Ancient Chinese unit converter
Convert Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing era units into metric — chi, cun, zhang, li, jin, liang, dan, sheng, dou, mu and qing — with the mu derived from each dynasty’s 240-square-bu standard.
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Conversion
Same-dimension units for the chosen dynasty, plus a cross-dynasty table.
Enter a value to convert
Dynasties: 0
What this tool does
- Decode historical measures such as “eight chi tall” or “ten jin of gold” — a Han chi is 23.1 cm.
- Convert chi, jin and sheng across dynasties for heritage and architectural restoration work.
- See why the mu changed over time: a Han mu is about 461 m² and a Ming/Qing mu 614.4 m².
Example
Input
1
Output
清制 1 斤 = 0.596816 千克（1 斤 ≈ 0.596816 千克） 斤（清制） = 1 斤 两（清制） = 16 两 石（担）（清制） = 0.01 石（担） 折合现代单位（千克） = 0.596816 千克 1 汉斤 ≈ 0.25 千克 1 唐斤 ≈ 0.661 千克 1 宋斤 ≈ 0.625 千克 1 明斤 ≈ 0.5968 千克 1 清斤 ≈ 0.596816 千克 各朝常用值（1 尺 / 1 斤 / 1 升 / 1 亩 / 1 里）： 汉：尺 0.231 m · 斤 0.25 kg · 升 0.2 L · 亩 461.03904 m² · 里 415.8 m 唐：尺 0.307 m · 斤 0.661 kg · 升 0.6 L · 亩 565.494 m² · 里 460.5 m 宋：尺 0.314 m · 斤 0.625 kg · 升 0.702 L · 亩 591.576 m² · 里 565.2 m 明：尺 0.32 m · 斤 0.5968 kg · 升 1.0737 L · 亩 614.4 m² · 里 576 m 清：尺 0.32 m · 斤 0.596816 kg · 升 1.0355 L · 亩 614.4 m² · 里 576 m 数据口径：吴承洛《中国度量衡史》、丘光明《中国历代度量衡考》的常用结论；亩按 240 平方步推算，汉以 6 尺为步、唐宋明清以 5 尺为步。各研究结论不一，属学术近似值。
A Han chi is 0.231 m (Wu Chengluo’s figures); the mu is derived as 240 square bu, with 6 chi per bu in the Han and 5 in Tang to Qing.
Frequently asked questions
Where do these numbers come from?
From the widely cited conclusions in Wu Chengluo’s History of Chinese Metrology (1937) and Qiu Guangming’s Study of Weights and Measures Through the Dynasties (1992). They are scholarly approximations: dynasties had official and folk, large and small variants (a Tang jin could be about 661 g or about 220 g), so studies differ by a few percent.
How is the mu derived?
One mu is 240 square bu. The Han used 6 chi per bu, so a Han mu is 240 × (6 × 0.231)² ≈ 461.05 m²; Tang, Song, Ming and Qing used 5 chi per bu, so a Ming/Qing mu is 240 × (5 × 0.32)² = 614.4 m².
How do jin and dan relate?
This tool treats 1 dan as 100 jin (many dynasties used 120, e.g. Ming and Qing). That is a common approximation; consult period sources for research work.
Why is the li not derived from bu counts?
Because the li changed more erratically (300 or 360 bu, and 1800 chi = 576 m in Ming/Qing), so the per-dynasty metre value is given directly.
Keywords：古代度量衡历代尺斤升亩汉尺唐尺明清营造尺古亩斤两度量衡考