1 Weights
Note:
The terms catty, tael, and mace, derived from the Malay kati, tahil, and mas, respectively, were popularly used in earlier English works. The equivalent Chinese units of measurement for them were jin 斤, liang 兩, and qian 錢, respectively.
For consistency, I use the Chinese units as documented in the official sources, but also provide in brackets the amounts in the standard kilogram or gram for small weights, and in metric ton for large mass. But for brevity, I use “ton” to refer to “metric ton” throughout my text. The unit metric ton should be distinguished from two other confusing units used in different regions, namely, long ton (1,016 kg = 2,240 pounds) and short ton (907.2 kg = 2,000 pounds).
The Chinese term dan 擔, often translated as picul when being used at customs, was in essence a unit for measuring capacity. The actual weight of each dan or picul of goods varied. For zinc export, one dan or picul of zinc was equivalent to 100 jin.
2 Measures
For brevity, I use “m” to refer to “meter” throughout my text.
3 Currency
In early Qing China, almost all taxes were paid by weights of unminted silver. On occasion, payment in kind or brass coins was allowed. Brass coins were used primarily for everyday transactions.
The unit liang 兩 (one ounce of silver) was used for measuring silver ingots (yinliang 銀兩). One liang was equal to 10 qian 錢, and 100 fen 分. As mentioned above, the term tael was used particularly as the trade name for the Chinese ounce of silver. Depending on the purity of the silver ingots, the actual weight of one liang varied. According to the Treasury Weight Standard (kupingyin 庫平銀) used by the central government for tax collection, for example, one tael weighed about 37.3 grams.
The official exchange rate of brass coin to silver was considered as 1,000 wen 文 to 1 tael. However, the actual exchange rate on the market often varied in regions and over time.
1 liang 兩 (tael) = 10 qian 錢 = 100 fen 分 = 1000 li 釐