Sheng (volume)
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The Chinese sheng (Chinese: 升; pinyin: shēng), called sho in Japan and seung in Korea, also called Chinese liter, is a traditional unit of volume in East Asia. It originated from China and later spread to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Vietnam and other places.[1] One sheng equals 10 ge or 1/10 dou, though its specific capacity has varied by times and regions. Nowadays, 1 sheng is 1 liter in China,[2][3] 1.8039 liters in Japan[4] and 1.8 liters in Korea.[5]
Sheng is a traditional measure for cereal grains. Now, like "liter", sheng is more often used to measure liquid or gas.[6] [7]
Ancient systems
[edit]
As a unit of volume, sheng appeared in the Warring States Period (c. 475 to 221 BC) of China and has remained in use ever since. [7] [8]
| Dynasty | Unit converion | Metric conversion (milliliters ml) |
|---|---|---|
| Warring States Period (戰國) | Qi (齊)：1 zhong (鍾)＝10 fu (釜)；1釜＝4 qu (區)；1區＝4 dou (豆)；1豆＝4 sheng (升) Chu (楚)：1 shao (筲)＝5升 Qin (秦)、Three Qin (三晉)（Han 韓、Zhao 趙、Wei 魏）：1 hu (斛)＝10 dou (斗)；1斗＝10升 |
|
| Qin (秦) | 1 hu (斛)＝10 dou (斗)；1 斗＝10 sheng (升) | 1斛＝20000ml；1斗＝2000ml；1升＝200ml；Shang Yang’s Reform (商鞅变法) 1 cubic sheng (方升)＝201ml |
| Han (漢) | 1 hu (斛)＝10 dou (斗)；1 斗＝10 sheng (升)；1 升＝10 ge (合)；1合＝2 lun (龠)；1龠＝5 cuo (撮)；1撮＝4 gui (圭) | 1斛＝20000；1斗＝2000；1升＝200；1合＝20；1龠＝10；1撮＝2；1圭＝0.5 |
| Three Kingdoms (三國) and Jin (兩晉) | 1 hu (斛)＝10 dou (斗)；1斗＝10 sheng (升)；1升＝10 ge (合) | 1斛＝20450；1斗＝2045；1升＝204.5；1合＝20.45 |
| Northern and Southern Dynasties (南北朝) | 1斛＝10斗；1斗＝10升；1升＝10合 | 1斛＝30000；1斗＝3000；1升＝300；1合＝30 |
| Sui (隋) | 1斛＝10斗；1斗＝10升；1升＝10合 | Kaihuang (開皇)：1斛＝60000；1斗＝6000；1升＝600；1合＝60
Daye (大業)：1斛＝20000；1斗＝2000；1升＝200；1合＝20 |
| Tang (唐) | 1斛＝10斗；1斗＝10升；1升＝10合 | big (大)：1斛＝60000；1斗＝6000；1升＝600；1合＝60
small (小)：1斛＝20000；1斗＝2000；1升＝200；1合＝20 |
| Song (宋) | 1 dan (石)＝2 hu (斛)；1斛＝5 dou (斗)；1斗＝10 sheng (升)；1升＝10 (合) | 1石＝67000；1斛＝33500；1斗＝6700；1升＝670；1合＝67 |
| Yuan (元) | 1石＝2斛；1斛＝5斗；1斗＝10升；1升＝10合 | 1石＝95000；1斛＝47500；1斗＝9500；1升＝950；1合＝95 |
| Ming (明) & Qing (清) | 1石＝2斛；1斛＝5斗；1斗＝10升；1升＝10合 | 1石＝100000；1斛＝50000；1斗＝10000；1升＝1000；1合＝100 |
Sheng and the other units of volume were usually used to measure cereal grains in ancient China.[6]
Modern systems
[edit]China
[edit]Sheng is the basic unit in the volume system promulgated by the Chinese government in 1915. One sheng (升) equals 1.0354688 liters. [10]
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | US value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sháo | 勺 | 1⁄100 | 10.354688 mL | 0.3501 fl oz | 0.3644 fl oz | |
| gě | 合 | 1⁄10 | 103.54688 mL | 3.501 fl oz | 3.644 fl oz | |
| shēng | 升 | 1 | 1.0354688 L | 2.188 pt | 1.822 pt | |
| dǒu | 斗 | 10 | 10.354688 L | 2.735 gal | 2.278 gal | |
| hú | 斛 | 50 | 51.77344 L | 13.68 gal | 11.39 gal | |
| dàn | 石 | 100 | 103.54688 L | 27.35 gal | 22.78 gal |
