Liang (mass)
Traditional Chinese unit for weight
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Through Metric system, China and Singapore
Modern standards for the liang include 1/10 jin (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 traditional markets, and is a well-known measure for gold, silver and Chinese medicines.
Mainland China
Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915
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 (营造尺库平制).
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 adopted and promulgated The Weights and Measures Act 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.
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 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 equal 1 jin (that is, 1 liang equals 50 grams). The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.
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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. 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
The liang is a legal weight measure in Hong Kong, and is still in active use. One liang is 37.799364167 g, and in Ordinance 22 of 1884 is 1+1⁄3 oz. avoir. Similar to Hong Kong, in Singapore, one tael is defined as 1+1⁄3 ounce and is approximated as 37.7994 g. In Hong Kong and Singapore, one liang is equivalent to 10 qian (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián) or 1⁄16 jin,. These Chinese units of measurement are usually used in Chinese herbal medicine stores as well as gold and silver exchange.
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one jin is also equal to sixteen liangs or 0.6048 kilograms, and one liang equals 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". In the time of French Indochina, the colonial administration fixed the (lạng) as 100 g, which is commonly used at food markets where many items typically weigh in the 100–900 g range. However, a different lang (called cây, lạng, or lượng) unit of 37.5 g is used for domestic transactions in gold. Real estate prices are often quoted in liangs of gold rather than the local currency over concerns over monetary inflation.
For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see article Jin (mass).
Compounds
- wikt:幾斤幾兩 (jǐjīnjǐliǎng)
- wikt:半斤八兩 (bànjīnbāliǎng)
- wikt:缺斤少兩 (quējīnshǎoliǎng)
- wikt:銀兩 (yínliǎng)
Name of Tael
The English word tael comes through Portuguese from the Malay word tahil, meaning "weight". Early English forms of the name such as "tay" or "taes" derive from the Portuguese plural of tael, taeis. Tahil ( in Singaporean English) is used in Malay and English today when referring to the weight in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, where it is still used in some contexts especially related to the significant Overseas Chinese population.