Liang (mass)

This article is about the unit of mass. For the unit of currency defined as one liang of silver, see Liang (currency).

"Tael" redirects here. For the Estonian dancer and dance pedagogue, see Ants Tael.

Liang (simplified Chinese: 两; traditional Chinese: 兩; pinyin: liǎng), or leung in Cantonese, also called "Chinese ounce" or "tael",^[a] is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East and Southeast Asia. Nowaday, the mass of 1 liang equals 1/10 jin or 50 grams in mainland China,^[2] 37.5 grams in Taiwan, Korea and Thailand,^[3][4] 37.799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia,^[5][6][7] and 37.8 grams in Vietnam.^[8]

A spring scale in Hong Kong shows conversions between metric system (in red), traditional Chinese unit (in green) and British Imperial Units (in blue)

Liang is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines.^[2][4]

China Mainland

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).^[9]

Table of Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915^[9]

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
háo	毫	1⁄10000	3.7301 mg	0.0001316 oz
lí	釐	1⁄1000	37.301 mg	0.001316 oz	cash
fēn	分	1⁄100	373.01 mg	0.01316 oz	candareen
qián	錢	1⁄10	3.7301 g	0.1316 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng	兩	1	37.301 g	1.316 oz	tael or Chinese ounce
jīn	斤	16	596.816 g	1.316 lb	catty or Chinese pound

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^[10] 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.^[11]

Table of mass units in the Republic of China since 1930^[11]

Pinyin	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
sī	絲	1⁄1600000	312.5 μg	0.00001102 oz
háo	毫	1⁄160000	3.125 mg	0.0001102 oz
lí	市釐	1⁄16000	31.25 mg	0.001102 oz	cash
fēn	市分	1⁄1600	312.5 mg	0.01102 oz	candareen
qián	市錢	1⁄160	3.125 g	0.1102 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng	市兩	1⁄16	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

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."^[12]

Table of mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959^[2]

Pinyin	Character[13]	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
lí	市厘	1⁄10000	50 mg	0.001764 oz	cash
fēn	市分	1⁄1000	500 mg	0.01764 oz	candareen
qián	市錢	1⁄100	5 g	0.1764 oz	mace or Chinese dram
liǎng	市兩	1⁄10	50 g	1.764 oz	tael or Chinese ounce
jīn	市斤	1	500 g	1.102 lb	catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin
dàn	市擔	100	50 kg	110.2 lb	picul or Chinese hundredweight

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.^[2]

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.^[14]

Table of units of mass in Taiwan

Unit				Relative value	Metric		US & Imperial		Notes
Taiwanese Hokkien	Hakka	Mandarin	Character		Legal	Decimal	Exact	Approx.
Lî	Lî	Lí	釐	1⁄1000	⁠3/80,000⁠ kg	37.5 mg	⁠3750/45,359,237⁠ lb	0.5787 gr	Cash; Same as Japanese Rin
Hun	Fûn	Fēn	分	1⁄100	⁠3/8000⁠ kg	375 mg	⁠37,500/45,359,237⁠ lb	5.787 gr	Candareen; Same as Japanese Fun
Chîⁿ	Chhièn	Qián	錢	1⁄10	⁠3/800⁠ kg	3.75 g	⁠375,000/45,359,237⁠ lb	2.116 dr	Mace; Same as Japanese Momme (匁)
Niú	Liông	Liǎng	兩	1	⁠3/80⁠ kg	37.5 g	⁠3,750,000/45,359,237⁠ lb	21.16 dr	Tael
Kin/Kun	Kîn	Jīn	斤	16	⁠3/5⁠ kg	600 g	⁠60,000,000/45,359,237⁠ lb	1.323 lb	Catty; Same as Japanese Kin
Tàⁿ	Tâm	Dàn	擔	1600	60 kg		⁠6,000,000,000/45,359,237⁠ lb	132.3 lb	Picul; Same as Japanese Tan

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,^[5] 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.^[6] In Hong Kong and Singapore, one liang is equivalent to 10 qian (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián) or 1⁄16 jin,^[5][6]. These Chinese units of measurement are usually used in Chinese herbal medicine stores as well as gold and silver exchange.