The following table is based on the "Weights and Measures Acts" of the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), which came into effect on January 1, 1930. The Chinese volume units listed in the "Chinese Name Plan for Unified Metric Units of Measurement" of the People's Republic of China in 1959 are Chinese dan, dou, sheng, and ge. The basic unit remains sheng, and one sheng is equal to one liter. The Chinese sheng is also called "市升" ("market sheng" or "market liter") to distinguish from the Chinese translation of "liter", which is called "公升", ("common sheng" or "common liter"). [2][11]
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | US value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cuō | 撮 | 1⁄1000 | 1 mL | 0.0338 fl oz | 0.0352 fl oz | millilitre |
| sháo | 勺 | 1⁄100 | 10 mL | 0.3381 fl oz | 0.3520 fl oz | centilitre |
| gě | 合 | 1⁄10 | 100 mL | 3.381 fl oz | 3.520 fl oz | decilitre |
| shēng | 市升 | 1 | 1 L | 2.113 pt | 1.760 pt | litre |
| dǒu | 市斗 | 10 | 10 L | 21.13 pt 2.64 gal |
17.60 pt 2.20 gal |
decalitre |
| dàn | 市石 | 100 | 100 L | 26.41 gal | 22.0 gal | hectolitre |
Nowadays, like the unit of "liter", sheng is more often used to measure liquid or gas.[7]
Japan
[edit]The base unit of volume in Japan is shō (升), i.e., the Japanese sheng. One sho equals 1.804 liters. Sake and shochu are both commonly sold in large 1800 mL bottles known as isshōbin (一升瓶), literally "one shō bottle".[12]
| Unit | Shō | Metric | US | Imperial | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Kanji | Exact | Approx. | Exact | Approx. | Exact | Approx. | |||||
| Sai | 才 | 1⁄1000 | 2401/1,331,000 L | 1.804 mL | 37,515,625/15,900,351,812,136 cu yd | 29.28 min | 240,100/605,084,579 gal | 30.47 min | ||||
| 0.1101 cu in | ||||||||||||
| Shaku | 勺 | 1⁄100 | 2401/133,100 L | 18.04 mL | 187,578,125/7,950,175,906,068 cu yd | 0.6100 fl oz | 2,401,000/605,084,579 gal | 0.6349 fl oz | ||||
| 1.101 cu in | ||||||||||||
| Gō | 合 | 1⁄10 | 2401/13,310 L | 180.4 mL | 937,890,625/3,975,087,953,034 cu yd | 0.3812 pt | 24,010,000/605,084,579 gal | 0.3174 pt | ||||
| 0.3276 dry pt | ||||||||||||
| Shō | 升 | 1 | 2401/1331 L | 1.804 L | 4,689,453,125/1,987,543,976,517 cu yd | 1.906 qt | 240,100,000/605,084,579 gal | 1.587 qt | ||||
| 1.638 dry qt | ||||||||||||
| To | 斗 | 10 | 24,010/1331 L | 18.04 L | 46,894,531,250/1,987,543,976,517 cu yd | 4.765 gal | 2,401,000,000/605,084,579 gal | 3.968 gal | ||||
| 2.048 pk | ||||||||||||
| Koku | 石 | 100 | 240,100/1331 L | 180.4 L | 468,945,312,500/1,987,543,976,517 cu yd | 47.65 gal | 24,010,000,000/605,084,579 gal | 39.680 gal | ||||
| 5.119 bu | ||||||||||||
Notes:
| ||||||||||||
Korea
[edit]The base unit of Korean volume is the doi, equal to the Korean sheng (seung, 승(升)).[14]
| Romanization | Korean | English | Equivalents | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR | MR[17] | Other | Doe[18] | Other countries | Global | ||
| Jak | Chak | 작(勺) | 1⁄100 | 18 mL (0.63 imp fl oz; 0.61 US fl oz) | |||
| Hop | Hop | 홉 | 1⁄10 | Ge | 180 mL (6.3 imp fl oz; 6.1 US fl oz)[a][18] | ||
| Doe | Toe | Doi[18] Dwe[5] |
되 | Korean Peck[19] | 1 | 1.8 L (0.40 imp gal; 0.48 US gal)[b][18] | |
| Seung | Sŭng | 승(升) | |||||
