Fen (mass)
Fen (Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn), called fan in Cantonese, hun in Taiwanese, phân in Vietnamese, or "candareen"[a] in English, is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East Asia. Nowaday, the mass of 1 fen equals 0.5 grams in mainland China,[2] 0.375 grams in Taiwan, [3] 0.37799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia,[4][5] [6] and 0.378 grams in Vietnam.[7]
Fen is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines. [2]
China Mainland
[edit]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 minor amendment. [8]
| Pinyin | Character[9] | 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 |
where 1 fen equals 0.5 grams (i.e., 500 mg) and 10 fens equals 1 qian. The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.[2]
Taiwan
[edit]The Taiwanese still followed their own habits and continued to use the old weights and measures of the Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan fen is equal to 0.375 grams (375 mg), or 1/10 Taiwan qian. [10]
| 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 | |
Hong Kong and Macau
[edit]Hong Kong and Macau mass units
[edit]In Hong Kong, one fen is equal to 1/10 qian, which is 0.3779936375 grams, or 377.9936375 mg.[4]
| 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 (mace, tsin) | 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 | picul (tam, dan) | pico | 100 | None | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one fen equals 0.37799 g. Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony as well.[5]
Hong Kong troy units
[edit]These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.
| 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 |
Vietnam
[edit]In Vietnam, the unit of fen is called "phân": 1 phân is equal to 0.38 grams or 10 ly by traditional value. [7]
| 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[13] | 302.25 kg | 5 tạ | 500 kg | obsolete | |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10 yến | 100 kg | 10 yến |
| bình[13] | 30.225 kg | 5 yến | 50 kg | obsolete | |
| yến | 6.045 kg | 10 cân | 10 kg | 10 cân | |
| cân | 斤 | 604.5 g | 16 lạng | 1 kg | 10 lạng |
| nén | 378 g | 10 lạng | |||
| lạng | 兩 | 37.8 g | 10 đồng | 100 g | |
| đồng or tiền | 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).
See also
[edit]- Chinese units of measurement
- Hong Kong units of measurement
- Taiwanese units of measurement
- Vietnamese units of measurement
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Oxford English Dictionary".
- ^ a b c d (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, pages 311 to 312
- ^ Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan Archived 2010-12-29 at the Wayback Machine from the Republic of China Yearbook – Taiwan 2001.
- ^ a b c "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
- ^ a b "Weights and Measures Act". Statutes of the Republic of Singapore.
- ^ "Weights and Measures Act 1972". Laws of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01.
- ^ a b "Vietnam, units of mass". Sizes. Sizes, Inc. 2005-12-28.
- ^ "国务院关于统一我国计量制度的命令 (Order of the State Council on unifying my country's measurement system)". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- ^ (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, page 316
- ^ Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Appendix A: Weights, Measures, and Exchange Rates". How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia University Press.
- ^ Law No. 14/92/M ((in Chinese) 第14/92/M號法律; (in Portuguese) Lei n.o 14/92/M)
- ^ Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
- ^ a b Manuel de conversation française-annamite [French-Annamite conversation manual] (in French). Saigon: Imprimerie de la Mission. 1911. pp. 175–178.