Table of Chinese mass units in Hong Kong^[5] and Macau^[15]

Jyutping	Character	English	Portuguese	Relative value	Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau)	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
lei4	厘	li (cash)	liz	1⁄16000	1⁄10 condorim	37.79931 mg	0.02133 dr
fan1	分	fen (fan, candareen)	condorim	1⁄1600	1⁄10 maz	377.9936375 mg	0.2133 dr
cin4	錢	qian (tsin, mace)	maz	1⁄160	1⁄10 tael	3.779936375 g	2.1333 dr
loeng2	兩	liang (leung, tael)	tael	1⁄16	1⁄16 cate	37.79936375 g	1.3333 oz	604.78982/16=37.79936375
gan1	斤	jin (gan, catty)	cate	1	1⁄100 pico	604.78982 g	1.3333 lb	Hong Kong and Macau share the definition.
daam3	擔	dan (tam, picul)	pico	100	None	60.478982 kg	133.3333 lb	Hong Kong and Macau share the definition.

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.^[6] 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.

Table of mass (Hong Kong troy) units^[16]

English	Character	Relative value	Metric value	Imperial value	Notes
fen (candareen) troy	金衡分	1⁄100	374.29 mg	0.096 drt
qian (mace) troy	金衡錢	1⁄10	3.7429 g	0.96 drt
liang (tael) troy	金衡兩	1	37.429 g	1.2 ozt

Korea

The base unit of Korean weight is the gwan.^[17] One liang (兩, Korean ounce) is 1/100 of a gwan, or 37.5 g (1.32 oz).

Table of mass units in Korea

Romanization			Korean	English	Equivalents
RR	MR	Other			Gwan	Other countries	Global
Ho	Ho		호(毫)		1⁄1,000,000		3.75 mg (0.0579 gr)
Mo	Mo		모(毛)
Ri	Ri		리(釐/厘)	li	1⁄100,000		0.0375 g (0.00132 oz)
Pun	P'un		푼	fen	1⁄10,000		0.375 g (0.0132 oz)
Bun	Pun		분(分)
Don	Ton		돈		1⁄1,000	Momme	3.75 g (0.132 oz)
Nyang	Nyang	Ryang[18] Yang[19]	냥(兩)	liang (Korean ounce)	1⁄100	Tael	37.5 g (1.32 oz)[19]
Geun	Kŭn	Keun[19] Kon[20]	근(斤)	jin (Korean pound)	4⁄25 (meat), 1⁄10 (others)	Jin, Catty[20]	600 g (21 oz) (meat),[19]375 g (13.2 oz) (others)
Gwan	Kwan		관(貫)		1		3.75 kg (8.3 lb)[19]

Vietnam

Gold lạng (Tael) of Tự Đức.

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.^[8][21]

Early 20th-century units of weight

Name in Chữ Quốc ngữ	Hán/Nôm name	Traditional value	Traditional conversion	Modern value	Modern conversion
tấn	擯	604.5 kg	10 tạ	1 000 kg	10 tạ
quân[22]		302.25 kg	5 tạ	500 kg	obsolete
tạ	榭	60.45 kg	10 yến	100 kg	10 yến
bình[22]		30.225 kg	5 yến	50 kg	obsolete
yến		6.045 kg	10 cân	10 kg	10 cân
cân (jin)	斤	604.5 g	16 lạng	1 kg	10 lạng
nén		378 g	10 lạng
lạng (liang)	兩	37.8 g	10 đồng	100 g
đồng or tiền (qian)	錢	3.78 g	10 phân
phân	分	0.38 g	10 ly
ly or li	厘	37.8 mg	10 hào
hào	毫	3.8 mg	10 ti
ti	絲	0.4 mg	10 hốt
hốt	忽	0.04 mg	10 vi
vi	微	0.004 mg

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 (/ˈtɑːhɪl/ in Singaporean English)^[23] 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.

See also

• Liang (currency)
• Chinese units of measurement
• Hong Kong units of measurement
• Taiwanese units of measurement
• Korean units of measurement
• Vietnamese units of measurement

Notes

1. "tael" is a borrowing from the Portuguese translation of Chinese measure unit word "兩", before Pinyin and Jyutping Romanizations were available.^[1]