zhàng 公丈 10 10 m Authorized name: 十米
yǐn 公引 100 100 m Authorized name: 百米
lǐ 公里 1000 1000 m this li is not the small li above,
which has a different character and tone

Compounds

See also

References

  1. ^ Language Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2020). 新华字典 （附录：计量单位简表）(Xinhua Dictionary (Appendix: Brief table of measurement units)) (in Chinese) (12th ed.). Beijing: The Commercial Press. p. 696. ISBN 978-7-100-17093-2.
  2. ^ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/釐
  3. ^ "權度法 [Quándù Fǎ]", 政府公報 [Zhèngfǔ Gōngbào, Government Gazette], vol. 957, Beijing: Office of the President, 7 January 1915, pp. 85–94. (in Chinese)
  4. ^ a b "The Weights and Measures Act (1929)". Legislative Yuan. Archived from the original on 2014-04-25.
  5. ^ Language Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2016). 現代漢語詞典 (Contemporary Chinese Dictionary) (in Chinese) (7th ed.). Beijing: Commercial Press. p. 1789. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8.
  6. ^ (in Chinese) 1981 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Archived 2012-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, No. 365 Archived 2014-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, page 575, Table 7: SI prefixes
  7. ^ "法定度量衡單位及前綴詞" (PDF). bsmi.gov.tw. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2024.
  8. ^ "《重編國語辭典修訂本》臺灣學術網路第六版 ("Revised Edition of the Chinese Dictionary" Taiwan Academic Network Sixth Edition)". 中華民國教育部 (Ministry of Education of the Republic of China).
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