| Mal | Mal | 말 | Korean Bushel | 10 | 18 L (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 US gal)[c][18] | ||
| Du | Tu | 두(斗) | |||||
| Seom | Sŏm | 섬 | Korean Picul[19] | 100 | Picul | 180 L (40 imp gal; 48 US gal)[d][18] | |
| Seok | Sŏk | Suk[18] | 석(石) | ||||
| Jeom | Chŏm | 점(苫) | |||||
| Sogok | Sogok | 소곡(小斛) | 150 | 270 L (59 imp gal; 71 US gal) | |||
| Pyeongseok | P'yŏngsŏk | 평석(平石) | |||||
| Daegok | Taegok | 대곡(大斛) | 200 | 360 L (79 imp gal; 95 US gal) | |||
| Jeonseok | Chŏnsŏk | 전석(全石) | |||||
Sheng and Liter
[edit]The English "liter" is also called sheng (升) in China. In the cases where distinguishing is needed, word "liter" is translated into 公升 ("common sheng", or "common liter"), and the traditional Chinese sheng is called 市升 ("market sheng", or "market liter"), because it is more frequently used in the market.[10] [3] The shengs can also be distinguished by the regions they were defined, such as the "Chinese sheng", "Japanese shō", "Korean seung", "British liter", etc.
In China, one sheng is equal to one liter. Since the two units are of the same size, they are both called sheng in Chinese or "liter" in English for short when distinction is not necessary. In addition, the Chinese standard SI prefixes may be added to 升 (shēng) to form more units, such as 分升(fensheng, deciliter, dl), 厘升 (lisheng, centiliter, cl), 毫升 (haosheng, milliliter, cl). [11] [3]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "升 (Sheng in China, sho in Japan and seung in Korea)". 27 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "The Weights and Measures Act (1929)" (in Chinese). Legislative Yuan. Archived from the original on 2014-04-25.
- ^ a b c Language Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2016). 现代汉语词典 (附錄：計量單位表) [Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (Appendix: Measure units)] (in Chinese) (7th ed.). Beijing: Commercial Press. p. 1790. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8.
- ^ a b Iwata, Shigeo. "Weights and Measures in Japan"
- ^ a b Kim (2007).
- ^ a b Language Institute 2016, p. 1165.
- ^ a b c "Cambridge Dictionary".
- ^ a b "中國度量衡".
- ^ "shēng [Chinese 升]". Sizes.
- ^ a b c "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[permanent dead link]. (in Chinese)
- ^ a b c (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, page 317
- ^ "Isshobin | 一升瓶". UrbanSake.com.
- ^ World Weights and Measures: Handbook for Statisticians, ST/STAT/SER. M/21, UN Publication No. 1955.XVII.2, New York, NY: Statistical Office of the United Nations, 1955
- ^ Kim, Jun Hee (March 2007), "Taking Measure", Invest Korea Journal, vol. 25, Seoul: Korea Trade–Investment Promotion Agency
- ^ Fessley, Susanna (2009), "Weights and Measures in East Asian Studies" (PDF), Albany: State University of New York
- ^ "Glossary of Korean History", Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, Seoul: National Institute of Korean History, 2017
- ^ a b Fessley (2009), p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h UN (1955), III-59.
- ^ a b NIKH (2017).